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IN THE CUSTODY OF THE
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.
S^HELF N
J^ ~u I . la
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THE ^tf^^ c^^^.^^^
HISTORYO F T H E
LIFEO F
Marcus TuUius Cicero.
Hunc igitur fpe^lemus.Hoc propofitum Jic nobis exemplum.
Ilk fe profecijfe fciat^cui Ciceko valde placehit.
QuiNTiL. Inftit. 1, X. I.
ByCoNYERS MiDDLETON, D. D.
Principal Library-keeper of the Univerfity o^ Cambridge,
VOL. II.
The Sixth Edition. 0,0^*
LONDON:Printed for W. Innys and J. Richardson' in Pater-
noJier-RozVy R. Manby in the Old-Baileynear
Lud^gate-hrll^
and H. S. Cox in Pater'7wJler'Row,
M DCC LY.
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[' ]
THE
HISTORYO F T H E
LIFEO F
M. rULLIUS CICERO.
SECT. Vi.
CIcERo's
return was, what he himfelf A. Urb.695.
truly calls it, the heginniftg of a newlife /-? 'n^^*
to him [a] ; which was to be governed p.Cornelius
bynew
maxims,and a new kind of Lentulus
policy ; yet fo as not to forfeit his old charader. Spinther,
He had been made to feel in what hands the Q^C^cilius
v/eight of power lay,and what little dependence js^^pos^
was to be placed on the help and fupport of his
Ariftocratical friends : Pompey had ferved him on'
this important occafionvery fincerely, and with the
concurrence alfoof Casfar; fo as to make it a point
[a] Alterius vitse quoddam and applied afterwards by the
initium ordimur. [ad Att. 4. facred Writers to the renova-
I.] In another place, he calls tion of our nature by Bap-his reiloration to his former tifm, as well as our reftora-
^igu'wyy far(t}KtyfiVioictVy [ad tion to life, after deach, in the
Att. 6. 6.] or a new birth; general refurreftion. Matt.
a word borrowed probably xix. 29. Tit. iii. 5,
from the Pvthacrorean fchool.
Vol. 11." B of
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2 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 696. ofgratitude, as well as prudence, to be more ob*
Cic.50. fervant of them than he had hitherto been : the
P.CoR^NELius ^'^^^t^j on the other hand, with the Magiftrates,
Lentulus and the honeft of all ranks, were zealous in his
Spinther, caufe ; and the Confid Lentulus above all feemed
QJJ^ciLius j;o make it thefok end andglory of his admmifira-
Nepos^^^^/i^/^ [^]. This uncommon confent of oppofite
partiesin promoting his reftoration, drew upon
him a variety of obligations^which muft needs often
clafJoand
interfere with each other ; and which it
* was his part flill to manage fo, as to make them
confiftent v/ith his honour, his fafety, his private,
and his public duty : thefe were to be the fprings
and motives of his newlife \
the hinges on which
his future condu6l was to turnjand to do juftice
feverally to them ail, and affign to each its "proper
weight a7id meafure of infiuence^ required his ut-moft fkill and addrefs
[f].
The day after his arrival, on the fifth of Sep-
tember^ the Confuls fummoned the Senate, to
give him an opportunity of paying his thanks to
them in public for their, late fervices ; where,
after a general profefnon of his obligations to them
all, he made his particular acknowledgments to
each Magifbrate by name, to the Confuls , the
^ribuns-,
the Frotors : he addrelied himfelf to
.
^ theTrihims^ before the Pr^/^rj ; not for the dig-
nity of their office, for in that they were inferior,
but for their greater authority in making laws 5
and confequently, their greater merit in carrying
[F] Hoc fpecimcn I'lrtutls,
liOG iriJicium animi, hc lu-
men confulatus fai fore puta-
vir, fi me mihi, fi meis, \i
Re-'pub. reddidifiet.' Pofl
red. in fen. 4.
[f]
Sedquia fsepe
concur-
rit, propter aliquorum de :ne
mritorum intwiipfos conten-
tiones, ut eodem tempore in
omnes verear ne vixpolTiin
gratus videri. Sed ego hoc
meis ponderibus examinabo',
non folum quid cuiquede-
beam, fed etiam quid cujuf-
queinterfit, &: quid a me cu-
jufque tcmpus pofcat.Pro
Plancio. 52.
his
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cf M.TULLIUS CICERO. 3
his law into effedb. The number of his privateA. Urb. 696.
friends was too great to make itpcffible for him to
^^ ^'enumerate or thank them all-, fo that he conjined p^Q^^^^^^y^
himfelf to the Magifirates^ with exception only to Lentulus
Pompey [cf],whom for the eminence of his cha- Spjnther,
rader, though at prefent only a private man, he^ ;^^'^'^^
took care to diftinguifh by a perfonal addrefs andjsJepos.
compliment. But as Lentulus v/as the firft in
office, and had ferved him with the greated af-
fedlion, fo he gives him thefirjlJhare of his praife j
and in the overflowing of his gratitude ftiles him,
the Parent and the God of hislife
and fortunes [f].
The next day he paid his thanks likev/ife to the
people, in a fpeech from the Roftra ; where he
dwelt chiefly on the fam.e topics which he had
ufed in the fenate, celebrating the particular
merits and fervices of hisprincipal friends, efpe-
cially of Pompey ;whom he declares to be the
greatefi man for virtue^ wifdcm, glory^who was
thenlivings
or had livedo or ever would live ;and
that he owed more to him on this occafion^ than it
was even lawful ahnofty for one man to owe to an-
ether [/].
\d~\Cum perpaucls nomi- n.mre mortalem. [Plin. HiiJ.
natim gratias egiiTem, quod 2. 7.]Thus Cicero ,
as he
omnes enumerari nullo modo calls Lentulus here his Gody fo
poflent, fcelus autem efTet on other occafions gives the
quenquam prsEteriri.ib. 30.
fame appellation to Plato.
Hodierno autem die nomi- Dcus ille mjier Plato [ad
natim a meMagiilratibus fta- Att. 4. 16.] to exprcfs the
tuigratias
effe agendas, & de higheit fenfe of the benefits
privat!Suni,quipro falucemea received fiom tliem.
municipia, coloniafque adi- [/] Cn. Pompeius, vir
iflet. Poll red. in Sen. 12. omnium qui funt, fuerunt,
[f] Princeps P. Lentulus, erunt, princeps virtute, fa-
parens ac Deus ncllras vitse, pientia,ac gloria. Huic
fortunae, &c. ib.4.
It was a ego homini, Qairites, tantum
kind of maxim among tlie debeo,quantumhominem ho-
ancients ! that to do good to a mini debere vix fad efi. PoU
mortal, n.'.as to he a God to a red. ad Quir, 7,
mortal. Deuseji tnortaii, ju-
B % Both
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4 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 696. Both thefe fpeecbes are flill extant, and apaf-'
c (f^ fage or two from each will illuftrate the temper
P.Cornelius^^^ difpofition
in which he returned : in fpeaking
Lentulus to the Senate, after a particular reciral of the fer-
Sp_inther, vices of his friends, he adds,"
as I have a plea-Q. CiEciLius cc
f^^Q jj^ enumeratino; thefe, fo I willino;ly pafsIVI ETELLUS !
<^ J X
Nefos'' ^^^^ ^" filence what others wickedly aded
againft me : it is not my prefent bufmefs to re-
member injuries ; which if it were in my powerto revenge, I fhould chufe to forget ^ my life
fhall be applied to other purpofes ; to repay"
the good offices of thofe who have deferved it
of me ;to hold faft the friendfhips which have
been tried as it were in the fire;
to wage war
with declared enemies ; to pardon my timo-
rous, nor yet expofe my treacherous friends ;
and to balance the mifery of my exil by the
dignity of my return [^]." To the people
he obferves j
''that there were four forxs of ene-
*'inies, who concurred to opprefs him : the firfl,
^^who, out of hatred to the Republic, were
*^ mortal enemies to him for having faved it :
"the fecond, who, under a falfe pretence of
" friendiliip, infamouily betrayed him : the third,*^'
who, through theirinability
to obtain what*' he had acquired, were envious of his digni-"
ty : the fourth, who, though by ofHce they"
ought to have been the guardians of the
"Republic, bartered away his
fafety, the peace'- of the
City,and the
dignityof the
Empire,^^ v/hich were committed to their truft. I will
take my revenge, fays he, on each of them,
agreeably to the different manner of their pro-
vocation; on the bad Citizens, by defending the
P^epublic itrenuoufly; on my perfidious friends,
by never trufting them again ; on the envious,
by continuing my fceady purfuit of virtue and
r[^jPoll red. in Sen.
9.
4"
glory J
cc
t(
cc
cc
&c
cc
C
cc
cc
cc
ct
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it
"^Tepos.
of M.TULLIUS CICERO.^
"glory j
on thofe Merchants of Provinces, byA. Urb. 696.
"calling them home to o-ive an account of their
^'^* 5o.
" adminiflration : but I am more folHcitous how n n
*^ to acquit mylelr 01 my obhgations to you, tor Lentulus
your great fervices, than to refent the injuries Spinther,
and cruelties of my enemies: for it is much Q-^-^^^^^u*
"eafier to revenge an injury than to repay a xr^^^^^^^
^'kindnefs, and much lefs trouble to get the
*^ better of bad men than to equal the good [/^]."
This affair
being happilyover, the Senate had
leifure again to attend to public bufinefs ; and
there was now a cafe before them of a very ur-
gent nature, which required a prefent remedy ;
an unufual fearcity of corn and provijions in the
City, which had been greatly encreafed by the
late concourfe of people from all parts ofItaly\
on Cicero's account, and was now felt very fe*
verely by the poor Citizens : They had born ic
with much patience while Cicero's return was in
agitation ; comforting themfelves with a notion,
that if he was once reftored, plenty would be re-
ilored with him ; but finding the one at laft ef-
feded without the other, they began to grow
clamorous, and unable to endure their hunger
any longer.
Clod I us could not letflip
fo fair anopportu<^
nity ofexciting fome new difturbance, and create -
ing frefh trouble to Cicero, by charging the ca-
lamity to his fcor^ : for ;his end he employed a
number of
youngfellows to run all
nightabout
the ftreets, making a lamentable outcry for
bread-,and calling upon Cicero to relieve them
from the famine to which he had reduced them ;
as if he had got fpme hidden ftore or magazineof corn, fecreted from common ufe
[i].Hefent
1^1 Poft red. ad Quir. 9.ad imperitoram animos inci-
[/J Qui facultate oblata, tandos, renovaturum te iHa
B 3 funci^a
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6 Tbe Historyof
the Life
A. Urb. 696. fent his mob alfo to the Theatre, in which tbe
Cic. 50. Pr^tor C^cilius^ Cicero's particular friend, was
P Cornelius exhibiting the J-pcllinarian floewSy where they raif-
Lentulus ed fuch a terror that they drove the whole com-Spinther, pany out of it : then, in the fame tumultuous man-
Q^C^ciLiusj^gj.^ ^i^gy
marched to the Temple of Concord,
NEros^^"^^whither Metellus had fummoned the Senate j but
happening to meet with Metellus in the way,
they prefently attacked him with vollies of ftones ;
with fome of whichthey
wounded even the Con-
ful himfelf, who, for the greater fecurity, im-
mediately adjourned the Senate into the Capitol.
They were led on by two defperate Ruffians,
their ufual commanders, M. Lollius and M.
Sergius, the firft of whom had in Clodius's Tri-
bunate undertaken the tafk of killing Pompey ;
the fecond had been Captain of the Guard to Ca-tiline, and was probably of his family [k]
: but
Clodius, encouraged by this hopeful beginning,
put himfelf at their head in perfon, and purfued
^ the Senate into the Capitol^ in order to diflurb
^their debates, and prevent their providing anyrelief for the prefent evil ;
and above all, to ex-
cite the meaner fort to fome violence againft Cicero,
funeda latrocinia ob annonae funt homines a Q^Metello,caufam putavifli. Prodom.5. in Senatu palam nominati, a
Quid ? piierorum ilia con- qiiibusille fe lapidibus appe-
curfatio nodurna ? num a te titum, etiam percuiTum t^Q
jpfo inftituta me frumentum dixit. Qyis eft ifte Lollius ?
flagitabant? Quafi vero
egoQui te Tribuno pleb.- Cn.
aut rti frumentariaepra^fuif- Pompeium interficiendum de-
fem, aut compreiTuiii aliquod popofcit. rQuis eftSergius ?
frumentum tenerem. lb. 6, armiger Catilinae, ftipator tui
[/^JCum homines ad The- corporis, fignifer
feditionis
atrum primo, dcinde ad Se- his atque hujufmodi ducibus,
natum concurriiTent impulfu cum tu in annons caritate in
Clodii. AdAtt. 4. I. Confules, in Senatum re-
Q)ncurfus eft ad Templum penrlnos impetus comparares.
Concordia^ fadus, Senatum Pro dom. 5.
iiUic vocante MeLdlo^i\i
But
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. .
7
But he foon found, to his great difappointment,A. Urb. 696.
that Cicero was too llrong; in the afFedlions of the SL^- i*
City to be hurt again fo foon: for the people pQ^j^j^^^^j^^
themfelves faw through his defign, and were fo Lentulus
provoked at it, thatthey turned unrjcrfally againft
Spinther,
him^ and drove him out of thefields with all his mer- C^C^ecilius1 !/-- . Metellus
cenaries', when perceiving that Cicero was not^^^^^^
prefe72tin the Senate^ they called out upon him hy
name with one voice^ and would not hequieted till
he came in perfon to und.ertake their caufe^ and pro-
pofe fome expedient for theirrelief. He had kept
his houfe all that day^ and refolved to do fo^ till he
faw theiffue of the tumult ; but when he under-
flood that Ciodius was repulfed, and that his pre*
fence wasuniverfally required by the Confuls^ the
Senate^ and the whole People^ he came to the Senate'
houfe^ in the midfl of their debates.,
and being pre-
fently ajked his opinion , propofed, that Pompey
fhould be entreated to undertake the province of re-
Jloring plenty to the City ; and^ to enable him to exe^
cute it witheffe5l^ fhould be invefied with an abfo-
lute power over all the public ftores and corn-rents
of the Empire through all the Provinces : the motion
was readily accepted^ and a vote immediately paffed^
that a lawfhould be preparedfor that purpofe^ and
offeredto the people [/].
All the Confular Senators
B 4 were
[/] Ego vero Qomi me te- folum fine uUiscopiis,
ac iria-
nui, quamdiu turbulentum nu, verum etiam cum paucis
tempus fuit cum Cervos tu- amicis. lb. 3.
OS ad rapinam, ad bonorum Ego denique a populocasdem paratos arqjutos e- Romano univerfo, qui turn
tiam in Capitolium tecum ve- in Capitolium convenerat,
nifi'e conftabat fcio me do- cum illo die minus valercm,.
mi manfiffe po^eaquam nominatim in Senatum voca-
mihi nunciatum eil, populum bar. Veni expedlatus ; mul-
Romanura in Capitolium tis jam fententiis dictis, ro-
convenifle,miniflros
autem gatus film fententiam ;dixi
fcelerum tuorum perterritos, Reipub. falubcrrimam, mihi
partim amiffisgladiis, partim necefiiirium. lb 7.
ereptis diffugilfej veni non Fa(^um
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i
8 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 696. ^ereabfent^ except Meffala and Jfranius : they pre-
^c ar^'tended to he afraid of the mob
-^but the real caufe
P Cornelius^^^ ^^^^^ unwillingnefs to concur in granting this
Lentulus commiflion to Pompey. The Confuls carriedSpinther, the decree with them into theRoftra^ and read it-
(^C^ciLius publicly to the people ; who on the mention of Ci^ELLus
^^^^'^ name^ in ijohich it was drawn, z^ve an uni-
verjal Jhout of applattje \ upon wfotch^ at the deftre
cf all the Magjftrates^ Cicero made a fpeech to themy
fettingforth the reafons and
necefTityof the de-
cree, and giving them the comfort of a fpeedy
relief, from the vigilance and authority of Pom-
pey \7n\ The abfence however of the Confular
Senators gave a handle to refle(5l upon the ad:,
as not free and valid^ hut extorted hy fear^ and
without the intervention of the principal memhers ;
hut thevery
nextday^
in afuller Houfe^
when all
thofe Senators were prefent^ and a motion was made
to revoke the decree^ it was unanimoufly rejeBed \n\ ;
and the Confuls were ordered to draw up a law
conformable to it, by which the whole adminifira-
tion of the corn and provifions of the Republic was
to be granted to Pompey for five years^with a power
of chufing fifteen Lieutenants to affifi him in it.
This furnifhed Clodius with frefh matter of
abufe upon Cicero : he charged him with ingra-
titude^ and thedefertion of the Senate^ which had
Faftum eft S. C. in meam recitando dedilTet, habui con-
fententiam, ut cum Pompeio cionem. -Ibid.
ageretur,ut earn
remfufci-
[] At enim liberumSena-
peret, lexque ferretur. Ad tus judicium propter metum
Att. 4. 1. non fuit. Pro dom. 4.
[;] Cum abclTent Confu- Poftridie Senatus frequens,
lares, quod tuto fe negarent & omnes Confulares nihil
pofTe fententiam dicere, prae- Pompeio poflulanti riegarunt,
ter Mciralam Sc Afranium. Ad Att. 4 i.
Ibid. Cum omnes adeiTent, ccep-
Qno S. C. recitato, cum tum eft referri de inducendo
cont5nuo more Jioc infulfo & S. C; ab univerfo Senatu re-
iiovo plaufum, meo nomine clamatum eft. Pro dom. 4.
always
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of M. TVLLIUS CICERO. g
always been firm to bim, in order to pay his court -to A. Urb. 6g6.
a maity who had betrayed him : and that he was fo S^'^'
filly^as not to know his own ftrength and credit ^^
p.Cornelius
the City^ and how able he was to maintain his au- Lentulus
thority without the help of Pompey [^J.But Cice- Spinther,
ro defended himfelf by faying,"
that they muftQ^C^.cilius" not expedl to play the fame game upon him
-^I^q^^^*' now that he was reftored, with which they*' had ruined him before, by raifing jealoufies*' between him and Pompey : that he had fmarted
*' for it too feverely already, to be caught again*' in the fame
trap ; that, in decreeing this com-" mifTion to Pompey, he had difcharged both^^ his private obligations to a friend, and his pub-"
lie duty to the State ; that thofe who grudged^' all extraordinary power to Pompey, muft"
grudgethe
vi6lories,the
triumphs,the ac-
"ceflion of dominion and revenue, which their
" former grantsof this fort had procured to the
"Empire-, that the fuccefs of thofe fhewed,
*' what fruit they were to exped from this[/>].'
But what authority foever this law conferred
on Pompey, his creatures were not yet fatisfied
with it y fo that Meflius, one of the Tribuns,
propofed another, to give him the additional
power of raifingwhat money^ fleets^ and armies he
[o] Tune es ille, Inquit, ihtutum pofreIabefadan,qui-
qiio Senatus carere non po- bus anteaftantemperculerunttuit ? quo reftituto, Senatus data merces eft erroris mei
au6loritatem reftitutam
puta- magna,ut
menon
folum pi-bamus ? quam primum adve- geat ftultitiae meae, fed etiam
niens prodidifti. lb. 2. pudeat. lb. 11,
Nefcit quantum aucloritate Cn. Pompeio maxima
valeat, quas resgeflerit, qua terra marique bella extra or-
dignitate fit rellitutus. Cur dinem eflecommifla: quarumornat eum a quo defertus eft ? rerum fi quern pcrniteat, eumlb. II. vidtorice populi Romani ne-
[/] Definant homines iif- cefTe eftpcenitere.
lb. 8.
dem machinis fperaie me re-
, thought
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of M tULLIUS CICERO, ii
houfes and eftates : a full reftitution indeed had A. Urb.696.
been decreed, but was referved to his return ; c*/r*which came now before the Senate to be con-
p.Cornelius
fidered and fettled by public authority, where it Lentulus
met ftill with great obftru6lion. The chief dif- Spinther,
ficultyv>^as about his Palatin houfe^ which he va-
C^C^ciliuslued above all the reft, and which Clodius, for
^^^^q^
that reafon, had contrived to alienate, as he hoped,
irretrievably ; by demolifhing the Fabric, and
dedicating
a 1'emple upon the area to the
GoddefsLiberty : where, to make his work the more com-
plete,he pulled down alfo the adjoining ^^r//V^
of Catidliis^ that he might build it up anew, of
the fame order with his Temple ; and by blend-
ing the public with private property, and confe-
crating the whole to Religion^ might make it im-
pofiible to feparate or reftore any part to Cicero ;
fince a confecration, legally performed, made the
thing confecrated unapplicable ever after to any
privateufe.
This portico was built, as has been faid, on the
fpot where Fulvius Flaccus formerly lived, whofe
houfe was publicly demolifhed, for the treafon
of its mafter ; and it was Clodius's defign to join
Cicero's to it under the fame denomination ; as the
perpetual memorial of a difgrace and punifoment in-
filled by the people [j].When he had finiflied the
portico therefore, and annexed his Temple to it,
which took up but a fmallpart, fcarce a tenths of
Cicero'shoufe^
he left the reft of the areavoid,
in order to plant agrove^ or walks of pleafure upon
ity as has been ufual in fuch cafes, where, as it
has been obferved, he was profecuting a particu-
lar intereft, as well as indulging his malice in ob-
ftrudino: the reftitution of it to Cicero.o
[/] Ut domus M. Tullii publice conftitutae conjunfla
Ciceronis cum Qomo Fulvii elTe videatur. Pro dom. 38.
flacci ad memoriampcenas
The
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12 ^be History of the"Life
A. Urb. 696. The affair was to be determined by thecollege
Cic. 50. ^y Priefisy who were the Judges in all cafes relat-
p r^ '
I s ^"S^^ religion
: for the Senate could only make
Lentulus ^ provifional decree, that if the Priejls difcharged'
S p I N T H E R , the ground from thefervice of religion^then the Con -
QJ^^^^i'^^^fills floould
take an efiimate of the damage^ and makeMetellus
^ contra^ for rebuilding the whole at the public'
'
charge^ foas to reflore it' to Cicero in the condition
in which heleft
it [/].The Priefls therefore of
all orders were called together on the lafi of Sep-
tember^ to hear this caufe, which Cicero pleaded
in perfon before them : they were men of the
firft dignityand families in the Republic , and
there never was, as Cicero tells us, fo full an ap~
pearance of them in any caufe^ fince the foundation
of the City : he reckons up nineteen by name ; a
great part of whom were of Confular rank \ii\.
His firft care, before he entered into the merits
of the queftion,was to remove the prejudices,
which his enemies had been labouring toinftil^
on the account of his late condu(5l in favour of
Pompey, by explaining the motives, and fhew-
ing the necefTity of it ; contriving at the fame
time to turn the odium on the other fide, by run-
ning over the hifiory of Clodius's "Tribunate^ and
painting all its violences in the moftlively colours ;
but the queftion on which the caufe fmgly turn-'
ed, was about theefficacy of the pretended ccnfecra-
tion of the houfe^and the dedication of the Temple :
to fhew thenullity
therefore of thisa6t,
he en-
deavours to overthrow the very foundation of it,
^' and prove Clodius's Tribunate to be original-
[/] Qui fi fuftulerint reli- era condituta, quorum eadem
gionem, aream pracclaram eft antiquitas, quae ipfius ur-
habebimus: fuperficiemCon- bis, uUa de re, ne de capite
Tules ex S. C asftimabunt. quidem Virginum Vefta.lium,
/id Alt.4. I. tarn frequens collegium judi-
[u\ Nego unquam pollfa- (:afi'e. De Harufp. refp. 6, 7.
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO, 13
"ly
null and void, from the invalidity of his A-^rb. 696,
*'adoption^
on which it was entirely grounded :"^q^^^'
he fhews,''
that the fole end of adoption, whichp.Cornelius
" the laws acknowledged, was to fupply the Lentulus" want of children, by borrowing them as it Spinther,
*< were from other families ; that it was an eflen-Q^^^cilius
"tial condition of it, that he who adopted had
^^^^^^^" no children of his own, nor was in condition
" to hav^e any : that the parties concerned were
"
obliged
to
appear
before the Priefts to fignify
" their confent, the caufe of the adoption, the
" circumftances of the families interefled in it,
" and the nature of their religious rites ; that the
" Priefts might judge of the whole, and fee that
*' there was no fraud or deceit in it, nor any dif-
*' honour to any family or perfon concerned :
*'
that nothing of all this had been obferved in" the cafe of Clodius : that the Adopter was not
"full twenty years old, when he adopted a Se-
*'nator, who was old enough to be his father :
"that he had no occafion to adopt, fmce he had
'' a wife and children, and would probably have
*'more, which he muft necefiarily difinherit by
*^ this adoption, if it was real : that Clodius had" no other view, than, by the pretence of an
''
adoption,to make himfeif /^ 'Plebeian and 5>/-
*'hun^ in order to overturn the State; that the
"adl itfelf, which confirmed the adoption, v/as
"null and
illegal, being tranfaffed while Bibu-
*'lus was
obfervingthe
Aufpices,which was
''
contrary to exprefs lav/, and huddled over in
"three hours by Csefar, when it ought to have
^' been publifhed for three market days fuccef-
"fively,
at the interval of nine days each [v]:
*that if the adoption
wasirregular
andillegal,
"as it certainly was, the Tribunate muft needs
[a] Pro dom. 13, 14, 15, i6.
"be
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14 ^he History of the LifeA.Urb. 696.
<c\^q{q |;oo, which was
intirely built upon it :
Coff*"
^^^ granting the Tribunate after all to be valid,
P.Cornelius"
becaufe fome eminent men would have it fo,
Lentulus"
yet the ad made afterv/ards for his banifhmentSpinther, could not
poflibly be confidered as a law, but
Mete^llus^
"^^ ^
PnW/^^^ only, made againft a particular
Nepos."
perfon -,which the facred laws, and the laws
.
" of the twelve Tables had utterly prohibited :
"that it was contrary to the very conftitution of
"the Republic, to punifh any Citizen either in
" body or goods, till he had been accufed in
''
proper form, and condertined of fome crime*'
by competent judges : that Privileges^ or laws"
to inflid: penalties on fingle perfons by name,'' without a legal trial, were cruel and pernicious," and nothing better than
prolcriptions, and of"
allthings not
tobe endured in their City [^y].'*
Then in entering upon the queition of his houfe
he declares,"
that the whole effedt of his reilo-
*'ration depended upon it ; that if it v/as not
''
given back to him, but fuffered to remain a'' monument of triumph to his enemy, of grief*' and calamity to himfelf, he could not conlider
" it as a reftoration, but a perpetual punifliment :
*'that his houfe flood in the viev; of the whole
"people ;
and if it muft continue in its prefent*'
flate, he fhould be forced to remove to fome"
other place, and could never endure to live in
''that City, in v/hich he mud always fee tro-
"
phiesere6led both
againfthimfelf and the Re-
"public : the houfe of Sp. Melius/' fays he,
" who affected a Tyranny, was levelled j and''
by xht n2i\-nt o^ j^quimeliumy given to the place,"
the people confirmed the Equity of his punifh-" ment : the hcuie of Sp. Callius was overturn-
[^] lb. 17. in privos ho- quid eft injuflius ? de Legib.
mines leges ferri noJuerunt ; 3. 19.
. id eft euim priviiegium: quo
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rf M.TULLIVS CICERO. i^
'^ ed alfo for the fame caiife, and a Temple raif- A. l-rb. 696.
^' ed upon it to Tellus : M. Vaccus's houfe was^q^^^'
'
"confilcated and levelled ; and, to perpetuate p.Cornelius
" the memory of his treafon, the place is ftill Lentulus"
called Vaccus's meadows : M. Manlius like- Spinther,
"wife, after he had repulfed the Gauls from the Q,Cjecihu8
"Capitoly not content with the glory of that
j^j^pos,*
fervice, was adjudged to aim at dominion \ fo
**that his houfe was demolifhed, where you now
^'fee the two
groves planted
: muft I therefore
" fuffer that punifhment, which our Anceftors*'
inflifted as the greateft,on wicked and traite-
"rous Citizens ;
that pofberity may confider me,'' not as the opprelTor, but the author and captain*' of th6 Confpiracy [z] ?'* When he comes to
fpeak to the dedication itfelf, he obferves,"
that*'
the Goddefs Liberty, to which the Temple'*v/as dedicated, was the known ftatue of a ct\t-
*'brated ftrumpet, which Appius brought from
"Greece for the ornament of his iEdilefhip : and
''
upon dropping the thoughts of that magillra-"
cy, gave to his brother Clodius, to be advan-"
ced into a Deity \a]: that the ceremony was
" performed without any licence or judgement"
obtained from the College of Priefts, by the'
fmgle miniflry of a rav/ young man, the bro-"
ther-in-law of Clodius, who had been made
Prieft but a few days before ; a mere novice
in his bufinefs, and forced into the fervice[^] :
but if all had been tranfadlcdregularly, and
in due form, that it could not poflibly have
any force,, as being contrary to the Handinglaws of the Republic : for there was an old
Tribunician law, made by Q^ Papirius, which
prohibited the confecration of houfes, lands, or
altars, without the exprefs command of the
[stf-Pro dom.37, 3S. m lb. 4c.
W lb. 43.
"people ;
cc
CC
cc
cc
cc
cc
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of M rULLlUS CICERO, 17** died over the whole ceremony in a blundering,
A. Urb. 696.
*'
precipitate manner, faultring and confounded^q'J^'"
in mind, voice, and fpeech ; often recalling p.Corneliua''
himfelf, doubting, fearing, hefitating, and Lentulus''
performing every thing quite contrary to what Spinther,
"the facred books prefcribed : nor is it flrange, ^C^cilius"fays he, that, in an a6t fo mad and villainous, -^^^q^.
*'his audacioufnefs could not get the better of
*'his fears : for what Pirate, though ever fo
*'barbarous, after he had been plundering Tem-
**pies, when pricked by a dream, or fcruple of
"religion, he came to confecrate fome altar on
"adefert fhore, was not terrified in his mind, on
''
being forced to appeafe that Deity by his pray-*'
ers, whom he had provoked by his facrilege?**
In what horrors then, think you, muft this
"
man needs be, the plunderer of ail Temples,*'
houfes, and the whole City, when for the ex-^'
piation of fo many impieties, he was wickedly''
confecrating one fmgle altar[e']
? Then after a*' folemn invocation and appeal to all the Gods,*' who peculiarly favoured and protedled that City,*'
to bear witnefs to the integrity of his zeal and
*' love to the Republic, and that, in all his labours*' and ftruggles, he had conftantly preferred the
**
public benefit to his own, he commits the"
juflice of his caufe to the judgemf;nt of the
*'venerable Bench."
He wasparticularly pleafed with the compo-
fition of this
fpeech,
which hepublifhed
imme-
diately ; andfays upon it, that if ever he made
any figure infpeaking, his
indignation, and the
fenfe ot hisinjuries,
hadinfpired him with new
force andfpirit
in this caufe [/]. The fentence
of
[f] Pro dom. 54, 55. a nobis ;
& fi unquam in di-
[/] A6la res ell accurate cendo fuimus aliquid,aat
Vol. II. C etiam
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of M,rULLWS CICERO. 19
one of the Confuls eled, being called upon to A. Urb. 966.
fpeak firft, addrefled himfelf to the Priefts, and^'^J^""'
defired them to give an account of the grounds <^^^p.Cornelius
meaning of their fentence : upon which Lucullus, Lentulusin the name of the reft, declared, that the Priefis Spinther,
were indeed the Judges of religion^but the Senate
of^!P'^^^^^^^the law ; that they therefore
had determined only jvTepos.
what related to the point of religion^and
leftit to
the Senate to determine whether any ohflacle remain-
ed in point of law: all the other priefts fpoke
largely after him in favor of Cicero's caufe : when
Clodius rofe afterwards to fpeak,he endeavoured
to waft the time fo, as to hinder their coming to
any refolution that day ; but after he had been
{"^tdkSxi^ for three hours fuccefiively, the aiTembly
grew fo impatient, and made fuch a noife and
hifling, that he was forcedto
giveover :
yetwhen they were going to pafs a decree, in the
words of MarcellinuSy Serranus put his negative
upon it : this raifed an univerfal indignation ,and
a frefh debate began, at the motion of the Two
Confuls, on the merit of the Triburts inierceffion ;
when after many warm fpeeches, they came to
the following vote , that it was the refolution of
that Senatey
that Cicero*s houfe fhouldbe reftored to
him^ and Catulus^s portico rebuilt^ as it had been
before ; and that this vote floouldbe defended by all
tht Magiftrates ;and if any violence or obftrvMion
was offered to it^ that the Senate would look upon it^
as
offered byhim^ who had
interpofed
his negative.
This ftaggered Serranus, and the late Farce was
played over again \ his father threw himfelf at his
feet^ to beg him todefift ; he defired a nighfs time j
which at firft was refufed, but, on Cicero's re-
queft, granted -,and the next day he revoked his
negative, and, without farther oppofition,faffer-
ed the Senate to pafs a decree, that Cicero's da-C 2 ma^t
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20 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 696. magsfiould be made good to him^ and hishoufes re-
Gic. 50. ii^iii ^j the public charge \h'].Coff.
rj.^^ Confuls began prefently to put the de-
Xentulus cree in execution ; and having contradled for theSpinther, rebuilding Catulus^s portico^
fet men to work,
Q. CiF.ciLius^^Qy^ clearing
the ground^ and demolijhing what hadMetellus
^^^^^ j^^^^i^ byClodius: but as to Cicero's buildings,
it was agreed to take an eflimate of his damage,and pay the amount of it to himfelf, to be laid
,
out according to his own fancy : in which his
Palatin houfe was valued at Jixteen thoufand pounds ;
his 'Tufculan at four thoufand \his Formian only
at two thoufand. This was a very deficient and
Jhameful valuation, which all the world cried out
upon Jfor the Palatin houfe had coll him, not long
before, near twice that fum : but Cicero would
not give himfelf anytrouble about
it,or
makeany exceptions, which gave the Confuls a handle
to throw the blame upon his own 7nodefiy^ for not
remonflrating againfi it, and feeming to be fatisfied
with what was awarded : but the true reafon was,
as he himfelf declares, that thofe, who had dipt
his wings, had no mind to let them grow again , and
though they had been his advocates when abfent, be^
gan now to be fecretly angry, and openly envious of
him when prefent [f].
[/] Ad Att. 4. 2. quid igitur caufas fuit ? Di-
[z]Nobis fuperficiem
asdi- cunt illi quidem pudoremum Confules de confilii fen- meum, quod neque negarim,
tentia asflimarunt HS. vicies; neque vehementius poftula-caetera valde illiberaliter ;
rim. Sed non eil id ; nam
Tufculanum villam quingen- hoc quidem etiam profuifTet.
t s millibus i Formianum du- Verum iidem, mi Fomponi,
centis quinquaginta miilibus; iidem inquam illi, qui mihi
, qucs a?ftimaiio non modo ab pennas inciderunt, nolunt e-
optiiiio quoque fed etiam a afdem renafci- Ibid,
plebc reprehenditur. Dices,
But
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''^EPOS.
of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 21
But as he was never covetous, this affair A. Urb.696,
gave him no great uneafinefs; though, through ^^^-5.
the late ruin of his fortunes, he was now in fuchp ^.
^ '
want of money, that he refolved to expofe his Tuf- Lentulusculan Villa to fale j but foon changed his mind and Spinther,
built it up again with much more magnificenceQ-C^cilius
than before; and, for the beauty of its fituation, j^/^^^^^^and neighbourhood to the City, took more plea-
fure in it ever after, than in any other of his
country feats. But he had fome domieflic griev-
ances about this time, which touched him more
nearly ,and which, as he
fignifies obfcurely to
Atticus, were of too delicate a nature to be explained
hy a letter \K\: they arofe chiefly from the petu-
lant humor of his wife, which began to give him
frequent occafions of chagrin , and, by a feries of
repeated provocations,
confirmed in him that
fettleddifguft,
which ended at iaft in a divorce.
As he was now reftored to the polTefTion both
of his dignity and fortunes, lo he was defirous to
deftroy all the public monuments of his late dif-
grace ; nor to fufter the law of bis exil to rem.ain,
with the other ads of Clcdius's ^rihunate^ hang-
ing up in the Capitol, engraved, as ufual, ontables of brafs : v/atching therefore the opportu-
nity of Clodius's abfence, he went to theCapitol^
with a ftrong body of his friends^and taking the
tables down conveyed them to his own houfe. This
occafioned a fliarpconteft in the Senate between
him and Clodius, about the validity of thofe a^s-^
and drew Cato alfo into the debate ^ who, for
the fake of his Cyprian commijfion^ thought himfelf
obligedto
defend theirlegality againft Cicero , which
[^] Tufculanumprofcripfi: fJv^iiLuripct funt. Amamura
fubuibano non facile careo.-- fratre & filia, ibid,
CiEtera, qu^ me foUicitant,
C 2 created
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22 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 696. created feme little coldnefs between them^ and gave
^r ir
* " irnall pleafureto the common enemies of them
P.C0RNEL,Sboth [/]
Lentulus But Cicero s cnier concern at preient was,Spinther, how to fupport his former authority in the City,
(^C>EciLius^j^(j provide for his future
fafety ;as well againit
ETELLus^1^^ malice of declared enemies, as the envy of
pretended friends, which he perceivedto be grow-
ing up afreih againft him : he had thoughts of'
putting in for theCenforjhip ; or of procuring one
of thofe honorary Lieutenancies^ which gave a
public chara6ler to private Senators ; with intent
to make a progrefs through Italy^ or a kind of
religious pilgrimage to all the Temples^ Groves^' and
facred places^on pretence of a vow^ jnade in his
exile. This would give him an opportunity of
iliewinghimfelf
everywhere in a
light,
which
naturally attra6ls the affedtion of the multitude,
by teflifyinga pious regard to the favourite fuper-
ftitions and localreligions of the Country ;
as the
Great, in the fame Country, flill pay their court
to the vulgar, by vifitingthe Ihrines and altars
of the Saints, which are moft in vogue : he
mentions thefe projedls to Atticus, as defignedto be executed in the fpring, refolving in the
mean while to cherifh the good inclination of the
people towards him, by keeping himfelf perpe-
tually in the view of the City [ni],
Catulus^s portico^and Cicero's houfe, were
rifing
again apace, and carried
up
almofl to the roof j
when Clodius, without any warning, attacked
them, on the fecond of November^ with a band of
[/] Plutarch in Cic. Dio. foriim proximi Confules ha-
p. 100. berent, petere poiTe, aut Vo-
\ni\ Ut nulla re impedirer, tivam Legationem i"uiT]fifle;
quod ne fi vdlem, mihi effet prope omnium Fanorum, lu-
integium, aut fi coniitia Cen- corum. Ad Alt. 4. 2.
armed
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 23
firmed men^ who demoli/hed the portico^ and drogue A. Urb 696.
the workmen out of Cicero*s g-round^and with the S^*^i'
ftones and ruhhifh of the place began to batter ^lin- p Cornelius
tus''s houfe^ with whom Cicero then lived, and Lentulusat
lafl fet fire to it \fo that the two Brothers, Spinther,
with their famihes, were forced to fave themfeves Q^^'^^cilius
by a hafty flight,Milo had ah-eady acciiled
jv;pos.
Clodius for his former violences, and refolved,
ifpofTible,
to bring him to juftice: Clodius, on
the other hand, was fuing for the Mdilefhip^ to
fecure himfelf, for one year more at lead", from
any profecution : he was fure of being condemn-
ed, if ever he was brought to trial, y2>that what-
ever mifchief he did in the mean time was all clear
gainy and could not make his caufe the worfe [;/]:
he now therefore gave a free courfe to his natural
fury;was
perpetually fcouringthe ftreets with his
incendiaries, and threatning fire and fword to the
City itfelf ifan
affemblywas net called for the
'
election of Mdiles. In this humor, about a week
after his laft outrage, on the eleventh of November^
happening to meet with Cicero, in the facred
llreet, he prefently affaulted him withftojies^
clubsy and drawn fwords : Cicero was not prepar-
ed for the encounter, and took refjge in the
Veflibule of the next houfe ; where his attend-
ants rallying in his defence, beat off the affail-
ants, and could eafily have killed their header^
but
that Cicero waswilling^
hefays,
to cure by diet,
rather thanSurgery. The day following Clodius
[] Armatishominlbus an- indc jufTu Clcdii inflammata,
te diem III. Non. Novemb. inipedante Urbe, conjciStis
expulfi funt fabri de area ignibas. V'idet, fi omnes
noIl:ra,di{turbata porticusCa- quos vult paiam occideiir, iii-
tuli Qiise ad tectum pcrne hilo fuam caufam diHicilio-
pervenerat. Qainti fratris rem, quam adhuc fit, in ju-
domus primo frafla cDnjefftu dicio iuturain. Ad Att. 4. ,
lapidum, ex area noilra, dc- 3.
attacked
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24 ^h^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 696. attackedMilo*s houfe^ tmthfwordin hand^ andlighted
Cic. f o. Flambeaus^ with intent to fiorm and hum it : but
P Cornelius^^^^ was never unprovided for him-, and Q.
Lentulus Fiaccus, Tallying out with a llrong band of floutSpinther, fellows, killed feveral of his men, and would have
Q^C^ciLius ^illg^ Clodius too^ if he had not hid himfelf in the in-
lETELLus^^^ apartments of P. Syllds houfe^
which he made
ufe of on this occafion as his Fortrefs [^].
The Senate met, on the fourteenth, to take
thefe diforders into confideration ; Clodius did not
think fit to appear there-, hut Sylla came, to clear
himfelf, probably from the fufpicion of encou-
raging him in thefe violences, on account of the
freedom which he had taken with his houfe \f].
Many fevere fpeeches were made, and vigorous
counfils propofed -,Marcellinus's opinion was,
. that ClodiusJJoould
be
impeached
anewfor thefe
laji
cutrages -,and that no ele^ion of Mdilesfhouldbefuf-
fered^ till he was brought to a trial : Milo declared^
that as longas he continued in
office^the Conful M.e-
tellus Jhould make no ele^ion ; for he would take the
aufpices every day^ on which anaffembly could be
held \ butMetellus contrived to wafi the day infpeak-
ing, fo that they were forced to break up without
snaking any decree. Milo was as good as his word,
and, having gathered a fuperior force, took care
to obilrud: the ejedlion ; though the Conful Me-
[0] Ante diem tertium Id. det Milonis domum prid.
Novemb. cum facra via de- id. expugnare &incendere ita
fcenderem, infecutus eft me conatiis eft, ut palam horacum fuis. Clamor lapides, quinta cum (cutis homines,
fufteSjgladii ; haec improvifa edu6lisgladiis, alios cum ac-
omnia. Difceftimus in vefti- cenfis facibus adduxerit. Ipfe
bulum Tertii Damionis : qui domumP.Syllae procaftris ad
crunt mecum facile operas eam impugnationem fumpfe-aditu prohibuerunt. Ipfe oc- rat, &c. Ad Att. 4. 3.
cidipotuit, fed ego diaeta [/] Sylla fc in Senatu po-
carare
incipio, chirurgiae
tae- ftridie Idas, domiClodius.lb.
tellns
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cf M.'TULLIUS CICERO. 25
tellus employedall his power and art to elude his A. Urb.
696.
vigilance,and procure an aiTembly by ftratagem; ^p'i^*
callingit to one place,
and holding it in another, p.CorNELius
fometimes in the field of Mars, fometimes in the l^^tulus
Forum; but Milo was ever beforehand with him; Spinther,
and, keeping a conftant guard in the field, from Q^Ci^ciLius
rriidiiightto noon, was always at hand to inhibit
xr^pQ.
his procedings, by obnouncing^as it was called, or
declaring, that he was taking the aufpices on that
day ; fo that the three Brothers v/ere bafHed and
difappointed, though they were perpetually ha
ranguing and labouring to inflame the people
againft thofe, who interrupted their aflemblies and
right of eleding ; where Metellus^s fpeeches were
turbulent^ Appiiis's rajb^ Clodius's furious. Cicero,
who givesthis account to Atticus, was of opinion,
thatthere would he no eleclion
-,and that
Clodiuswould be brought to trials if he was not
firfi killed
hy Milo , which was likely to be his- fate : Milo,
fays he, makes no fcruple to own it ; being not de-
terred by my misfortune^ and having no envious or
perfidious counfellors about him^ nor any lazy Nobles
to difcourage him : it is commonly given out by the
other fide^ that what he does, is all done by my ad-
vice ; but they little knoWj how much condu^^ as
pell as courage,there is in this Hero
[^].
Young
[q] Egreglus Marcellinus^ inter vlam obtulerit, occifum
cmnes acres; Metellus ca- iri ab ipfo Milone video,
lumnia dicendi tempus ex- Non dubicat facere ; prae fe
emit : conciones turbulentas fert ; cafum ilium noftrum
Metelli, temeraris Appii, non extimefcit, &c.
furiofiffims Clodii : hsec ta- Meo confilio omnia illi
men fumma, nifi Milo in fieriqqerebantur,ignariquan-
Campum obnunciafTet, Co- turn in illo heroe efiet animi,mitia futura. Comitia fore quantum etiam confilii.
non arbitror; reum Publi- Ad. Att.
4. 3.
urn, nifi ante occifus erit, N. B. From thefe fa6ls it
, lore a Milone puto. Si feappears, that what is faid
above.
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of M. "TULLIUS CICERO. 27*'
o-luttony ; the other of a more fcandalous in- A. Urb. 696.
*'temperance. I was apprehenfive indeed of a
p'i'*'
dyfentery \but feem to have found benefit, ei-
p.Cornelius
*' ther from the change of air, or the relaxation Lentulus*' of my mind, or the remilTion of the difeafe Spinther,
''itfelf : but that you may not be furprifed, how Q:C^cilius
*'this Qiould happen, and what I have been tvt,
"
1 1 r JNEPOS."domg to brmg it upon me , ^the lumptuary
"law, which feems to introduce a fimplicity of
''diet, did me all this mifchief. For fince our
" men of talle are grown fo fond of covering .
*'their tables with the produ6i:ions of the Earthy
" which are excepted by the law, they have'* found a way of drefling mufhrooms, and all
*'other vegetables, fo
palatably, that nothing" can be more delicious : I happened to fall
*'
upon thefe at Lentulus's Augural fupper, and** was taken with fo violent a flux, that this
*'is the firfl day on which it has begun to give
" me any eafe. Thus I, who ufed to command*'
myfelf foeafily
inoyjlers and lampreys^ was
*'
caught with hete and mallows , but I fhall be*' more cautious for the future : you, hov/ever,
*' who muft have heard of my illnefs from Ani-*'
cius, for he faw me in a fit of vomiting, had*'
a juil reafon, not only forfending, but for
"coming yourfelf to fee me. I think to
flay"
here till I recruit myfelf; for I have loft
" both my flrength and my fiefh \ but, if I once*'
get
rid of
my diileinper,
it will beeafy,
I
?'hope,
to recover the reft [j]."
[j] Ep. Fam.7.
26. defcribed in this Letter feems
N. B. Pliny fays, that the to come fo very near to ir,
coliim^ by which he is fup- that he mull be undericood,
pofedto mzsiYi the Cholie, cwas rather of the name than of
not known at Rome, //// the the thing; as the learned Dr.
feign of Tiberius : but the cafe Le Clerk has obferved in his
Hillory
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 29
hrihery and corruption ; hut not being able to get an A. Urb. 696:
audience of the Pr^etors^ he had the hardnefs to^p*i'
mount the Roftra^ which was never allowed to ap.Cornelius
private Citizen, and, in a fpeech to the people, Lentulusdeclared Por/ipey
Dilator: but his prefumption Spinther,
had like to have coft him dear ; for it raifed fuchQ^^cilius
an indignationin the audience, that he had much
^^^^^
difficultyto efcape
with hislife [/]. He opened
his prefent magiftracy by declaring loudly againft
King Ptolemy^ and all who favoured him ; efpe-
ciallyLentulus ; whom he fuppofed to be un-
der fome private engagement with him, and for
that reafon, was determined to baffle all their
fchemes.
Lupus likewife, one of hiscollegues, fum>
moned the Senate, and raifed an expectation of
fome uncommon propofalfrom him : it was in-
deed of an extraordinary nature ;to
revife and an-
null that famed a5l of C^far's Confulfhip^ for the
divijion of the Cam'panian lands : he fpoke long and
well upon ity and was heard with much attention ;
gave great praifesto Cicero^ with fevere reflexions
on C^far, and expofiulationswith Pompey^ who
was now abroad in the execution of his late com-miflion : in the conclufion he told them, . that
he would not demand the opinions of the particular
Senators^ becaufe he had no mind to expofe them to
the refentment and animojity of any ; but from the ill
humour^ which he remembered^ when that aXfirft
faffed^
and the
favour^
with which he was now
heard^ he couldeajily
collet the fenfe of the Houfe.
[/]Ut Cato, adolefcens tefl:atemfuamfacerent,incon-
nullius confilii, vixvivus cionem adfcendit, & Pom-
effiigeretj quod cum Gabi- peium privatus Diflatorem
nium de ambitu vellet poftu- appellavit. Proplus nihil eft
lare, neque Praetores diebus fadlum, quam ut occideretur.
aliquotadiri
pofTent,vel
po- Ep.ad
Quint.Frat. i. 2.
Upon
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30 7'he History of the LifeA. Urb. 696. Upon, which Marcellinus faid, that he mufi not
C ff^'conclude from theirfdence^ either what they liked or
P.Cornelius dijliked : that for his own part^ and he might anfwer
Lentulus too^ he believedy for the refi^ he chofe to fay nothingSpinther, on the fuhje^l at prefent^ becaufe he thought^ that
Qj^C^ciLius^^^ ^^^y^ ^yr
^^^ Campanian lands ought not to he
Nepos. brought upon theflage^
in Pompefs abfence.
This affair being dropt, Racilius, another
Tribun, rofe up and renewed the debate about
Milo's impeachment of Clodius^ and called
uponMarcellinus, the Conful eledt, to give his opi-
nion upon it , who, after inveighing againft all
the violences of Clodius, propofed, thaty in the
jirfi placeyan allotment of Judges fJoould be made for
the trial \ and^ after that, the election of Mdiles ;
and if any one attempted to hinder the trials that he
fhould be deemed a public e?iemy. The other Con-ful eledl, Philippus, was of the fame mind ; but
the Tribuns, Cato and Caflius, fpoke againft
it, and were for proceding to an eleSlion before any
Jlep towards a trial. When Cicero was called
upon to fpeak, he run through the whole feries of
Clodius's extravagances,, as if he had beenaccujing
him already at the bar, to the great fatisfa^ion of
theaffemUy : Antiftius, the Tribun, feconded him,
and declared, that no buftnefsfhould be done before
the trial , and when the houfe was going univer-
fally into that opinion, Clodius began to fpeak, with
intent to waft the refl of the day, while his Jlaves.
and followers without, who had feized thefteps andavenues of the fenate, raifed fo great a
noife of a
fudden,in
abuf/ng fome of Milo^s friends,that the
Senate broke up in no fmall hurry, and with frefh in-
dignation at this newinfult \u\.
There
\u\ Turn Clodius rogatus delnde ejus operae repente
diem dicendo eximere coepit a Grsecoilafi & gradibuscla-
morem
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. ^i
There was no more bufinefs done through
the remaining part of December^ which was taken
up chieflywith holy days. Lentulus and Metel-
lus, whofe confulfhip expired with the year, itt
forward for their feveral governments ; the one
for Cilicia^ the other for Spain : Lentulus com-
mitted the whole direction of his affairs to Cicero ;
and Metellus, unwilling to leave him his enemy,
made up all matterswith him before his departure,
and wrote an affe6lionate letter to him afterwards
from Spain ; in which he acknowledges his fer-
vices, and intimates, tba^ he had given up his
brother Clodius, in exchangefor his friendfhip [^].
Cicero's firfl concern, on the opening of the ^'V*"^- ^97-
new year,was to get the commifllon, /(?r refioring ^^
^}*
King Ptolemy^ confirmed to Lentulus ; which q^ Corne-
came now under deliberation:
,
The Tribun, Ca- lius Len-to, was fierce, againft refioring him at all, with tulus
the greatefb part of the Senate on his fide ; when I^^arcel-
taking occafion to confuit the Sibylline books^ on ^ Marciusthe fubjed: of feme late
prodigies^he chanced to Philippus*
find in them certain verles, forewarning the Ro-
man people^ not to replace an exiled King of Egypty
with an army. This was fo pat to his purpofe,
that there could be no doubt of it*s being forged;
but Cato called up the Guardians of the books into
the Rvflra, totejlify
thepajfage
to be genuin;
where it was publicly read and explaned to the
people: It was laid alfo before the Senate, who
greedilyreceived it ;
and,after a
gravedebate on
this fcruple of religion, came to a refolution, that
it feemed dangerous to the Republic^ that the King
jnorem fatis magnum fuftu- nium difcefHmus. Ad Quint.
lerunt, opinor in Q^ Sexti- Fr. 2. 1.
lium & amicos Milonis in-[^x] Libenterque commu-
citata; ; eo metuinjefto re- tata perfona, te mihi fratris
pente magr,:i qusrirnoaia om- loco eiTe duco. Ep. Fam. 5.3.
Jhould
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of M. TULLIUS CiCERO, 33
defirous to fhew his gratitude, and refolved to A. Urb.697.
fupport him with all hisauthority: Pofr.pg, who q'^^'
had obligationsalfo to Lentulus, adled the fame Cn.Corne-
part towards him, which he had done before to- lius Len-
wards Cicero i by his own condud: and profef-tulus
fions, he feemed to have Lentulus*s intereft
at heart \
arcel-
yet^ by the conduct of \all his friends^ feemed defirous l. Marcius
to procure the employment for himfelf\ while the Phiuppus.
Kins Agents and Creditors^ fancying that their
bufinefs would be ferved the moft effedtually by
Pompey, began openly tofollicit^
and even to bribe
for him \a\. But the Senate, through Cicero*s
influence, flood generally inclined to Lentulus 5
and after a debate, which ended in his favour, Ci-
cero, who had been the manager of it, happening
to fup with Fompey that evenings took occafion to prefs
him with much freedom^ not to fuffer his name to
he ufed in this competition ; nor give a handle to his
enemies^ for reproaching him with the defertion of a
friend^ as well as an ambition^ of engroffingall
power to himfelf Pompey feemed touched with the
[a] CraiTus tres legates de- ferri volunt. Ep. Fam. 1. 1,
cernit, nee exdudit Pom- Reliqui cum effet in Sena-*
peium : cenfet enim etiam tu contentio, Lentulufne an
ex iis, qui cum imperio funt. Pofnpeius reduceret, obtiner
M. Bibulus tres legates ex iis, caufam Lentulus videbatur,
qui privatifunt. Huic afien- In ea re Pompeius quid ve-
tiuntur reliqui confulares, lit non defpieio: familiares
praeter Servilium, qui omni- ejus quid cupiant, oranes vi-
no reduci negat oportere, & dent. Creditores vero Regis
Volcatium,quidecermtPom- aperte pecunias fuppeditantpeio.
contra Lentulum. Sine du-
Hortenfii & mea & LucuUi bio res remota a Lentulo vi-
fententia Exillo S.C. quod detur, cum magno meo do-
te referente fadam eft, tibi lore : quamquam multa fecit,
decernitjUt reducas regem.-^ quare ?i fas eflet, jure ei fuc-
Regis causa li qui funt qui cenfere poffemus. Ad Quin^
velint, qui pauci funt, om- Fr. 2.2.
Bes rem ad Fompeium d-
Vol. IL D remonftrancej
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO.37
the Republic into confufion, throwing it of courfe A. Urb. 697
into their hands : the Senate, on the other fide,^^^' S^-
whofe chief appreheniions were from the Trium- Cn C
virate, thought, that the rafhnefs of Clodius might mus Len-beof fome ufe to perplex their meafures, and ftir tulus
up the people againft them on proper occafions-,
^^arcel-
or it humoured their fpleen at lead, to fee him of- t Vf^'^'
teninfidting Pompey to bis face [g]. Laftly, all, Philippus.
who envied Cicero, and defired to lefTen his au-
thority, privately cheridied an enem.y, who em-
ployed all his force to drive him from the admi-
niftration of afi^airs : this accidental concurrence
of circumftances, peculiar to the man and the
times, was the thing that prefcrved Clodius,
whofe infolence could never have been endured
in any quiet and regular ftate of the City.
Byhis
obtainingthe
Mdilejhip^the tables
were turned between him and Milo : the ons
was armed with the authority of a Magiflrate ;
the other become a private man : the one freed
from all apprehenfion of Judges and a trial ; the
other expofed to ail that danger from the powerof his
antagonift : and it was not Clodius's cuftom
to negled: any advantage againft an enemy, fo
that he now accufed Milo oi the fame crime, of
which Milo had accufed him, of public 'violence
and breach of the lawSy in maintaini'nga hand of
Gladiators to the terror of theCity,
Milo made
};is appearance tw this accufation, on the fecond of
kl Videtisigitur homi- in deliciis quidam optimi vi-
nem per feipfam jam pridem ri viperam illam venenatanj
afflidum ac jacenteni, ptrni- ac peftiferam habere potue-ciofis
(Jptiinatum difcordiis runt? Quo tandemdecepti
excitari. Ne a Republica mimere ? Volo, inquiunt, elTe
Reipub. peftis amoveretur, qui in condone detrahat de
reftiteiunt : etiam,ne caufam Pompeio. DeHarufp.Refp,diceret: etiam ne
privatus 24,ciTsc etiamne in iinu atque
D 3 Fsbrumy^
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38 The History of the Life
A. Urb, 697. February , when Pompey, Craflus, and Cicero
^r (r^* appeared with him-,and M. Marcellus, though
Cn Corne- Clodius*s Colleguein- the
JEdileJhif^ fpoke for him at
husLen- Cicero's deftre^ and the whole pafTed quietly andTULus
favorably for him on that day. The fecondMarcel-
bearing was appointed on the ninth-, when Pom-
L. Marcius P^y undertook to plead his caufe, but no fooner
P^iLippys. flood up to fpeak, than Clodius's mob began to
exert their ufual arts, and by a continual clamor of
reproaches and inve^ives^ endeaz'oured to hinder
him from going on^ or at leaft from being heard :
but Pompey was too firm to be fo baffled ; a?id
fpoke for near three hours^i^ith a prefence of mind^
which commanded filence infpite of their
attempts.
When Clodius rofe up to anfwer him, Milo's par-
ty, in their turn, fo difturbed and confounded him,
that he was not able to fpeak a word ^ while anumber of Epigrams and Lampoons upon him and
his Sifter were thrown about^ and publicly rehearfed
among the multitude below^ fo as to make himquite
furious : tillrecolledting himfelf a little, and find-
ing it impoffible to proceed in his fpeech, he de-
manded aloud of his mob, who it was^ that at-
tempted to ftarve them by famine ? To which they
prefently cried out, Pompey : he then afked,
who it was that deftred to be fent to .^gypt ?
They all ecchoed, Pompey : but v/hen he afl<:ed,
who it was that they thtmfelves had a mind to fend ?
They anfwered, Craffus : for the old jealoufy
Y^asnow
breakingout
againbetween
him andPompey ^ and though he appeared that day on Mi-
lo's Jide^ yet he was noty as Cicero fays,a real well-
wifher to him.
, These warm proceedings am.ong the chiefs,
brought on afray below, among their partifans ,
the Clcdians began the attack^ but were repulfed by
the Pompeia?JS j and Clodius himfelf driven cut of th^"
" '
the
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TULUS
Marcel-
LINUS,
L. Marcius
of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 39
the Rojira : Cicero, when he faw the affair pro-A. Urb. 69-
cede to blows, thought it high time to retreat, and S^^'i^*
make the beft of his way towards home-,but no p r?.
'
,
great harm was done, for Pompey, having cleared liusLenthe Forum of his enemies, prefently drew off his
forces, to prevent any farther mifchief or fcan-
dal from his fide [^].
The Senate wasprefently fummoned, to pro- ^Ph7lVpVJs^
vide fome remedy for thefe diforders-,
\vhere
Pompey, who had drawn upon himfelf a frefh
envy from his behaviour in the .Egyptian affair^
was feverely handled by Bibuius,Curio,Favonius5
and others; Cicero chofe to he abfent^ fince he mufi
either have offended Pompey^ by faying nothing for
him^ or the honeft party ^ by defending him. The
fame debate was carried on for feveral days ; ia
{jolAd <llem HIT. Non
Febr. Milo afFuit. Ei Pom-
peius advocatas venit. Dix-
ie Marcellus a me ro^atus.
Honefte difceflimus. Prodvic-
tus dies eft in IIII. Id. Feb.
A.D.IIII. Idem Milo af-
fuit. Dixit
Pompeius,five
voluit. Nam ut iurrexit, o-
persClodiana; clamorem fuf-
tulerant : idque ei perpetuaoracione
concigit,non modo
uc acclamacione, fed ut con-
vicio h malediiTiis impedire-
tur. Qui ut p^roravit, namin eo lane fortis fuit, non
eft deterritus, dixit omnia,
atque interdum etiam filen-
tio, cum autloritate percge-rat ; fed ut peroravit, iur-
rexit Clodius : ei tantus cla-
mor a noftris, placuerat enim
referre gratiam, ut neque
mentc, neque lingua, neque
ere confiftcret.^
Cum omnia
maledi^ta, turn verfus etiam
obfceniffimi in Clodium &Ciodiam dicerentur. Ille fu-
rens & exfanguis interroga-
batfaos in clamore ipfo, quis
eiTet, qui plebem fame ne
caret ? Refpondebant operas,
Pompeius.Quis Alexandri-
am ire cuperet ? Refponde-
bant, Pompeius. Quern ire
vellent? Reipondebant,Craf-fum. Is aderat tum Miloni
animo non amico,
H jra fsre nono, quafi fip--.
no dato, Clodiani noftros
confputare coeperunt. Exar-
fit dolor, urgere illi ut loco
nos movrrent. Faftus eft a
noftris impetus, fuga opera-rum. Ejectus de Roftris Clo-
dius. Ac nos quoqae turn
fugimus, ne quid in turba.
Senatu? vocacus in Curiam,
Pompeius domum. Ad
Quint. Fr. 2. 3.
D 4 which
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of M, rULLIUS CICERO. 41^
Jefs bufy in muftering his friends againft the next A. Urb.697.
hearing of Milo's caufe : but as his flrength was^p\f'*
much inferior to that of his adverfary, fo he had q^ Corne-
no expe^ation of getting him condemned^ nor any lius Len-*
other view^ hut to teize and harafs him [k] : for tulus
after two hearings, the affair was put off by fe-Marcel-
veral adjournments to the beginning ofWldLy^ from ^ Marciuswhich time we find no farther mention of it. Philippus.
The Conful, Marcellinus, who drew his
Collegue, PhiHppus, along with him, was a re-
folute oppofer of the 'Triumvirate^ as well as of
all the violences of the other Magiflrates : for
which reafon, he refolved to fuffer no alTemblies
of the people, except fuch as wereneceffary for the
eled:ions into the annual ofHces : his view was, to
preventCato's law for recalling Lentulus^ and the
monftrous things^ as Cicero calls them, which foniewere attempting at this time in favour of C^farCicero gives him the charader of one of the
beft
Confuls that he had ever known^ and blames him
only in one thing ; for treating Pompey on all occa-^
fions too rudely \ which made Cicero often ahfent
himfelf from the Senate^ to avoid taking part^ either
ancrepavit, audltus eft magno rione, Bibulo, caeterifque fuls
filentio malevolorum. Re- obtredatoribus confirmari :
ipondit ei vehementer Pom- vehementerefTe providendum
peius, CraiTumque defcripfit; ne opprimatur, concionario
dixitque aperte, fe munitio- illo populo, a fe prope alie-
fem ad cullodiendam vitam nato, nobilitate inimica, nonfuam fore, quam Africanus sequo Senatu, Juventute im-
jFuiflet, quern C. Carbo inter- proba ; itaque fe conparat,emifTet. Itaque magnse mi- homines ex
agris arceflit. O-hi res moveri videbantur. peras autem fuas Clodius
Nam Pompeius hiec intelli- confirmat. Manus ad Qui-
git, mecumque communicatrinaliaparatur. In eo multo
mfidias vitas fux fieri ; C. fumusfuperiores, &c. Ad
Caconem a Craffo fuftentari; Quint. 2. 3.
Clodio pecuniam fuppeditari : [i] Vid. Dio. p. 99.
Utrumque & ab eo & a Cu-
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42 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 697. on the one fide or the other[/].
For theiupport
^c^^'^^^^^^0^^ ^^ ^^s dignity and interell in the
City,
Cn. Corne-^^ refumed his old talk of pleading caufes; which
Lius Len- was always popular and reputable, and in whichTULus he was fure to find full employment. His firft
Marcel- caufe was the defence of L. Beftia, on the tenth
L.mTrciusof February, who, after the difgrace of a
repulfe
Fhilippus. ^^om the Pra^torlhip in the laft eledion, was ac-
cufed of bribery and corruption in his fuit for it ;
and, notwithftanding the authority and
eloquenceof his advocate, was convidled and banilhed. Hewas a man extremely corrupt, turbulent, and fe-
ditious ; had always been an enemy to Cicero ;
and fuppofed to be deeply engaged in Catiline's
plot ; and is one inftance of the truth of what Ci-
cero fays,that he was often forced, againfl his will^
to defend certain perfons, who had not deferred it ofhim, by the interceffion of thofe who had
\ni\.
C^SAR, who was now in the career of his
vifbories in Gaul, fent a requeft to the Senate ;
that money might be decreed to him for the payment
of his Army ; with a power of chufing ten Lieu-
tenants, for the better management of the war, and
the conquered Provinces j and that his command
\J\Conful eft egregius ego me libentius a Curia, 8c
Lentulus, non impediente ab omni parte Reip. fubtra-
Collega : fie inquam bonus, ho. Ad Quint. 26.
ut meliorem non viderim. [ni] A. D. III. Id. dixi
Dies comitiales exemit om- pro Beftia de ambitu apudnes.' Sic legibus perniciofif- Praetorem Cn. Domitium, in
fiinis obfiftitur, maxime Ca- Foro medio, maximo con-
tonis Nuncigitur Catonem ventu. Ad Quint. 2.
3.
Lentulus a legibus removit, Cogor nonnunquam homi-
& eos, qui de Casfare monftra nes non optime de me meri-
promulgarunt. Marcellinus tos, rogatu eorum qui bene
autem hoc uno mihi minus meriti funt, defendere. Ep.fatisfacit, quod eum nimis Fam. 7. i. Vid. Philip. XI.
afpere traftat, quanquam id 5. Salluft. 17.43. Plutar. in
Senatu non invito facit : que Cic.
fhould
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO, 43
fhould be prolonged for five years more. The de- A. Urb. 697.
mandwas thought very exorbitant; and itfeem- p '/?'*
ed ftrange, that, after all his boafled Conquefls, q^ Corne->
he fhould not be able to maintain his army with- lius Lf.n-
out money from home, at a time when the trea- tulus
fury was greatly exhaufled ; and the renewal of^arcel-
a commiffion, obtained at firil by violence, and ^ Marcius
againfl:the authority of the Senate, was of hard Philippus.
digeflion.But Casfar's intereft prevailed, and
Cicero himfelf was the
promoter
of it, andpro-cured a decree to his fatisfaftion ; yet not with-
out difgufling the old patriots, who flood firm to
their maxim of oppofing all extraordinary grants:
but Cicero alledged the extraordinary fervices of
C^far ;and that the courfe of his viofories ought
not to he checked by the want of neceffary fupplies,
while he was fo glorioujly extending the hounds ofthe Empire., and conquering nations., whofe names
had never been heard before at Rome : andthough
it were pojfihle for hiyn to 7naintain histroops with-
cut theirhelp., by the
fpoils of the enemy .^ yet thofe
fpoils oughtto be refervedfor the fplendor of his Tri-
umph., which it was notjufl to defraud by their
unfeafonahle parfimony \n\
He might think it imprudent perhaps, at this
time, to .call Csefar home from an unfinifhed war,
and flop the progrefs of his arms in the very
height of his fuccefs ; yet the real m.otive of his
condu6l feems to have flowed, not fo much
from the merits of the caufe, as a regard to the
[] Ilium enim arbitrabar Et quas regiones, quafqneetiam fine hoc fubfidio pecu- gentes nullgs nobis, antea fit-
ni?s retinere exercitum pras- terac, nulla vox, nulla fama
da ante parta, h bellum con- noias fecerat, has nollerlm-
fxere pofTe : fed decus illud perator, nolterque exercitum,
& ornamentum Triumphi mi- Sc populi Romani arma per-
fi;jenduninoilra
parfimonia agraruat. De Prov. ConfuLnon putavi- XI.13.
bondition
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44.^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 697. condition of the times, and his own circumftan-
Cic. 51. ces. For in his private letters he owns,"
that
r C R -"the malevolence and envy of the Ariitocrati-
Lius Len- " cal chiefs had almoft driven him from his oldTULus "
principles: and though not fo far as to make
Marcel- <ci^i^n forget his dignity, yet fo as to take a
T M^^^' us"
proper care of his fafety; both which might
pHiLippus." be eafily confiflent, if there was any faith or
*^
gravity in the Confular Senators : but they" had managed their matters fo ill, that thofc
*' who were fuperiorto them in power, were be-
*' come fuperiortoo in authority; fo as to be able
*' to carry in the Senate, what they could not
'^ have carried even with the people without vio-
*Mence: that he had learnt from experience,*' what he could not learn fo well from books,
that as no regard was to be had to our fafety,
without a regard alfo to our dignity ; fo the con-
"fideration of dignity ought not to exclude the
*^care ofour fafety [^]." In another letter he
fays,"
that the flate and form of the government was*'
quite changed ; and what he had propofed to
"himfelf, as the end of all his toils, a dignity and
*'liberty of a5Jing and votings was quite loft and
*'gone , that there was nothing left, but either
*'
meanly to affent to the few, who governed
[0] Quorum malevolentif- mis, potentia valent, profc-
fimisobtreftationibus nos fci- cifle tantum mihi videntur
to de vetere ilia nollra, diu- ftultida & inconftantia adver-
turnaque fententia prope jam I'ariorum, ut etiam audlorita-
eHe depulfos: non nos qui- te jam plus valerent. quod
dem ut noilraE dignitatisfi-
ipfe,litteris omnibus a pue*
THUS obliti, fed ut habeamus ritia deditus, experiundo ta-
rationem aliquando etiam la- men magis, quam diicendo
lutis. Poterat utrumque prse- cognovi ; neque falutis no-
clare, fi efiet fides, fi gra- ftrae rationem habendam no-
vitas in hominibus Confula- bis effe fmedignitate, neque
ribus. dignitatisfine falute.
E^.Nam qui plas opibus, ar- fam. i. 7.
'all ;
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4^ The History of fhe LifeA. Urb. 697. [)een a true friend to Cicero in his diflrefs ; and
Cofl^^*^^^^ ^ great part
in his reftoration ; but as in
Cn. Corne- cafes of eminent fervice, conferred jointly by
liusLen- many, every one is apt to claim the firft merit,TULus ^nd expecl the firft Ihare of
praife \ fo Sextius,
LiNus^^' naturally morofe, fanfying himfelf negleded or
L. Marcius riotfufficiently requited by Cicero, had behaved
Pkilippus. very churlifhly towards him fince his return : but
Cicero, v^ho was never forgetful of pall kind-
nelTes, inllead ofrefenting
his
perverfenefs,
hav-
ing heard, that Sextius was indifpofed^ went in
ferfon to his houfe^ and cured him of all hisjealou^
Ji^-U h f'^^b offerifighis offiflance and patronage in
pleading his caufe [r].
This was a difappolntment to the profecu-
tors : who flattered themfelves, that Cicero was
fo much difgufted, that he would not be per-fuaded to plead for him , but he entered into the
caufe with a hearty inclination, and made it, as
in efFeft it really was, his own[j].
In his fpeech,
which is dill extant, after laying open the hiilory
of his exil, and the motives of his own condudt,
through the whole progrefs of it, he fhews-,
"that
" the onely ground of profecuting Sextius was,"
his faithful adherence to him, or rather to the
"Republic ;
that by condemning Sextius, they'' would in effed condemn him, whom all the or-
"ders of the City had declared to be unjuflly ex-
"peiled, by the very fame men, who were now
"attempting to expell Sextius : that it was a" banter and ridicule on juftice itfelf, to accufe a
[r]Is erat aeger
: domum, fimique Szipfi
k omnibus vi-
ut debuimus, ad eum llatim deremur : itaque faciemus.
Venimus; eique nos totos tra- ^'\d Quint. 2. 3.
didimus : idque fecimusprse- [i]
P. Sextius eft reus non
ter hominum opinioneni, qui fuo fed meo nomine, &c. Pr.
nos ei
jurefuccenf^re
pura-
."cxt.
13.bant, ut humanifiimi gratif-
" man
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fo The History cf the Life
A. Urb. 697." and what Quintus himfelf had undertaken for
^,^^5^* "his Brother on that head; and as he then
Cn.Corne-"
niade himfelf anfwerable for him, fo he "was
liusLen-*'
now obliged to call him to the performanceTULus '
of thofe engagements: in fhort, he begged ofMakcel- cc
i^Jj^^ ^qpj,gj-g
j^^g Brother to fupport and de-
L. Marcius"
^"^^^^ Caefar's interefls and dignity, or if he
Philippus." could not perfuade him to that, to engage*' him atleaft, not to adt againft them
[j]."This remonftrance from
Pompey,
enforced
by his Brother Quintus, flaggered Cicero's refo-
lution, and made him enter into a frefh delibera-
tion with himfelf about the meafures of his con-
dudl; where, after calling up the fum of all
his thoughts, and weighing every circumftance,
which concerned either his own or the public
interell, he determined at laft to drop the affair,
rather than expofe himfelf again, in his prefent
fituation, to the animofity of Pompey and Casfar ;
for which he makes the following apology to his
friend Lentulus :
"that thofe, who profefTed the
'' fameprinciples,
and were embarked in the fame
[j-] Hoc S. C. in fententi- ca difce/Terat, conveniiTet.
am meam faclo, Pompeius, Te, inquit, ipfum cupio : ni-
cum mihi nihil oftendiflet fe liil opportunius potuit acci^
effe offenfum, in Sardiniam deje : nifi cum Marco fratre
Si in Africam profedtns elt, diligenter egeris, dependen-
eoque itinere Lucam ad Cas- dum tibi eft, quod mihi profarem venit. Ibi multa de illo fpofpcndifti: quidmulta?mea fententia queflus eft Cs- Quellus eft graviter
: fua me-
far, quippe qui etiam Ra- rita commemoravit:
quid e-vennce CrafTum ante vidiftet, giiTet faepiffimede aftis Caefa-
ab eoque in me efl'et incen- ris cum meo fratre, quidquefus. Sane moleftc Fompeium fibi is de me recepilTet, in
id ferre conftabat : quod memorian redegit: fequequse
ego, cum auciPiem ex aliis, de mea (aluteegifiet,
volun-
maxime ex fratre meo cog- tare CasfariscgifTe, ipfum
novi ; quem cum in Sardinia meum fratrem teftatus eft.
paucis poftdiebus,
quamLu- Ibid^
^^caufe
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ii
cf M.TULLIUS CICERO. 51
caule with him, were perpetually envying and A. Urb.967*
thwarting him, and more difgufted by the S;5^*
^'
Iplendor of his life, than pleafedwith ^^Y Cli,CoRNE'
^^
thing which he did for the public fervice ; husLen-*'
that their only pleafure,and what they could tulus
"not even diffemble, while he was acline; with
Parcel-O LINUS"
them, was to fee him difoblige Pompey, and l.Marcius*' make C^far his enemy; when they, at the Philippu.**
fame time, were continually careffing Clodius*'
before his face, on purpofe to mortify him :
*' that if the Government indeed had fallen into*'
wicked anddefperate hands, neither hopes nor
"fears, nor gratitude itfelf could have prevailed
"with him to join with them-, but v/hen Pom-
"pey held the chief fway, who had acquired it
*'
by the mod illuftrious merit ; whofe dignity*' he had
alwaysfavoured from his firfl
fetting*^ out in the world, and from whom he had re-
"ceived the greateft obligations ^ and who, at
"that very time, made his enemy the common
''
enemy of them both-,he had no reafon to ap-
*'
prehend the charge of inconftancy, if, on"fome occafions, he voted and aded a little
" differently from what he ufed to do, in complai-*'
fance to fuch a friend : that his union with"Pompey neceflarily included Csefar, with
*' whom both he and his brother had a friend-"
fhip alfo of long ftanding , which they were*'
invited to renew by all manner of civilities and"good offices, freely offered on C^far's part :
*'that, after Casfar's great exploits and viftories,
"the Republic itfelf feemed to interpofe, and
"forbid him to quarrel with fuch men : that
*' when he flood in need of their afliilance, his"
Brother had eno:affed his word for him to
'^
Pompey, and Pompey to Casfar ; and he
E 2
'
thought
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of'M.TULLIUS CICERO.53
being perfuaded,that Pompey, at leaft, who A. Urb. 697.
was the head of them, had no defio;ns ap;ainft the^'^-
5^-
public liberty, unlefs he were provoked and dri- p ^'
ven to It by the perverle oppontion or his ene- lius Len-
mies[I?],
Thefe were the grounds of that com- tulus
plaifance, which he now generally paid to him,Marcel-
for the fake both of his own and the public quiet :
j^V/^^'
in confequence of which, when the appointed Philippus.
day came, for confidering the cafe of ihe Campa-
nian lands^ the debate dropt of courfe, when it
was underftood that Cicero, the mover of it,
was abfent, and had changed his mind : though it
was not, as he intimates, without fome flruggle
in his own breaft, that he fubmitted to thisftep,
which was likelyto draw upon him an imputation
oflevity [c].
His daughter, Tullia, having nowlived
awidow about a year, was married to a
feeend huf-
bandy Furius Crajfipes ;and the wedding Feaft held
at Cicero'shoufe^ on the ftxth of April : we find
very little faid, of the charadier or condition of
thisCrafTipes -,
but by Cicero's care in makingthe match, the fortune which he paid, and the
congratulation of his friends upon it, he appears
to have been a Nobleman of principal rank and
dignity [d]. Atticus alfo, who was about a year
E 3 younger
exoptandam eft : quod H, qui fimum abalienarunt. Ibid. 8.
potiuntur rerum, praiftituri [/-] Ep. Fam. i.9.
videntur, fi quidam homines [c] Quod Idibus & po-
patientius eorum potentiam ftridie fuerat didtum, de A-
ferre potuerint. Dignitatem gio Campano aftum iri, non
quidem i'.lam conl'ularem eft aftum. In hac caufa mi-
fortis &c conftantis Senatoris, hi aqua h2eret. Ad Quint,
nihil eft, quod cogitemus. 2. 8,
Amifla eft culpa corum, qui [^] De noftra Tullia
a Senatu & ordinem conjunc- fpero nos cum Craftipede con-
tiflimum, k hominem clarif- fecifle. lb.
4.
Quod
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54 7"fe History qJ the Life
A. Urb. 697. younger than Cicero, was married thisfpring to
Qp' Piha, and invited him to the wedding [^e].As
Cn. Corne- ^^ ^^^ domeftic affairs, his chief care at prefent
liusLen- was about rebuilding three of his houfes, whichTULus were demolifhed inhisexil; and
repairing theMarcel-
j.^^ ^j^j^ ^.j^^^ ^j^^ ^f j^-g Brother, out of whichT T W TT C
L. Marcius ^^^y ^'^^^ driven in the laft attack of Clodius :
Philippus. by the hints, which he gives of them, they all
feem to have been very magnificent, and built
under the diredlion of the belt Architedls : Clo-
dius gave no farther interruption to them, beingforced to quit the purfuit of Cicero, in order to
watch the motions of a more dangerous enemy,Milo. Cicero however was not without a fhare
of uneafinefs, within his own walls ; his Brother's
wife and his own^ neither agreed well with each
other^ northeir
own hujbands:
Quintus's was dif-
pleafedat her hulband's flaying fo long abroad ;
and Cicero's not difpofed to make hers the hap-
pier for flaying at home. His Nephew alfo
Toung ^intus^ a perverfe youth, fpoiled by a
mother's indulgence, added fomewhat to his
trouble-,
for he was now charged with the care
of his education, in the Father's abfence ; andhad him taught, under his own eye, by Tyrannic^
a Greek Mafler ; who, with feveral other learn-
ed men of that country, was entertained in his
iioufe [/].
King
Quod mihi de Filia & de ponium in ejus nuptiis eram
Crairipedegratularis Spero- ccenaturus. AdQuint. 2.3.
que & opto hanc conjun6lio- [y] Domus utriufque no-
Tiem nobis voluptati fore, ftrum sedificatur ftrenue.
Ep. Fam. 1.7. lb. 4. Longilium redempto-Viaticum Crafiipes praeri- rem cohortatus fum. Fidem
pit.Ad Att. 4. 5.
niihi faciebat, fe velle nobis
[(?]Prid. Id haec
fcripfi an- placere. Domus erit egre-
te liicem. Ea die apud Fom- gia, ib. 6.
Quintus
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO, S7
MiLo's trial being put off to the fifth of May,A.Urb. 697.
Cicero took the Benefit of a fliort vacation, to^q'^^'^'
make an excurfion into the Country, and vifit q^ Corne-
his eftates and Villa's in different parts of Italy, lius Len-
He fpent five days at Arpinum, whence he pro-tulus
ceded to his other houfes at PompeU and Cuma \
Marcel-
and ftopta while, on his return, dxAntium, where
^^ Marcius
he had latelyrebuilt his houfe, and was now dif- Philippus.
pofingand ordering his library, by the dire(5lion
of Tyrannio ; the remains of which, he fays,
were more conjiderable than he expelled from the
late ruin. Atticus lent him two of his Librarians
toaffifi
his own, in taking Catalogues, and
placing the books in order; which he calls the
infujion of a foul into the body of his houfe [i].
During this tour, his old enemy, Gabinius, the
Proconful of Syria, having gainedfome advan-
tage in Judaa againfi Ariflobulus, who had been
dethroned by Pompey, and on that account was
raifmg troubles in the country, fent public letters
to the Senate to give an account of his victory, and
to begthe decree of a ^hankfgiving for it. His
friends took the opportunity of moving the af-
fair in Cicero's abfence, from whofe authority
they apprehended fome obftrudtion-,but the Se-
fine fufpicione emeret earn theca; quorum reliquiaemul-
familiam a Catone : quaefi- -to meliores funt, quam pu-
muiatque abduda eft, Raci- taram. Etiam vellem mihi
lius rem patefecit, eofque ho- mittas de tuisLibrariolis duos
mines fibi
emptoseffe dixit
aliquos, quibusTyranniouta-
-^& tabulam profcripfit,fe turglutinatoribus,&adc3etera
familiam Caton'anam ven- adminiftris Ad Att. 4. 4.
diturum. In earn tabulam Poftea vero quam Tyran-
magni rifus confequebantur.nio mihi libros
difpofuir,
Ad Quin. 2.6. mens addita videtur meis se-
[/] Offendes defignatio-dibus : qua quidem in re,
nem Tyrannionis mirificam mirifica opera Dionyfii &in librorum meorum Biblio- Menophili tui fuit, lb. 8.
nate,
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58 7le His TOR r of the Life
A. ITrb. 697. nate, in a full Houfe, flighted his letters and re-
^^^5'-jecled his fuit : an affront, which had never been
Cn C ne-<^^^^^^ before to any ProconfuL Cicero was in-
Lius Len- finitely delighted with it, calls the refolution di-
TULus *vine^ and was doubly pleas'd for its being the
Marcel--^^^6
and genuin judgement of the Senate^ without
r^M^^' /^;:^^7?r//^^/^^r ?;^^^/^<? ^;/ te^^r/; and reproach-
Philii'pus. ing Gabinius with it afterwards, fays, that by this
a6l the Senate had declared, that they could not
believe that he^ whom they had ahvays known to
he a traitor at home^ could ever do any thing abroad^
that wasufefull
to the Republic [Jz],
Many prodigies were reported to have hap-
pened about this time, in the neighbourhood of
Rome : horriblenoifes
under ground^ withclajhing
of Arms ; and on the Alban hill a little fJorine of
Juno^ which flood on a table facing the eafi^ turned
fuddenly of itfelftoward the north, Thefe terrors
alarmed the City, and the Senate confulted the
Harufpices^ who were the public Diviners or
Prophets of the State, fkili'd in all the Tufcan
difcipline of interpreting portentous events ; who
gave the following anfwer in writing ; that fup-
plications muft be made to"Jupiter^ Saturn^ Nep-
tune^ and the other Gods : that the folemn fhews
and plays had been negligentlyexhibited and polluted :
facred andreligious places made profane : Embajfa-
dors killed contrary toright
and law : faith and
[kl Id. Mails Senatus fre- flra. Ad Quiri. 2. S. .
quens divinus fuit in Suppli- 4. 5.
catione Gabinio deneganda. Hoc flatuit Senatus, cum
Adjurat Procilius hoc nemini frequens fupplicationem Ga-
accidiiTe. Foris valde plau- binio denegavitA prodi-
ditur. Mihi cum fua fpcnte tore, atque eo, quern prsfen-
jucundum, turn jucnndius, tern hoftem Reipub. cognof-
quod me abfente, eft enim fet, bene Rempub. gerinon
uMx^iii^, judicium, fine op- potuifle. J)q Prov. Con-
pugnatione, fine gratia ;io- (ul. 6,
oaths
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6o ^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 697.'
the Senate ; but laughs at the abfurdity of ap
^r*(r^*
"P^y^^g any part
of it to him; fince his houfe,
Cn Corne-"
^^ ^^^ proves at large, was more folemnly
Lius Len- " cleared from any fervice or relation to religion,
TULus " than any other houfe in Rome, by the Judge-Marcel- < ment of the Priefts, the Senate, and all the
L Mar^'"
orders of the City []." Then running through
Philippus.^^^ feveral articles of the anfwer,
" he Hiews them*^
all totally
fo exa6lly with the notorious adls
" and impieties of Clodius's life, that they could
" not polTibly be applied to any thing eife.
*' That as to the fports,faid to be negligently
*'
performed and polluted, it clearly denoted the
^'
pollution of the Megaknfian play -,the moil
"venerable and religious of all other fhews ;
*' which Clodius himfelf, as ^dile, exhibited"
in honor of the Mother of the Gods; where*' when the Magiftrates and Citizens were feated
*'to partake of the diverfions, and the ufual
*'
proclamation was made, to comm.and all flaves
''to retire ; a vafl body of them, gathered from
"all parts of the City, by the order of Clodius,
"forced their way upon the fbage, to the great
" terror of the alTembly; where much mifchief** and bloodfhed would have enfued, if the
" Conful Marcellinus, by his firmnefs and pre-''
fence of mind, had not quieted the tumult :
*' and in another reprefentation of the fame**
plays,the flaves, encouraged again by Clo-
"dius, were
fo audacious and fuccefsfuU in a fe-
*' cond irruption,that they drove the whole
'*
company out of the Theater, and poflefled*'
it intirely to themfelves[<?]
: that as to the
"profanation of [acred and.
religious places ; it
"could not be interpreted of any thing fo aptly,
[] De Harufpic. refpon- \a\ Ibid. 10, 11, 12, 13.
fis. 6,
((aSi
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cf M.TULLIUS CICERO. 63
About the middle of the fummer, and be- A. Urb.697.
fore the time of chufmg new Confuls, which was .
'
5J-
commonly in Auguft^ the Senate began to deli- q^ Corne-
berate on the Provinces^ which were to be aflign- xius LtN-ed to them at the expiration of their ofHce. 1'he tulxjs
Confular Provinces^ about which the debate finglyMarcel-
turned, were the two Gauls, which Casfar nowj^ mTrciu-
held; Macedonia, which Pifo ; 2Lnd Syria, which Philippus"
Gabinius pofTefTed.All who fpoke before Cicero,
excepting Servilius, were for taking one, or both
the Gauls from Ccefar -,which v;as what the Se-
nate generally defired : but when it came to Ci-
cero's turn, he gladly laid hold on the occafion
to revenge himfelf on Pifo and Gabinius ; and
exerted all his authority, to get them recalled
with fome marks ofdifgrace, and their Govern-
ments affignedto the
fucceeding Confuls:
but asfor Casfar, his opinion was, that his command
fhouldhe continued to him, till he had
finifhed the
war, which he was carrying on with fuch fuccefs,
andfettled the conquered countries. This gave no
fmall offence-,
and the Conful Philippus could
not forbear interrupting and reminding him, that
he had more reafon to be angry with Cafar, than
with Gabinius himfelf \ fince Ccefar was the author
and raifer of all that ftormy which hadopprejfed
him. But Cicero replied, that, in this vote^ he
was not purfuing his private refentment, hut the
public good, which had reconciled him to Cafar\and that he could not he an
enemy
to one who mas
defervingfo well of his country : thai a year or two
more would complete hisconquejis,
and reduce all
Gaul to a ftate ofpeacefull fubje^lion : that the caufe
was widely different between C^far and the other
two ; thatCafar'^s adminijiration was beneficial^
profperous, glorions to the Republic ; theirs, [can-
dalous, ignominious, hurifull to their fubje^s, and^
contemptibly
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64 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 697. contemptible to their enemies. In flioit, he
^Coff^* managed the debate fo, that the Senate came
Cn. Corne- ^"^^y ^"^^ h^s Sentiments, and decreed the revo-
Lius Len- cation of Fife and Gahinius \s\TULus He was now Hkewife engaged in
pleading twoMarcel-
confiderable caufes at the Bar ; the one in de-
L. Marcius^^^^^^ ^f Cornelius Balbus, the other of M. Cas-
Philippus. hus. Balbus was a native of Gades in Spain^ of
afplendid family in that City, who, for his fide-
lity and fervices to the Roman Generals in that
Province, and efpecially in the Sertorian war^had the freedom of Rome conferred upon him by
Pompey^ in virtue of a law^ whichauthorifed him
to grant it to as many as he thought proper. But
Pompey's acl was now called in queftion, as ori-
ginally null and invalid, on a pretence, that the
City of Gades wasnot
withinthe
terms of that al-liance and relation to Rome, which rendered its
Citizens capable of thatprivilege, Pompey and
CrafTus were his advocates, and, at their defire,
Cicero alfo ; who had the third place^ or poft of
honor affigned to him, to give thefinifhing hand
[j] Itaque ego idem, qui tempeflatem, cui cefTerim,
nunc Confulibus ils, qui de- Caefare impuifore atque adju-
iignati erunt, Syriam, Mace- tore effe excitatam. Cui ft
doniamque decerno. Quod primum fie refpondeam, mefi effent illi optimi viri, ta- communis utilitatis habere
men ego mea fententia C. rationem, non doloris mei.
Csefari nondum fuccedendum Hie me meus in Rempub. a-
putarem. Qua de re dicam, nimus prillinus ac perennis,
Patres confcripti, quod fentio, cum C. Caefare reducit, re-
atque illam interpellationem conciliat, reftituit in gratiam,.
familiariffimi mei, qua paullo Quod volent denique homi-
ante intcrruptaeft oratio mea, nes exiftiment, nemini ego
non pertimefcam. Negatme pofliim ell'e bene de Repub-vir optimus inimiciorem de- lica merenti non amicus.
bere effe Gabinio, quam Cas- Vid. Orat. de Provin. Conf.
fari ; omnem enim illam 8, 9, kc.
to
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of M rULLIVS CICERO. 65
to the caufe \t\ The profecution was projedled,A. Urb. 697.
not fo much out of enmity to Balbus, as to his ^A^"J^'
Patrons Pompey and Csefar-, by whofe favor heCn.Corne-
had acquired great wealth and power ; being at lius Len-this time Ge?ieral of the Artillery to C^far, and tulus
the principal manager or Iteward of all his affairs.Marcel-LINUS
The Judges gave fentence for him, and con--^ ^ ^ ^^
firmed his right to the City ; from which foun- Philjppus,
dation he was raifed afterwards, by Augufius^ to the
Confulate itfelf:his Nephew alfo. Young Balbus^
who "duas made free nvith him at the fai'iu timc^ cb^
tained the honor of a triumph^ for his viclories
ever the Garaniantes \ and, as Pliny tells us, they
were the onely inflames of Foreigners^ and adopted
Citizens^ who had ever advanced themfelves to ei-
ther of thofe honours in Rome [^].
Cv^Lius, v/hom he next defended, was a
young Gentleman of Equeftrian rank^ of great
partsand accomplifhments, trained under the
difcipiineof Cicero himfelf ; to whofe care he
was committed by his Father, upon his firfl: in-
trodudlion into the Forum : before he was of
age to hold any Magiftracy, he had diftinguilhed
himfelf by two public impeachments*, the one ofC. Antonius, Cicero's collegue in the Conful-
fhip, for confpiring againfithe fiate-, the other of
L. Atratinus, for bribery and corruption. Atra-
[/] Quo mihi difficilior oceano genitorum ufus illo
eft hie extremus perorandi hcnore. -Hill:. N. 7. 43.
locus Sed mos eft
gerendus,
Garamacaput
Garaman-
non modoCornelio,cujus ego turn: omnia armis Romanis
voluntatiinejus periculis nul- fuperata, & a Cornelio Balbo
lo modo deefle pofTumj fed triumphata. uno omnium ex-
etiam Cn. Pompeio. terno curru & Quiritinm jure
Pr. Balbo. i. 2, &c. donato: quippeGadibiisnato
[] Fuit & Balbus Come- Civitas Rom. cum Balbo
lius major Conful Primus majore patruo data eft. lb.
externorum, atque etiam in5. 5.
Vol. IL F tinus's
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68 The HisroTLY of the Life
A. Urb.697. In this year alfo, Cicero wrote that celebrated
C ff'*letter to Lucceius, in which he prelTes hirrj, to
Cn. CoRNE' ^^i^^pi the hiftory of his tranfanions : Lucceius
Lius Len- was a man of eminent learning and abilities, andTULus had jufl finifhed the hiftory of the Italick and Ma-Marcel- ^j^^ ^^^^-^ ^^^^ .
^jj.j^ intent to carry it down
L. Marcius through his own times, and, in the general re-
Fhilippus. lation, to include, as he had promifed, aparti-
cular account of Cicero's ads : but Cicero, who
waspleafed
with his ftile and manner of writing,
labors to engage him in this letter, to poilpone
the defign of his continued hiftory,and enter dt-
redly on that feparate period," from the be-
"ginning of his Confullhip to his reftoration ;
*'
comprehending Catiline's confpiracy, and his
*^ own exil." He obferves,"
that this ihort
''
interval was diftinguifhed with fuch a variety'' of incidents, and unexpeded turns of fortune,*' as furnifhed the happieft materials, both to
'' the fkill of the writer, and the entertainment
** of the reader ; that, when an author's atten-
** tion was confined to a fmgle and feled fubjed,* he was more capable of adorning it, and dif-
*'playing his talents, than in the wide and dif-
*' fufive field of general hiftory ,but if he did
** not think the fads themfelves worth the pains*' of adorning, that he would yet allow fo much*' to friendship, to affedion, and even to that
*'favor, which he had fo laudably difclaimed in
*' hisPrefaces,
as not to confine himfelffcrupu-"
louflyto the ftrid laws of hiftory, and the
''rules of truth. That, if he would under-
*' take it, he would fupply him with fome rough
demus operam, ut ab lis, qui num fuine. Ad Att. 4. 5.
poflunt, diligamur. dices, vel- Scribis poema ab eo no-
lem jampridem.Scio te vo- drum probari. Ad Quint 2,
luilTe, & me afinum germa- 15."
memorisj
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 69*'
memoirs, or commentaries, for the foundation A. Urb. 697^*' of his work: if not, that he himfelf fhould be S?;^*
S-** forced to do, what many had done before p ^ \-^
*'
him, write his own hre ; a talk Jiable to nus Len-*'
many exceptions and difficulties; where a tulus
** man would necefTarilybe rellrained by mo- MARCt-
*'
defty,on the one hand, or partiality on
the^Vi"^^**'
other, either for blaming, or praifing him- Philippus,*'
felf, fo much as he deferved, &c. [z]."
This letter is conftantly alledged as a proof
of Cicero's vanity, and excefiive love of praife :
but we muft confider it as written, not by a philo-
fopher, but a ftatefman, confcious of the great-
eft fervices to his country, for which he had
been barbaroufly treated ; and, on that account,
the more eager to have them reprefented in an
advantageous light
: and impatient to taft fome
part of that glory when living, which he was
fure to reap from them when dead : and as to the
palTage which gives the offence, where heprefTea
his friend to exceed even the bounds of truth in his
prmfes : it is urged onely, we fee, conditionally^
and upon aa abfurd or improbable fuppofition,
that Lucceius did not think the atls themfelves really
laudable^ or worth praifing : but whatever excep-
tions there may be to the morality, there can be
none to the elegance and compofition of the let-
ter; which is filled with a variety of beautifuU
fentiments, illuftrated by examples, drawn from
a perfed: knowledge of hiftory -,fo that it is jufl-
ly ranked among the capital pieces of the epifto^
lary kind, which remain to us from antiquity.
Cicero had employed more than ordinary pains
upon it, and was pleafed with his fuccefs in it : for
he mentions it to Atticus with no fmall fatisfac*
[z] Ep. fam. 12,^'
F 3 tion,"~"
'
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74 7^^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 698. In the midft of this company and diverfion, Ci-
Cic. 52. cero^s entertainment was in his Jludies \ for he ne-
Cn Pompei-^^^ refided any where without fecuring to him-
us Mag- ^^^f ^he ufe of a good library : here he had the
Nus II. command of Faufius's^ the fon of Sylla, and fon-in-
M. LiciNius ia^ Qf Pompey ; one of the beft colledions ofCrassus II.
j^^j^.
gathered from thefpoils
of Greece^ and
efpeciallyof Athens^ from which Sylla brought
away many thoufand volumes. He had no body in
the houfe with him, but
Dionyfius,
a learned
Greek Jlave^ whom Atticus had m.ade free, and
who was entrufled with the inftru6lion of the two
young Cicero''s^ the fon and the Nephew : with
this companion^ he was devouring hooks^ fince the
wretched Jiate of the public had deprived him, as he
tells us, of all other pleafures, I had much rathery
fays he to Atticus, be fitting on your little bench,
under ArifiotUs picture, than in the Curule chairs
cf our great ones ; or taking a turn with you in
your walks, than with him, whom it mufl, Ifee,
he my fate to walk with : as for thefuccefs of that
walk, let fortune look to it, orfome God, if there
ie any, who takes care of us[/]
. He mentions in
mane vadebam Ad Att. Rempub. iic Uteris fuftentor
4. X. & recreor ; maloque in ilia
Nos hie cum Pompeio fui- tua fedecula, quam habes fub
mus : fane fibi difplicens; imagine Ariftotelis, federe,
ut loquebatur ;fic eft enim quam in iftorum fella curuli,
in hoc homine dicendum. tecumque apud te ambulare,
In nos vero fuaviiTime effufus : quam cum eo, quocum video
venit etiam ad me in Cuma- effe ambulandum. Sed de
num a fe lb. 8. ilia ambulatione fors videret,
\t\ Ego hie pafcor Biblio- aut li qui eft, qui curet Deus.
theca Faufti. Fortaffe tu pu- lb. 10.
tabas his rebus Puteolanis & Nos hie voramus literas
Luerinenfibus. Ne ifta qui- cum homine mirifico, ita me-
dem defunt. Sed mehereule hercule fentio, Dionyfio. lb.
a cseteris oblelationibus defe- 1 1 ,
tor & volsptatibus propter
' - ' the'
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of M. fULLIUS CICERO. 75
the fame letter a current report at Puteoli^ that A. Urb. 698.
King Ptolemy was reftored-, and defires to know, ^r\r^*what account they had of it at Rome : the report q^ Pompei-
was very true -, for Gabinius, tempted by Ptole- us Mao-
my's gold, and the plunder of Mgyp \ and en- nus II.
couraged alfo, as fome write, hy Pompey himfelf^M-Licinius
undertook to replace him on the Throne with^^^^^^
his Syrian Army , which he executed with a high
hand, and the deflrudlion of all the King's ene-
mies ; in open defiance of the authority of the Senate^
and the direction of the Sibyl: this made a great
noife at Rome^ and irritated the people to fuch a
degree, that they refolved to make him feel their
difpleafure for it very feverely, at his return [^].
His Collegue Pifo came home the firft from,
his nearer Government of Macedonia ; after an
ingloriousadminiflration of a
Province,whence no
Confular Senator had ever returned^ but to a tri-
umph. For though, on the account of fome
trifling advantage in the field, he had procuredhimfelf to be faluted Emperor by his army^ yet the
occafion was fo contemptible, that he durfl not
fend any letters upon it to the Senate : but after op*
prefling the fubjedls, plundering the allies, and
lofing the beft part of his troops againftthe neigh-
bouring barbarians, who invaded and laid wafle
the country, he ran away indifguife from a mu-
tiny of the foldiers, whom he difbanded at laft
without their pay [/]. When he arrived at
Mjom^^
^i ] Vid. Dio. 1. 39. p. Ut ex ea provincia, quie
no, &c. fait ex omnibus una maxime
[/JEx qua aliquot Prasto-
triumphalis, nullas fit ad Se-
rio imperio, Confulari qui- natum litteras mittere aufus.
dem nemo rediit, qui incola- Nundus ad Senatum miiTus
mis fuerit, qui non tnumpha- eft AuXlus. Ih. ig,lit. In Pifon. i6,
MittQ
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 79
enlaro-ed, fo as to receive commodioufly fortyA. Urb. 698.
thotifand people.It was furrounded by a Portico, to
-
Sf-
Jhelterthe company in had weather, and had a Curia, q^ Pompei-
or Senate-houfe, annexed to it -, with a Bafilica alfo, us Mag-or grand Hall, proper for the
fittings of Judges,nus II.
or any other public bufmefs : which were all ^ Licinius
finifhed at Pompefs coft,and adorned with a great
^'^"^^^
number of Images, formed by the ableft majlers, of
men and women, famed for fomething very remark-
able or prodigiousin their lives and characters
[^].
Atticus undertook the care of placing all thefejia-
tues, for which Pompey charged Cicero with his
thanks to him [r]: but what made this Fabric the
more furprifingand fplendid, was a
beautiful
Temple, ere^d at one end of it to Venus the Con-
querefs ;and fo contrived, that the feats of the The-
atermight ferve
as
fairsto the
Temple.This
wasdefigned, it is faid, to avoid the reproach of mak-
ing fo vaft an expence for the meer ufe of luxury ;
the Temple being fo placed, thatthofe who came to
thefhews, might feem to come to worfhip the God-
defs [j].
[q] Pompeius Magnus in Gell. X. i. Vid. Tertull. deornamentis Theatri mirabi- Spedat,
les fama pofait imagines ; ob Dion. Caflius mentions it,
id diligentius magnorum ar- as a tradition, that he had
tificum ingeniiselaboratas ; met with, that this Theater
inter quas legitur Eutyche, a was not really built by Pom-
vigintiliberis rogo illata, e- pey, but by his Freedman,
nixa triginta partus ; Alcip- Demetrius, who had made
pe, Elephantum,
Plin. H. himfelf richer than his maf-
7.3. ter, by attending him in his
[r] Tibi etiam gratias a- wars ; and to take off the
gebat, quod figna compo- envy ofraifing fo vaft an
nendafufcepifles.
Ad Att. eftate, laid out a confidera-
4. 9. ble part of it upon the The-
[j] Quum Pompeius, in- ater, and gave the honor of
quit, asdem Viftoriie dedica- it to Pompey. Dio. p. 107.
turus efiet, cujus gradus vi- Senec. de Tranq. Anim. c. 8.
ccm Theatri eifent, &c. A,
At
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8o The History of the Life
A, Urb. 698. At the folemnity of this dedication, PompeyCic. 52. entertained the people with (be mojl magnificent
Cn.Pomfei-^^"^'*^'which had ever been exhibited in Rome:
us Mag- ^n the Theater^ were ftage plays^ prizes of mufic^Nus II.
wreftling,and all kinds of bodily exercifes : in the
M^LiciNius
QycuSy horfe-races^ andhuntings of wild heafts for
'five days fuccejjlvely ;in which five hundred lions
were killed-, and on the lafl day, twenty elephants :
whofe lamentablehowling^ when mortally wounded^
raffed fuch a commiferation in the multitude^ from a
vulgar notion of their great fenfe and love to man^
that it deftroyed the whole diverjion of the fhew^ and
drew curfeson Pompey himfelf for bei?ig
the author
of fo 7nuch cruelty [/].So true it is, what Cicero
obferves of this kind of prodigaHty \ that there
is no real dignityor
laftinghonor in it
-,that it fa-
tiates,
while it
pleafes^and is
forgotten^as
foonas it is over \u\. It
gives us however a ge-
nuin Idea of the wealth and grandor of thefe
principal fubjedls of Rome \ who, from theirpri-
vate revenues, could raife fuch noblebuildings,
and provide fuch Ihews, from the feveral quar-
ters of the world, which no monarch on earth is
now able to exhibit.
[/] Magnlficentiffima vero verfus confurgeret, dlrafque
Pompeii nollri munera in fe- Pompeio, quas ille mox luit,
cundo Confulatu. De OiF. 2. poenas imprecaretur Plin. L
16. 8.7.
Vid, Dio. 1. 39. p. 107=
Pompeii quoque altero It. Plutar. in Pomp.Gonfulatu, dedicatioiie Tern- [] In his infinitis -fump-
pli Veneris Vidlricis, pugna- tibus, nihil nos magnoperevera in Circo viginti
Ele- mirari : cum nee neceifitati
phantes Amifia fugx fpe fubveniatur, nee dignitas au-
rnifericordiam vulgi inenar- geatur : ipfaque iila deleda-
labili habitu querentes Tup- tic multitudinis fit ad breve
plicavere, quadam {^{q. la- exiguumque tempus in quomentatione complorantes, tamen
iplo, una ctim fatietate
tanto popali dolore, ut obli- memoria quoque moriatur
tus Imperatori? Flens uni- voluptatis. De Off. 2. 16.
f^ Cicero,
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of M,TULLIUS CICERO. 83
peaching was allowed : from this moment^ fays^'^^^'
^9^-
Cicero, they have given the exclufion to Cato ; and^ Coff/'
being mafias of dl^ refolvethat all the worldfhall Cn. Pompei-
know it [a]. ^ ^^ Mag-CicERoV Palatin houfe, and the adjoining /y^
I^-
T^ r /^ y r n ^ J 7M. LiCINIUS
Portico of Catulus were now finilhea ; ana as beCrassusII.
and his brother were the Curators likewife of the
repairs of the 'Temple of Tellus[i*],
fo they feem
to have provided fome infcriptionsfor thefe
buildings in honor and memory of themfelves :
but fince no public Infcriptionscould be ^tt up,
unlefs by public authority, they were apprehen-
five of an oppofitionfrom Ciodius. Cicero men-
tioned the cafe to Pompey, who promifed his
aiTiflance, but advifed him to talk alfo with Craf-
fus, which he took occafion to do, as he attend-
ed him home one day fromthe Senate. Crafliis
readily undertook the affair, and told him, that
Ciodius had a point to carryfor himfelf^ by Fcmpefs
help and his^ and that if Cicero would not oppofe
Ciodius^ he was perfuaded that Ciodius would not
difturb him ; to which Cicero confented.Clodius's
bufinefs was to procure one of thofe free or ho-
'norary Lieutena/tcies^ that he might go with a public
character to Byzantium^ and King Brogitarus^ to
gather the money, which they owed him for padfervices. As it is a mere money matter^ fays Ci-
cero, Ifid
all not concern myfelf about it^ whether I
gain my own point or nct^ though Pc?npey and Craf-
[] A. D. III. id. Mali S. efient. Eo die Catonem pla-
C. factum eft de ambitu in ne repiidiarunt. Quid. m;il-
Afranii fententiam. Sed ta ? Tenet omnia, idque ira
magno cum gemitu Senatus. omnes intelligerevclunt. Ad
Confules non funt perlecuri Quint. 2. 9.
eoruni fentcntias; qui Afra-[/;] (^od M^t^ Tellaris
iiio cum eiient arienil addi- eft curationis rnea:. De lla-
derunt, ut Pra:tores ita crea- rufp. rclp. 14.
rcntur, ut dies LX. privati
G 2 [us
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86 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 69S. Craflus : for the terror of them haddeeply pof-
Cic.$<z.. feiTed the minds of the foldiers, and made them
Cn Pompei-^"^^^ every thing which they faw, or heard, to
us Mag- ^^i omen of their ruin 3 fo that when the enemyNus II.
appeared in fight, they were ftruck with fuch a
M.LiciNiuspanic,
that they had not courage orfpirit enough
Crassus II.1^^^ ^^ ^^j^^ ^ tolerable refiftance.
Crass us was defirous, before he left Rome^ to
be reconciled to Cicero : they had never been real
friends, but generally oppofite in party ; and
Cicero's early engagements with Pompey kept
him of courfe at a diftance from. CrafTus : their
coldnefs was ftill encreafed on account of Cati-
lineV plot^of v/hich CralTus was ftrongly fufpe6t-
ed;and charged Cicero with being the author
of that fufpicion : they carried it however on both
fides with much decency; out of regard to Craf-fus's fon, Publius, a profefied admirer and difci-
ple of Cicero ,till an accidental debate in the
Senate blew up their fecret grudge into an open
quarrel. The debate was upon Gabinius, whomCraflus undertook to defend, with many fevere
reflexions upon Cicero ; whoreplied
with no lefs
acrimony, and gave a free vent to that old refent-
ment of Craffus^s many injuries^which had been ga-
thering^he fays, feverat years^
hut lain dormant fo
long,that he took it to be
extinguifljcd^ till, from this
accident, it burfi out into a fla-me. The quarrel
gave great joy to the chiefs of the Senate ,who
highly applauded Cicero,in
hopesto embroil
him v/ith the 'triumvirate : but Pompey labored
hard to make it up, and Casfar alfo by letter ex-
preffed his uneafinefs upon it ; and begged it of
Cicero, as a favor, to be reconciled with Craffijs:
fo that he could not hold out againit an intercef-
f]on fo powerfull, and fo well enforced by his'
affedlion to 'jounz CrafRis : their reconciliation ivaa
confirmed
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88 The History of the Life
A Urb. 698. andgentler ftudies \
in which he hadfinijhedy
to his
Ctc. ^2.Jatisfa5iio% three books
^ by way of dialogue^ on the
C' Po
'
->vi. I^^^^' ^f ^he Orator^ in ArifiotUs manner \ which
vs Mag- 'i^ould be of ufe to his fon^ young heyitulus^ being
Nus II. drawn^ not in the ordinary way of the fchools^ andI M. Ljcuhus /^^
^^-ymethod of precepts^ but comprehending all
L R A u s .
^j^^j .^j^^ ancients^ and efpecially Arijlotle and Ifocrates,
had taught en the Inftitution of an Orator [],The three books contain as many Dialogues,
upon the character and Idea of the perfe^ Orator^
the principal fpeakers were P. CralTus, and M.Antonius % perlbns of the firft dignity in the Re-
pubhc, and the greatefl Mafrers of Eloquence,"which Rome had then known : they were near
forty years older than Cicero^ and the firfi Romanswho could pretend to difpute the prize of Oratory
with the Greeks \ and who carried the Latin tongueto a degree of perfections which
leftlittle or no room
for any farther improvement [/]. The difputation
was undertaken at the deftre^and for the injiruc^
[^] Scripfi etiam, (r.am nor quam Antonius, quod id^
ab orationibus disjungo me circo pofui, ut dicendi latine
ftire,
reieroque
ad manfueti-
primamaturitas
quaa^tate
ores mufas) refcripfi igitur A- extitilTet, pofiet rotari; &
riitoteleo more, quemadmo- intelligeretur, jam ad fum
dum quidem volui, tres libros mum paene cKq perdudlam,*
in difputatione & dialogo de ut eo nihil ferme quifquamOratore, quos arbitror Len- addere
pofTer, nifiqui a Phi-
tulo tuo non fore inuciles. lolbphia, a jure civili, ab hi-
Abhorrent enim a communi- ftoria fuifTet inflruftior. Brut,
bus prsceptis : ac omnem 275.
antiquaram, & Ariftoteleam Nunc ad A.ntonium, Craf-
^ Ifocrateam rationem Ora- fumqr.e pervenimus. Namtoriam compleftantur. Ep, ego lie exiflimo hos Oratores
fam. I, 9. fuiilV: maximos : & in his
f /] Crafius quatuor & primum cum Grascorum glo-
trtgintaturn habebat annos, ria latine dicendi copiam ae^
toiidemque annis mihi state quatam -lb. 250.
pricnabat-Triennio
ipfo mi-
tion
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of M, TULLIUS CICERO. 89
^lon of twoymng Orators of great hopes^ C. Cotta A. Urb. 698.
and P. Sulpicius,who were then beginning to
^q^^^'florifli at the bar : Cicero himfelf was not prefent q^ Pompei-
at it^ but being informed by Cotta^ of the principal us Mag-heads and general argument of the whole
^ fuppliednus II.
the reft from his own invention^ agreeablyto /^^
M. Licinius
different ftHe and manner^ which thofe great men
were known to purfue ; and with defign to do honor
to the memory of them both^ but efpecially of Craffus^
who had been the dtre5lor of his early ftudies \ and
to v/hom he affignsthe defence of that notion,
which he himfelf always entertained, of the cha-
ra6ler of a confummate Speaker \f}%\,
Atticus was excedingly pleafed v/ith this
treatife, and commended it to the fKies ; but ob-
]e6led to the propriety of difmiffng Sc^^vola from
the difputation^ afterhe had once been introduced
ifito the firft dialogue,Cicero defends himfelf by
the example of their Gcd^ Plato as he calls him,
in his book on Government ,where the Scene
beino: laid in the houfe of an old Gentleman, Ce-
phalus, the old man^ after bearing a part in the
ftrft converfaiion^ exciifes himfelf that he muft go
to prayers^ and returns no more ; Plato not thinking
it fuitable to the character of hisage^ to be detained
hi the Company through fo long adifcourfe : that^
with greater reafon therefore^ he had ufed the fame
caution in the cafe of Scavola ; fince it was not de-
cent to fuppofe a perfon of hisdignity^
extremeage^
\jn\ Nos enim, qui ipfirum ferrnone adumbrare co-
fermoni non interfuiflemus, nati De Orat. 3. ^.
& quibus C. Cotta tantum- Ut ei, (Craffo) & fi nequa-modo locos, ac lententias hu- quam parem illius ingenio,
jus difputationis tradidifTet, at pro noflro tamen ftudio
quo ingenei.2
orationis u- meritam gratiam debitamquetrumque Oratorem cognove- referamus Ibid.
raipus, id ipfam fviir.us in eo-
and
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 93
duced, debating on the origin and bed conftitu- A. Urb.699.
tion of government; Scipio, Lselius, Philus, c PManilius, ^r. [s].
The whole was to be di-l. Domitius
ilributed into nine books, each of them the fub- Aheno-
jeftof one day's difputation : when he had finifh- b a reus,
ed the two firft, they were read inhisTufculan^^^^^^^^^
Villa to fome of his friends; where Salluft, who
was one of the company, advifed him to changehis plan,
and treat the fubiedl in his own perfon^
as Arijlotle had dene before him; alledging^
that
the introdu5lion of thcfe a'ncients^ infiead of adding
gravity^ gave an air of Romance to the argument^
which would have the greater weighty when deliver-
ed from himfelf\ as beingthe work^ not of a little
Sophift^or contemplative 'Thecrifi^ but of a Ccnfu-
lar Senator^ and Statefman^ converfant in the
greatefi affairs, and writijtg what his own praBice^and the experience of many years, had taught him to
he true, Thefe reafons feemed very plaufible,
and made him think of altering his fcheme ; ef-
pecially lince, by throwing the fcene fo far back,
he precludedhimfelf from touching on thofe im-
portantrevolutions of the Republic, v/hich
were later than the period, to which he confined
himfelf : but, after fome deliberation, being un-
willing to throw away the two books, already
finifhed, with which he was much pleafed, he
refolved to itick to the oldplan, and as he had
[^]Scribebam ilia, quse Hanc
ego, quam inflitui,
dixeram '7p-c\>^iKu, fpif/um de Repub. difputationem in
fane opus & operolum : fed African! perfonam 8c Phili,
fi ex fententia fuccefTerit, be- & Laslii & Manilii con:uli,
ne erit opera pofitaifin mi- &c. Rem, quod te non fu-
nus, in iJlud ipfuramare de-
gif-, magnam complexus fum
jiciemus,quodfcribentesfpec-& gravem, & plurimi otii,
tamus ; aggrediemur alia, quod ego maximeegeo. Ad
quoniam quiefcere. non pof- Au. 4. i6.
fum us. Jb. 14.
preferred
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rf M.TVLLIUS CICERO. 9S
excellence of the Roman conftitution^ preferably/^ A. Urb. 699;
that of all otherfates [x']: who, in the fixth book, ^q^^^'
under thefi5lion of a dream, which is Hill preferv- l. Domitius
ed to us, takes occafion to inculcate the doBrine Aheno-
cf the immortality of thefoul,
and a futureJlate, in barbus,
a manner fo lively and entertaining, that it has"^p
^^'^^^^^
been the Handing pattern ever fmce to the wits
of fucceeding ages,for attempting the fame me-
thod of inflillingmoral lefTens, in the form of
dreams or vifions.
He was now drawn at laft into a particular
intimacy and correfpondence of Letters with Cs-
far ;who had long been endeavouring to engage
him to his friendfhip, and, with that view, had
invited his brother, Qtiintus, to be one of his Lieu^
tenants in Gaul', where Quintus, to pay his court
the better tohis
General, joined heartilyin
prelPins his Brother to an union with him, inftead of
adhering fo obftinately to Pompey, who, as he
tells him, was neither fo Jincere, nor fo generous
a friend as C^far \^y ].Cicero did not diflike the
advice, and expreffed a readinefs to comply with
it, of which Balbus gave an intimation to Csfar,
with a Letter, alfo inchfed, from Cicero himfelf-^
but the packet happening to fall into water, the
Letters were all deftroyed, except a fcrap or two
of Balbus"s, to which Caefar returned anfwer ,
I perceive, that you had written for/iewhat about
Cicero, which I could not make cut-,
but as far as
I canguefs,
it wasfomething
rather to be
wijhed,
\_x]An cenfes, cum in illis [y ]
De Pompeio afTentior
de Repub. libris perfuadere tibi, vel tupotius mihi, nam,
videatur Africanus, omnium ut fcis, jampridem,irtum can-
Rerumpub. noftram veterem to Ca^farem. ' Ad Quint. 2.
illam fuifie optimam. De13.
Leg. 2. X. vid. ib. i. 6. 9.
2 than
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96 T/je Hi STORY of tbe Life
A. Urb. 699. sl^an hoped for \z\ But Cicero fent another copy^^'^^
53- of the fame Letter, which came fafc to his hands,
L. DoMiTius "^^^^^^^9 as he fays,in the familiar fiile^ yet with-
Aheno- out departing from his dignity, Csefar anfweredBARBus, him with all imaginable kindnefs, and the offer
A. Claudius ^^ every thing, in which his power could ferve
him, telling him, howagreeable
his Brother''s com-
pany was to him^ by the revival of their oldaffec-
tion j andfince he was now removed to fuch a di-
fiance from him^ he would take care^ that in their
mutual want of each other^
he fhould have caufe at
leaji torejoice^
that his Brother was with him^ ra-
ther than any oneelfe.
He thanks himalfo for fend-
ing the Lawyer Trebatius to him^ and fays upon it
jocofely^that there was not a man before in his ar-
my^ who knew how to draw a recognizance, Ci-
cero, in his account of this Letter to his Brother,
fays ,
"it is kind in you, and like a Brother,
*' toprefs
me to this friendfhip, though I am**
running that way apace myfelf, and fhall do," what often happens to travellers, who
rifing**
later than they intended, yet, by quickening*'
their fpeed,come fooner to their journey's
*' end, than if they had {^t out earlier , fo I,
*' who have over-llept myfelf in my obfervance
" of this man, though you were frequently rouf-
*^
ing me, will corred: my pad lazinefs by mend-*'
ing my pace for the future." But as to his
[2] Il:efcripfit
ad Eal- his verbis. De Cicerone vi-
bum, faiciculum ilium Epif- deo te quiddam fcripfiffe,
tolarum, in quo fuerat & mea quod ego non intellexi;
& Balbi, totum fibi aqua ma- quantum autem conjedura
didum ell'e : ut ne illud qui- confequebar id erat hujufmo-
dem fciat, meam fuille ali- di, ui magis optaiidum, quam
quam epiilolam. Sed ex fperandum putarem. AdBalbi
epiflola pauca verba Quint. 2. 12.
intellexerat, ad qua refcripiit
feeking
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5)8 The History of the Life
A. Urb.699.. q/hng [c].
His reGommendatory Letter of Tre-
^p (T^batiiis, will fhew both what a fliare he
pofTefTed
L DoMiTi^^ ^^^^ time of Caefar's confidence, and with what
Aheno- ^n affeflionate zeal he ufed to recommend his
B A REUS, friends.
A Claudius
PULCHER. cc r-' ^ /^ r T-Cicero to Caslar iimperor.
"See, how I have perfuaded myfelf to con-
'^fider you as a fecond Mf-^ not onely in what
" affe6ts my own interefb, but in what concerns*'
my friends : I had refolved, whitherfoever I
*'went abroad, to carry C. Trebatius along v/ith
'* me*,
that I might bring him home, adorned"
with the fruits of my care and kindnefs : but-'
fince Pompey's ftay in Rome has been longer"
than I expeded, and my own irrefolution, to*' which you are no ftranger, will either wholly"
hinder, or at lead retard, my going abroad at
all ; fee, what I have taken upon myfelf:
I began prefentlyto refolve, that Trebatius
*'fliould expect the fame things from you,
*' which he had been hoping for from me : nor
*' did I afTure him with lefs franknefs of your**
good will, than I ufed to do of my own : but*'
a wonderfull incident fell out, both as a tefti-
*'
mony of my opinion, and a pledge of your
''humanity; for while I was talking of this
*'
very Trebatius at my houfe, with our friend
*'
Balbus, yourLetter was delivered to me ; in
*'the end of which you faid
; as to M, Orfius^*' whom you recommended to me^ I will make him*'
even King <?/Gaul, or Lieutenant to Lepta; fend
[c]M. Curtio Tribunatum Caefar nominatim Curtio pa-
ab eo petivi.lb. 2.
15. Ep. ratum eflerefcripiit,
meam-
fam. 7. 5. que in rogando verecundiam
De Tribunatu niihiipfe objurgavit. Ad Quin. 3.
i.
" me
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of M, rULLIUS CICERO. loi
"not recollefling,
that even thofe, who follow- A. Urb. 699.
''ed King Ptolemy with bonds to Alexandria^ ^c P" had not yet brought back a penny of I'no- ^ j^^j^J^j^.g
" ney [/]. You write me word, Jays he, that Aheno-'' C^far now confults you ; I had rather hear, bar bus,
"that he confults your Interefl[^].
Let me ^-^^^"^^"^
"die, If I do not believe, fuch is your vanity,
"that you had rather be confulted, than enrich -
" ed by him[/:?]. By thefe railleries and perpe-
tual admonitions he made Trebatius afliamed of
his foftnefs, and content to flaywith Cjefar, by
whofe favor and generofity he was cured at lafl:
of all his uneafinefs-,and having here laid the
foundation of his fortunes, florifhed afterwards
in the court of Auguftus, with the character of
the moft learned Lawyer of that age [/'].
C^SAR was now uponhis
fecond expeditioninto Britain
-,which raifed much talk and expec-
tation at Rome, and gave Cicero no fmall concern
for the fafetyof his Brother, who, as one of
C<efar''s Lieuienayits, was to bear a confiderable
part in it \k\ But the accounts which he re-
ceived from the place,foon eafed him of his ap-
prehenfions, by informing him, that there iran
yjothingeither to fear or to hope from the attempt j
[/] Subimprudens vide- lb. xi.
bare ; tanquam enim fyngra- \h\ Morlar, ni, qu^ tua
phain ad Imperatorem, non gloria eft, puto te malle a
epiftolam attulifies, fic, pe- Casfare confuli, quam inau^
cunia ablata, domum redire rari. lb.13.
properabas. Nee tibi in men- [/] Nili quid tu, dode
tern veniebat, eos ipfos, qui Trebati,
cum fyngraphis venifTent A- Diftentis. Hor.Sat 2.1.79.
lexandriam, nummum adhuc [i] Ex Quinti fratris lite-
nulium auferrepotuilTe. Jb. ris
fufpicor jam eum efle in
17. Britannia: fufpenfo animo
[^] Confuli quidem te a expedlo quid agat Ad Att,
Cselare icribis ; fed ego tibi 4. 15.
ab ilio confuli vellem.
H 3 no
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of M. rULLlUS CICERO. 105
from virtuous indudry to wealth; from wealth A.Urb.699.
to luxury : from luxury to an impatience of dif-^ n^^'
cipline,and corruption of morals
-,till by a total
l.Domitius
degeneracy and lofs of virtue, being grown ripe Aheno-for deftruftion, it falls a prey at laft to fome har- barb us,
dy opprefTor, and, with the lofs of liberty, lofing '\,^^^^^'^^
every thing elfe that is valuable, finks gradual-
ly again into its originalbarbarifm.
j
Cicero taking it for granted,that Trebatius
followed Csefar into Britain, began to joke with
him upon the wonderfull figurethat a Britijb
Lazvyer ivould make at Rome j and, as it was his
frofejfionto guard other feopk^s fafety, bids him he*
ware that he himfelf was not caught by the Britijh
charioteers \o\ But Trebatius, it feems, knew
how to take care of himfelf without Cicero's ad-
vice ; and whenCsefar
pafTedover to
Britain^chofe to {lay behind in Gaul : this gave a frefh
handle for raillery ,and Cicero congratulates him,
"upon being arrived at laft into a country,
" where he was thought to know fomething ;
"that if he had gone over alfo to Britain, there
" would not have been a man in all that great
" IQand, wifer than himfelf'*
He obferves,'
that he was much more cautious in military," than in civil contefts ,
and wonders, that be-
"ing fuch a lover of Jwimming, he could not be
^'
perfuaded to fzvim in the Ocean ;and when
" he could not be kept away from every fliew
'^ of Gladiators at Rome, had not thecuriofity
*'to fee the BritiJJo
charioteers: he rejoices how-"
ever, after all, that he did not go ;fince they
[0]Mira enim perfona in- dicifti, in Britannia ne ab
daci potellBritannici juris
efTedariis decipiariscaveto.
confuld. F.p.Fam. 7. xi. lb. 6.
Tu, qui caeceria cavere di-
, H 4." Ihould
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104 TJje History of the Life
A. Urb. 699."
fhould not now be troubled with the imperti-
^c P'"
i^e^-ce of his Britifh fhoiies [/>]."
L.Do^mItius QyiNTUs Cicero, who had a genius for
Aheno- poetry, was projecting the plan of a poem^ uponBARBus, their Britifh expedition^ and begged his Brother's
A.ChAvmvs^jj}jla^^(;g l^ ll
.
Cicero approved thedefign, and
ULCHER.Qbfej-y^^j ypon it, that the nature and fituaticn of
places fo ftrange^ the manners of thepeople^ their
battles with them^ and the General himfelf C^far^were excellent fubje^s for poetry \ but as to his
affifi-
ance^ it was fending owls to Athens : that ^uin-
tus^ who hadfinifroedfour 'Tragedies in ftxteen days^
could not want either help or fame in that way^ after
his Eledra and the Troades[q].
In other letters,
he
^.
[/]Eft,
qnod gaudeas,te
in lila loca veniiie, ubi ali-
quid fapere viderere : quodii in Britanniam quoque pro-fec^.us eiFes, profecto nerno in
ilia tanta iniuia te ptrinorfuilTet Sed tu in re miiiiari
multo es cautior quam in ad-
vocationibus : qui neque in
oceano natare voluil^i, homo
JiudicJiJJir/.us nctcindiy neque
fpedare eiTedarios, qnem an-
tea ne Audabatam quidenidefraudare poteramus. Ib.x.
In Britanniam te profedumnon ^Kt gaudto, quod tz
labore caruifti, & ego te de
illis rebus non audiam. lb.
The little hir.t heregiven,
of TrebariusV lo've of Jkvim-
miiig,adds a new
light and
beauty to thatpallage of Ho-
race, where the Poet intro-
duces him, advifing, io/ujhnihrice
crofs
the liber, to cure
the wantofHeep;
theadvice
it leems, being peculiarly a-
greeable to his own pradiceand character.
ter unSIi
tranjnonto Tibirim^ fotnno qui'bus
eji opus alto.
Sat. 2. I. V. 8.
[^] Te vero u /rcQcfj/f/ fcri-
bendi egregiam habere vi-
deo. Q^uos tu ficus, quas na-
turas reruni & locorum quosmores, quas gsntes, quas pug-nas, quern vero ipfum Impe-ratoiem habes ? Ego te 11-
benter, ut rogas, quibus re-
bus vis, adjuvabo, & tibi
verfus, quos rogas, yKavKo,bV h^uvcr^i mittam. Ad Qu^'^^*
2. 16.
Quatuor Tragcedias, cumxvi diebas abfolvifle fcribas,
tu quidauam ab alio mutua-
ris ?
& ^Ai^-^ qur^ris, cumEleclram
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO. 105
he anfwers more ferioufly ,thai it was impoffihle
A. Urb. 699.
to conceive^ how much he wantedleifure for verjify- c^^'
ing : that to write verfes requiredan
eafeand chear- l Dqmi'tius
fullnefs of mind^ which the times had taken from Aheno-him ;
a72d that his poetical flame wasquite
extin- b a reus,
guifhed by the fadprofpe^ of things before them[r.]
AA. laudius
He had lent Casfar his Greek Poem^ in three
hooks^ on the hifiory of his Confulfhip \ and C^efar's
judgment upon it was, that the beginning of it
was as good as any thingswhich he had ever
feeyi
in that language^ but that the following lines^ to a
certain place^were not equal
in accuracy andfpirit.
Cicero defires therefore to know of his Brother,
what C^far really thought of the whole ; whether the
matter or theftile difpleafed him ; and begs that he
would tell him the truth freely \ ftnce whether C^-
farliked it or
not^he
fhould not^he
fays,be
a jotthe
lefs pleafedwith himfelf \s\ He began how-
ever
Eledlram & Troadem fcrip-men ut pofTem, fed opus
feris ? lb. 3.6. eft ad poema quadam animi
N. B. Thefe four Trage- alacritace, quam plane xnihi
dies,faid to be written in
tempora eripiuntlb.
3. 5.
Jixteen days,cannot be fup- De verfibus deed mihi
pofed to have been original opera, qus non modo tern-
produflions, but trandations pus, fed etiam animum ab
from fome of the Greek Po- omni cura vacuum defiderat :
ets, of which Quintus was a fed abeft etiam iv^-6aicJi<j\j}n
great Mafter;finilhed by him &c. lb.
4.
in haft for the entertainment\s~\
Sed heus tu, celari vi-
of the Camp : for the word deor a te, quomodonam, mi
Troadem in the text, the name frater, de noftris verfibus Cse-
of one of them, ihould moft far? Nam primum librum
probably htTroadcs, the title felegifTe fcrlpfit
ad me ante :
of one of Euripides's Plays; & prima fic, ut neget fe ne
as the Ele^ra a!fo was. Graeca quidem meliora legif-
[r] Quod me de faciendis fe ; reliqua ad quendam lo-
verfibus rogaS; incredibile cum[dJ^v^jJiTif^ct.
Hoc enim
eft, mi frater, quantum ege- utitur verbo. Die mihi ve-
am tempore Facerqm ta- rum, num aut res cum aut
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1 o6 ^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 699. ever another Poem, at his Brother's earneft re-
S^^'/r^'
queft, to be addrefTed to C^far, but after fome
T -n^/^.rro prosreis was fo diffatisfied with it, that he tore
Aheno- It [/]: yet Quintus ItiU urging, and lignitying,
B A REUS, that he hadacquainted defar with the
deftgn^he
A.Claudius ^^5 obliged to refume it, and adlually finifhed an
Epic Poem in honour of Ctefar ; which he promifes
to fend as foon as he could find a proper convey-
ance, that it might not beloft^
as ^intus^s 'Tragedy
of Erigone was in coming from Gaul ;the onely
things fays he, which had 'not found a fafe pafjage^
fmce C^far governed that Province [u] .
While Cicero was expreflingno fmall difla-
tisfadlion at the meafures, which his prefent fitu-
ation obliged him to purfue, Casfar was doing
every thing in his power, to make him eafy : he
treated his Brother with as much kindnefs^ as if
Cicero himfelfhad been his general \ gave him the
choice of his winterquarters^
and the Legion^
which he beji liked[a']
: and Clodius happening tQ
write to him from Rome, he fJjewed the Letter to
^intusy and declared that he would not anfwer it j
^et^d/jrtf non deleflat ? Ni-
hil eft quod vereare. Egoenim ne pile quidem minus
me amabo. lb. ?. 16.
[/] Poema ad C^rarem,
quod compofueram, incidi.
lb. 3. I. . 4.
[k] Quod me inftitutum
ad ilium Poema jubes perfi-
cere ; etfi diflentus turn ope-
ra, turn animo Turn multo
magis, quoniam exepiftola,
quam ad te miferam, cogno-vit Caefar me aliquid efie ex-
orfum; revertar ad inflitu-
tum. lb. 8.
Quod me hortaris,ut ab-
folvam, habeo abfolutum fua-
ve, mlhi quidem uti videtur,
27r^ ad Casfarem. Sed quse-
ro locnpletem tabellarium, ne
accidat quod Erigonae tuse ;
cui foli, Csefare Imperatore,
iter ex Gallia tutum non fuit.
lb. g.
[a-] Quintum meumDii boni ! quemadmodumtradat, honore, dignitate,
gratia.? Non fecus ac fi ego
effem Imperator. Hibernam
Legioncm eligendi optio de-
lata commodum, ut ad mefcribit. Ad. Att 4. 18.
though
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of M, rULLIUS CICERO. iii
This deteflable bargain of forging laws and A.Urb.699.
decrees atpleafure, in which fo many of the firft
^j?*^^*
rank were concerned, either asPrincipals or wit- ^ Domitius
nefles, is alledged by an ingenious French writer, Aheno-as a flagrant
inftance of ibaiLiberiinifmy which b a reus,
haftened the deftru^ion c/ Rome [/].So far are ^-^^^^^^^^
privatevices from being public benefits^ that this
"^^^"^^*
great Republic, of all others the mod free and
florifhing,owed the lofs of its Liberty to nothing
elfe but a general defedlion of its Citizens, from
the probity and difcipline of their anceftors. Ci-
cero often foretells their approaching ruin from
this very caufe ; and, when he bewails the wretcH-
cdnefs of the times, ufually joins thewickednefs of
their morals^ as the genuin fource of it[y^].
But left thefe corrupt Candidates fhouldefcape
withoutpunifhment, they
were all
publiclyim-
peached by different Profecutors, and the Citywas now in a great ferment about them ; fince^
as Cicero fays, either the men cr the law mujl ne-
ceffarily perijh : yet they will all^ fays he, be ac-
quitted', for trials are now managed fo corruptly^
that no man will ever be condemned for the future^
unlefs for murder [/]. But Q^ Scasvola, one of
tacito judicio ferretur. Venit veterem dignitatem & liber-
legi dies. Terentius inter- tatem vindicaturus. Ep.ceffit. AdAtt. 4. 16. Fam. 2.
5.
\t\ Confiderations fur les [/] De ambitu poftulaticaufes de la grandeur, &c. funt omnes, qui confulatum
de Remains. C. X. petant Magno res in motu
{k] His praefertim moribus eft. Propterea quod aut ho-
atque temporibus, quibus ita minum aut legum interitus
prolapfaRefp. ell, ut omnium oftenditur Ad Quin. 3. 2.
opibus refrsnanda, ac coer- Sed omnes abf.;lventur
cendafit. DeDivin.2.2. nee poilhac quifquam dam-
Qui fit Remp. affliclam & nabitur, nifi qui hominem
opprefFam miferis tempori- occiderit. Ad Att. 4. 16.
bus, ac perdi:is moribus, in
the
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of MTtlLLIUS CICERO. 113
*' muft not murder a man indeed in his own^^'^'
^99-
**houfe, though that perhaps might be done
cofT.^**
moderately, fmce twenty-two acquitted Pro- l. Domitius"
ciUus, when twenty-eight condemned him [^]-" Aheno-Clodius was the accufer in thefe impeachments :
^arbus,which made Cato, as foon as he was acquitted, iu^^^^^^^
feek a reconciliation with Cicero and Milo [^]. Ic
was not Cicero's bufmefs to rejedlthe friendfhip
of an a(5live and popular Senator ; and Milo had
occafion for his fervice in his approaching fuit for
the Confulfhip. But though Cicero had no con-
cern in thefe trials, he was continually employedin others, through the reft of the fummer :
"I
" was never, fays he^ more bufy in trials than" now \ in the worft feafon of the year, and the*'
greateft heats, that we have ever known ;
'there fcarce
pafles
a
day
in which I do not de-' fend fome
[^]."Befides his Clients in the
City, he had feveral towns and colonies under
his patronage, which fometimes wanted his help
abroad, as the Corporation of Reate did now, to
plead for them before the Conful Appius^ and ten
CommiJfwnerSy in a controverfy with their neigh-
bours of Interamna^ about draining the lake Veli-nus inti) the River Nar, to the damage of their
{0] III. Non. Quint. Suf- [/] Is tamen & mecam &fenas & Cato abfoluti : Pro- cumMilone in gTatiam rediic.
cilius condemnatus. Ex quo lb. i6.
intelledlum eft, T^KTct^itoTo.- [^]Sic enim habeto nun-
y'nct^\ ambitum, comitia, in- quam me a caufis & judiciis
terregnum, majeftatem, to- dift'-idliorem fuifle, atque id
tarn deinque Remp. flocci anni tempore graviilimo, &nonfacere. Debemus patrem caloribus ma.ximis. Ad Quint,
familias domi fiiae occidere 2. 16.
3iolIe, neque tamen id ipfum Diem fcito efle nullum,
ftbunde. Nam abfolverunt quo non dico pro reo. lb. 3.
22, condemnarunt 28 3.
Ad Att. 4. 15.
Vol, II. I 9-rounds,
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Il6 TheViis'XQV.Y of the Life
A. Urb. 699. ^vhom Vatinius was moft warmly recommended
L. DoMiTius Gabinius being recalled, as has been faid,
Aheno- from his government, returned to Rome aboutB A REUS, the end of September: he bragged every where
A^Claudiusqj^ his journey, that he was going to the demand
of a triumph ; and to carry on that farce, conti-
nued a while without the gates ;till perceiving
how odious he was to all within, he Jiok privately
into the City by nightyto avoid the difgrace of
being infulted by the populace \x\ There were
three different impeachments provided againfthim :
the firft, for treafonable prapices againft the fate ;
the fecond, for the plunder of his province ;the
third, for bribery and corruption -,and fo many
perfons offered themfelves to be profecutors,
that there was acontefi among
thembefore
the Fra-
tor^ how toadjujl
their feveral claims [y'].The
firft indictment fell to L. Lentulus, who accufed
him the day after he entered the city,"
that,*'
in defiance of religion and the decree of the
*'Senate, he had reftored the King of ^gypt
*' with an army, leaving his own Province naked,
*' and open to the incurfion of enemies, who*' had made great devaftations in it." Cicero,
who had received from Gabinius all the provo-
cation, which one man could receive from an-
other, had the plcafure to fee his infolent adver-
[x] Ad urbem acceffit A . D. [j ] Gabinium tres adhuc
xii. Kal. 061. nihil turpius, faftiones poftulant : Sec. lb.
nee dcfeitius. Ad Qu. Ft. i..5.
3.I. . 5." Cum haec fcribebam ante
Cum Gabinius, quacunqiie lucem, apud Catonem erat
veniebat, triumphum fe po- divinatio in Gabinium futu-
ftulare dixiffet, iubitoque bo- ra, inter Memmium, Sc Ti.
nus Imperator noLtu in ur- Meronem, Sc C. $i L. Anto-
beiii, horijiim plane, inva- nios. lb. 2.
fifr#t -lb. 2.
lary
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 117
fary at his feet ; and was prepared to give him A. Urb.699.
fuch a reception, as he deferved : but Gabinius ^'^' 53-
durft not venture to fhew his head for the firft r t^. Ml I 11-1 1 o ^- aJomitius
ten days, till he was obhged to come to the Se* Aheno-nate, in order to give them an account, accord- barbus,
ing to cuftom, of the ftate of his Province^ cind ^-^^^^^^"^^
the troops which he hadleft
in it : as foon as he^u^^"^^-
had told his (lory, he was going to retire, but
the Confuls detained him, to anfvver to a com-
plaint brought againll him by the PuhlicanSy or
Farmers of the revenues^ who were attending at
the door to make it good. This drew on a de-
bate, in which Gabinius was fo urged and teized
on all fides, but efpecially by Cicero, that^ trem-
Ming with paffion^ and tinahle to contain himfelf he
called Cicero, a banifhed man : upon which, fays
Cicero,in a Letter to his
Brother,
"
nothing" ever happened more honorable to me : the*' whole Senate left their feats to a man, and'' with a
general clamor ran up to his very face ;
" while the Publicans alfo were equally fierce
'' and clamorous againft him, and the whole*'
company behavedjuft as you yourfelf would
*'
have done [2;]."
Cicero had beendeliberating for fome time,
whether he fhculd notaccufe Gabinius himfelf \ but
out of regard to Pompey v/as content to appear
[z] Interim ipfo decimo voceexulem appellavit. Hie,
die, quo ipfum oportebat ho- O Dii, n.hil unquam honori-
ilium numerum& militum
ficentiusnobis accidit. Con-
renunciare, in re haifit, fum- fun exit Senarus cum clamore
ma in frequentia : cum vel- ad uniim, lie ut ad corpuslet exire, a Confulibus re-
ejus accederet. Pari clamore
tcntus eft; introducti publir arque imperii publicani. Quid
cani. Homo undique aclus, quasris : Onines, tanquam ii
cum a me maxime vulnerare- tueiFes, ita fuerunt. lb.
tur, non tul'it, & me trementi
I 3 onely
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1 1 8 7he History of the Life
A. Urb.699. onely as a witnefs againft him [a] ;
and when
^/n fr^'the trial was over, gives the following account
Aheno-
"Gabinius is acquitted: nothing was ever
BARBus,"
fo flupid, as his accufer Lentulus*, nothing fo
A.Claudius ccfordid as the bench :
yet, if Pompey had notruLCHER. cc
i^aken incrediblepains, and the rumor of a
**Diclatorfhip had not infufed fome apprehen-
**fions, he could not have held up his head
'' even againft Lentulus : fince with fuch an ac-
" cufer, and fuch Judges ; of the feventy-two,'' who fat upon him, thirty-two condemned'' him. The fentence is fo infamous, that he" feems
likelyto fall in the other trials ; efpe-
"cially that of plunder -,
but there's no repub-''
lie, no Senate, no Juftice, no dignity in any" of us : what can I
faymore of the
Judges?
" There were but two of them of Praetorian"
rank, Domitius Calvinus, who acquitted him''
fo forwardly, that all the world might fee it ;
'' and Cato, who, as foon as the votes were de-^
*^clared, ran ofHcioufly from the Bench, to car-
*^
ry the firft news to Pompey. Somefay, and
**
particularly Salluft, that I ought to have ac-*'
cufed him : but fhould I rifl<: my credit with" fuch Judges ? What a
figure fhould 1 have*'
made, if he had efcaped from me : But there*' were other things, which influenced me :
"Pompey wguld have confidered it as a
ftrug-'*
gle, not about Gabinius'sfafety, but his own
" dignity : it muft have made a breach between" us: we fnould have been matched like a pair^' of Gladiator^ j as Pacidianus, with iEferninus
[a] Ego tamen me teneo nolo cum Pompcio pugnare ;
ab accuiando vix meliercule. fatis eft, quod inftatde Milo-
Sed tamen tenep, vel quod ne. lb. 3.2.
." the
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of M TULLWS CICERO, 119
"the Sdmnite-, he would probably have bitt off A. Urb.699.
" one of my ears, or been reconciled at leaft: SJJ^'i^'*
with Clodius for after all the pains, which t r.? \Till r ! iTi ij.UOMlTIUS*'
I had taken to lerve him*,
when I owed no- Aheno-*'
thing to him, he every thing to me ; yet he barbus,*' would not bear my differing from him in pub-
^- Claudius
"lie affairs, to fay no worfe of it-, and when ^'c^^R-
" he was lefs powerfull than he is at prefent,*' ihewed what power he had againft me, in my*'
florifhingcondition ; why fhould I now,
" when I have loft even all defire of power," when the Republic certainly has none ; when*' he alone has all
; chufe him of all men to
" contend with ? for that muft have been the
"cafe : I cannot think that you would have
" advifed me to it. Salluft fays, that I ought"to have done cither the one or the other;*' and in compliment to Pompey have defended" him
;who begged it of me indeed very ear-
"neftly A fpecial
friend this Sallufl ! to wifh" me to involve myfelf either in a dangerous"
enmity, or perpetual infamy. I am delight-," ed with my middle v/ay ,
and when I had*'
given my teftimony faithfully and religioufiy," was pleafed to hear Gabinius fay, that if it
" fhould be permitted to him to continue in the
*'
City,he would make it his bufinefs to give
*' n^e fatisfa61:ion \nor did he fo much as interro-
"gate me [^]." He gives the fame ac-
count of this trial to his other friends ;
" how
" Lentulus a6led his part fo ill, .that people'* were perfuaded that he prevaricated and"
that Gabinius's efcape was owing to the inde-
"fatigabie induftry of Pompey, and the corrup-
"tion of the Bench
[t^]."
I 4 About
[hi A<J Quint. 3. 4. [r] Quodmodo ergo abfo-lutus ?
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of M.fVLLIUS CICERO. 121
prejjion, nor, if I retain a grain of liberty, ever A. Urb. 699;
L.DOMITIUS
OhI e'er that dire difgrace mall blaft my fame, Aheno-
O'erwhelm me earth //. 4. 218. barbus,
A. Claudius
but Pompey's inceflant importunity, backed by'^"^^"^^^
Casfar's earneft requeft,made it vain to ftruggle
any longer ; and forced him againft his judge-
ment, his refolution, and hrs dignity, to defend
Gabinius , at a time when his defence at laft
proved of no fervice to him ; for he was found
guilty by Cato, and condemned of courfe to a
perpetual banifhment. It is probable, that Cice-
ro's Oration was never publilhed,but as it was
his cuflom to keep the minutes or rough draughtof all his
pleadings,
in what he called his Commen-
taries^ which were extant many ages after his
death [/]; fo St. Jerom has preferved from
them a fmall fragment of this fpeech , which
feems to be a part of the apology, that he found
himfelf obliged to make for it*,wherein he ob-
ferves,"
that when Pompey's authority had"
once reconciled him to Gabinius, it was no*'
longer in his power to avoid defending him ;
*' for it was ever my perfuafion, fays he^ that
"all friendfhips Ihould be maintained with a re-
"ligious exadnefs , but efpecially thofe, which
*'
happen to be renewed from a quarrel : for in
"friendfhips, that have fuffered no
interruption,
" a failure of duty iseafily excufed by a plea of
[(?] Pompeius a me valde De Gabinio nihil fuit faci-
contenditderedituingratiam, endum iftorum, &c. r'^js y.ot
fed adhuc nihil profecit : nee%ttto/.
II. 4. 218.
fi ullam partem libertatis te- [/] Quod fecifie M. Tul-
nebo, proficiet. Ad Quin. lium Commentariis ipfius ap-
3.I. .
5. paret. Quimil. 1. x. c.7.
*'
inadvertency,
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 123
*'
they had their Publius to give me jealoufy, I A. Urb.699.
"might be allowed to have my PubHus alfo, to
^*i^^'"
teize them with in my turn." Then as to^ Domitius
his general conduft, he makes this general de* Aheno-fence;
"that the union and firmnefs of the barbus,
"honell, which fubfifted when Lentulus left A.Claudius
"R^mey confirmed, fays he^ by my Confullhip,
^^cher.
" and revived by yours, is now quite broken" and deferted by thofe, who ought to have"
fupported it, and were looked upon as Pa-
" triots , for which reafon, the maxims and*'
meafures of all wife Citizens, in which clafs I
"always wilh to be ranked, ought to be changed
"too : for it is a precept of Plato, whofe au-
"thority has the greateft weight with me, to
" contend in public affairs, as far as we can per-" fuade our Citizens, but not to offer violence,
" either to our Parent or our Country If I
" was quite free from all engagements, I fhould
"a6t therefore as I now do i
fhould not think it
"prudent to contend with fo great a power ,
'^ nor if it could be effected, to extinguifh it in
*' our prefent circumllances ; nor continue al-
" ways in one mind, when the things themfelves" and the fentiments of the honeft are altered ;
fince a perpetual adherence to the fame meafures
has never been approved by thofe, who know*'
beft how to govern eftates : but, as infailing, it
"is the bufinefs of art to be diredled by the
"weather, and foolifh to perfevere
with danger ia
*' the courfe, in which we fet out, rather than by"changing it, to arrive with fafety, though later,
" where we intended-,
fo to us, who manage*'
public affairs, the chief end propofed being**
dignity with public quiet,our bufmefs is not
"to be always laying, but always aiming at the
** famething.
Wherefore if all
things,as I
"faid,
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(4
124 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 699."
faid, were wholly free to me, I flioiild be the
Cic. 5s." fame man that I now am : but when I am in-
Coff. < vited to this condu6t on the one fide by kind-
Aheno- " nefTes, and driven to it on the other by injuries,
BARBus,"
I eafilyfuffer myfelf to vote and ad what I
A. Claudius *< take to be ufefull both to myfelf and the Re-PuLCHER. cc
public ; and I do it the more freely,as well
*' on the account of my Brother's being Csefar's
"Lieutenant, as that there is not the leaft thing,
** which I have ever faid or done for Csfar, but
what he has repaid with fuch eminent grati-
tude, as perfuades me, that he takes himfelf
*'to be obliged to me ;
fo that I have as much
ufe of all his power and intereft, which youloiow to be the
greatefl,as if they were my
'' own : nor could 1 otherwife have defeated the
*'
defigns of my defperate enemies, if to thofe*'
forces which I have always been mafter of, I
*' had not joined the favor of the men of power.*' Had you been here to advife me, I am per-*'
fuaded, that I fhould have followed the fame*' meafures ; for I know your good nature and" moderation ; I know your heart, not onely** the moft friendly to me, but void of all ma-*' levolence to others ; great and noble, open*' and fincere, (^c, [^]." He often defends him-
felf on other occafions by the fame allufion to the
art of Jailing:"
I cannot reckon it inconflancy,^^
fays he^ to change and moderate our opinion,*'
like the courfe of afhip, by
the weather of
*' the Republic ; this is what I have learnt, have
*'obferved, have read ,
what the records of
*' former ages have delivered, of the wifeft and** moft eminent Citizens, both in this and all
'' other Cities ,that the fame maxims are not al-
*"
ways to be purfued by the fame men ; but
[h"] Ep. Fam. i. 9.*'
fuch,
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. iij"
fuch, whatever they be, which the (late of the A.l^rb, 699.
"RepubHc, the inclination of the times, the
^Q^p'*'
occafions of public peace require : this is what ^ DomItius*'
I
am now doing,and fhall
alwaysdo
[i]" Aheno-The trial of C. Rabirius Poftumus, a per/onbarbus,
vf Equejirian rank^ was an appendix to that of 4;^^*"'^**
Gabinius. It was one of the articles againft
Gabinius, that he had received about two 7nillions
for reftoring King Ptolemy ; yet all his eftate,
which was to be found, was not fufficient to an-
fwer the damages in which he was condemned ;
nor could he give any fecurity for the reft : in
this cafe, the method was to demand the defi-
ciency from thofe through whofe hands the ma-
nagement of his money affairs had pafled, and
who were fuppofed to have been fharers in the
fpoil : this was charged upon Rabirius ; and that
he had advifed Gabinius to undertake the reftoration
of the king^ and accompanied him in it^ and was
employed tofolUcit the payment of the money^
and
lived at Alexandria/d?r that purpofe^ in the King's
fervice^ as the public Receiver of his taxes^ and
wearing the Fallium or habit of the country,
Cicero urged in defence of Rabirius,
"that
*' he had born no part in that tranfacflion ; but"
that his whole crime, or ratherfolly, was, that
" he had lent the King great fumms of money"
for his fupport at Rorae-,and ventured to trufi:
^a Prince, who, as all the world then thought,
[/] Neque enim inconftan- tatibus monumenta nobis &tis puto, fententiam tanquarn licera: prodiderunt: non fern -
aliquod navigiam atque cur- per eaidem iententias ab iif-
fum ex Reip. tempeftate dem, fed quafcunque Reip.moderari. Ego vero hsc ftatus, inclinatio temporum,didici, hsc vidi, hscc
fcrip-ratio concordi^
pc;llularet,er-ta
legi: hzec de
fapientif-fe defendcndas. Quod ego
fimis & claniTimis viris, Sc &; facio, & femper faciam.
in hac Repub. Sc in aliis civi- --.Pro Plancio 39. " was
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126 '^^^ Hist OR r of theLife
A. Urb. 699." was going to be reftored by the
authority of
Cic. 53. ^j-jg Jiofnan people : that thenecefiity of going
Coff. cc ^Q jEgypt for the recovery of that debt, was
Aheno-^^ " ^^^ fource of all his mifery :
where he wasBARB us,
" forced to take whatever the King would give or
A.Claudius "impofe : that it was his misfortune to be ob-
PuLCHER. cc
ligedto commit himfelf to the power of an ar-
"bitrary
Monarch : that nothing could be more<^' mad than for a Roman Knight, and Citizen
" of a Republic of all others the moft free, to
'^go to any place,
where he muil needs be a
" (lave to the will of another ; that all who ever
*' did fo, as Plato and the wifeft had fometimes
*' done too haftily, always fuffered for it ; this
*^ was the cafe of Rabirius : necefTity carried
*' him to Alexandria ; his whole fortunes were*'
at ilake [^]; which he was fo far from im-"proving by his traffic with that King, that he
"v/as ill treated by him, imprifoned, threatened
" with death, and glad to run away at laft with
*' the lofs of all : and at that very time, it was"wholly owing to C^far's generofity, and re-
''
gard to the merit and misfortunes of an old
" friend, that he was enabled to fupport his for-
** mer rank and Equeftrian dignity [/]." Ga-
binius's trial had fo near a relation to this, and
was fo often referred to in it, that the Profecu-
tors could not omit fo fair an opportunity of raU
/>7>/^ Cicero, for the part which he had aded in
it :
Memmi us
obferved,that the
Deputies ofAlex-
andria had the fame reafon for appearing for Gabi-
nius, which Cicero had for defending him^ the
command of a maflcr No^ Mcmrnius^ replied Ci-
cero^ my reafon for defending him^ ivas a recGncili-
ation with him \ for I am not afbamed to own^ that
my quarrelsare mortal^ my friendships immortal :
[k] ProRabir. 8,9. [/] lb. 15.
and
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 127
and if you imagine^that I undertook that caufe for
A. Urb.699.
fear of Pomfey^ you neither knowPortipey^ nor me\ ^^cli^'
for Pompey would neither defjre it of me againfi rny j^ Domitius
will^ nor would /, after I had preferred the liberty Ahei^o-
of my Citizensyever give up my own
[m'l, bareus,
Valerius Maximus reckons Cicero's defence '^^^^^^^^^
of Gahinius and Vatinius^ among the great and
laudable examples of humanity, which the Roman
Hiftory furnifhed ; as it is nobler, hefays,
to coyt-
quer injurieswith benefits^ than to repay them in
kind^ with an obflinacy of hatred[n]. This turn is
agreeable to the defign of that writer, whofe view
it feems to be, in the collection of his ftories, to
give us rather what is flrange, than true ; and to
drefs up fads as it were into fables, for the fake
of drawing; a moral from them : for whatever Ci-
cero himfeifmight fay
forit,
in theflorifhing
ftile of an oration, it is certain, that he knew and
felt it to be, what it really w^as, anindignity and
difhonour to him, which he was forced to fubmit
to by the iniquity of the times, and his engage-ments with Pompey and C^far, as he often la-
ments to his friends in a very paffionate ftrain :
/ am affli^edj fays he, my deareji Brother, I amafflicted, that there is no Republic^ no
Juflicein tri-
als; that this feafon of my life,
which ought to flo'
[//;]Ait etlam meus fami- ilium & me vehementerigRO-
liaria, candem caufam Alex- ras. Neqce enim Pompeiusandrinis fuille, cur laudarent me faa caufa quidquam fa-
Gabinium, qase mihi fuit, cere voluiiTet inrirum; ne-
cur eundemdefenderem. Mi- que ego, cui omnium civiuiii
hi, C. Memmi, caufa defen- libertas, cariinma faifFet, me-
dendi Gabinii fuit reconcili- am projsciffem Pro C. Ra-
atio-^^/ati^. Neque vero me bir. Poft. 12.
pcenitet, ?nortales iaimicitias [n] Sed hujufce generis
jhnpiternas amlcitias habere, humanitas etiam in M. Cice-
Nam fi me invitum putas ne roneprascipua apparuic, &.t.
Cn. Pompeii animum. oiFen- Val. Max.4,
z.
tlerem^ dtfendiile caufam, &5 ^iJ^
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128 ^he History of the Life
A, Urb. 699. rijh in the authority of the Senatorian character^
14
Cic. 53. qIiIjqy^ wafted in the drudgery of the Bar^ or relieved .
L DoMiTius ^^^ ^y domeftic ftudies ',that what I have ever ken
Aheno- fi^d of from a hy,
A.Claudius In every virtuous aB and glorious ftrife
PuLCHER. ^0 fhinethe firft and heft
<
is wholly loftand gone ; that my enemies are partly
not oppofed^ partly even defended by me ; and nei-
ther what I love^ nor what I hate^ left free to
me[i?].
While Casfar was engaged in the Britifh ex-
pedition^his Daughter Julia, Pompefs wife^ died
in child-bed at Rome^ after fhe was delivered of a
fon, which died alfo foon after her. Her lofs
was not more lamented by the Hufband and _
Father, who both of them tenderly loved her, Mthan by all their common friends, and well-wifhers
*
to the public peace ; who confidered it as a fource
of frefh difturbance to the ftate, from the ambi-
tious views and clafliinginterefts of the Two
Chiefs ;whom the life of one fo dear, and the
relation of Son and Father feemed hitherto to
have united by the ties both of duty and afFedli-
on [p].Csefar is faid to have born the news of
[0] Angor, mi fuaviffime me partim non oppugnatos ;
frater, angor, nuUam effe partim etiam effe defenfos;
Remp. nulla judicia,noilrum-meum non modo animum,
que hoc tcmpus setatis, quod fed ne odium quidem efle li-
in ilia Sanatoriaauftoritate berum Ad.
Quin. 3.5.^florere debebat, aut forenfi [p]
Cum medium jam,
labore jadlari,aut domefti- ex invidia pbtentiae
male co-
cis litteris fuftentari. lUud haerentis inter Cn. Pompei-
vero quod a pucro adama- um & C. Caefarem, concor-
ramj dice pighus, Julia nxor Mag-Aiiv d^i^tvtiv, Kcii vWi^o-xyv m deceflit-- -Filius qUoque
l{Xy.iv(ticlk?.foi'. parvus, Julia natas, intra
II. (T. 208. breve Ipatium obiit. Veil
lotum occidiflej iiiimicoa a Pat. 2. 47. Val. M. 4.6.
her
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1^0The History of the Life
A. Urb. 699. On the fecond of November, C. Pontlnius
Cic. 53. triumphed over the Allohroges : he had been Prator^
_T^ when Cicero was Conful^ and at the end of his
L.DoMlTIUS ,, .^ 1 5 1 r ^
Aheno- Magiftracy obtained the government or that part
BARBus, o^ Gauly which having been tampering with Ca-
A.Claudius tihne in his confpiracy, broke out foon afterwardsFuLCHER.
-j^i-Q Qpgj^ Rebelhon, but was reduced by the vi-
gor of this General. For this fervice, he de-
manded a Triumph, but met with great oppofi-
tion, which he furmounted with incredible pa-
tience : for he perfevered in his fuit for Jive
years fucceffively \ refiding all that while, accord-
ing to cuftom, in the fuburbsof theCity, till he
gained his point at laft by a kind of violence.
Cicero was his friend, and continued in Rome on
purpofe to aflift him ; and the Conful Appius
ierved him withall his
power ; but Cato protejied^that Pontinius Jhould never triumph while he livedo
though this^ fays Cicero, like many of his other
threats, will end atlaft
innothing. But the Pra-
tor Galha, who had been his Lieutenant, having
procured by ftratagem an a6l of the people in his
favor, he entered the City in his Triumphal Cha-
riot, where he was fo rudely received and op-
pofedin his pafTage through the ftreets, that he
was forced to make his way with his fword^ a?id
the Jlaughter of many of his adverfaries [r].
In the end of the year, Cicero con fented to
he one of Pompefs Lieutenants in Spain j which he
[;]Ea re non longius, lius Praetores aperte,
& Q^quam vellem, quod Pontinio Mucius Tribunus Sed erit
ad Triumphum volebam ad- cum Pontinio Appius Conful.
cfTe : eteaim erit nefcio quid Cato tamen affirmat, fe vivo
negotioli,&c. Ad Quin. 3. 5. ilium ntn triumphare, id ego
Pontinius vult A. D. IV^. puco, ut muka ejufdem, ad
Non. Novemb. triumphare. nihil recafurum Ad Att. 4.
Huic obviam Cato & Servi- 16. It. Dio. 1. 39. p.120.
hgan
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1^1 The History of the Ltfe
A. Urb. 699. piece of work^ and fays, that the partitions^ or eH^
^^5,' ^3- dofiires of the Campus Martins^ in which the Tribes
L Do MIT Ius ^fi^ ^^ vote^ were all to be made new of marble^
Aheno- with a roof likewife of the fame^ and a fiately For-BARB us, tico carried round the whole
^ of a mile in Circuity
A_Claudius^^ 'k;^^ a public Hall or Town-houfe was to be
joined [yl. While this building was going for-
ward, L. i^milius Paullus was employed in raif-
ing another, not much inferior to it, at his own
expence : for he repaired and beautified an ancieyit
Bojilica in the old Forum \and built at the fame
time a new one with Phrygian columns^ which was
called after his own name-,and is frequently men-
tioned by the later writers, as a Fabric of won-
derfull magnificence, computed to have cofl him
three hundred thoufand pounds \z\
A. Urb. 700. The new tribuns purfued the meafures of
Cic. 54. \}[x\x Predeceffors, and would not fuffer an elec-
tion of Confuls ;fo that when the new year
came on, the Republic wanted its proper head :
in this cafe the adminillration fell into the hands
of an Interrex , a provifional Magiflrate, who
muft neceflarily be a Patrician^ and chofen by the
body of Patricians^ called together for that pur-
I
[_)'] Itaque Cscfaris amici & te<5la fadluri, eaque cinge-
(me dico <!' Oppium, dirum- mus excelfa porticu,ut mille
paris licet) in monunientum paiTuum conficiatur. Simul
illud, quod tu tollere laudibus adjungetnr huic operi,villa
folebas,ut Forum
laxaiemus,etiam
pubiicaAd Att.
4.Sz uique ad Libertatis atrium 16,
explicaremus, conrurr.nir.us [2] Paullus in medio Fo-
H. S, Sexcenties : cumpri-
ro Bafilicam jam pa^ne texuit,
vaiis uon poterat tranfigimi- iiidem antiquis columnis : jl-
nore pecunia. Efnciemus lam autem, quam locavit,
rem o-loriofilTimam. Nam in facit map-nificentifiimam. Ni-
Campo Martio fepra Tribu- hil gratius illo monumento,xm comitiis niarmorea fumuf, nihil gloriofius Ibid.
pola
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134 ^^^ History of the Life
A.Urb. 700. Nothing is yet done as to the Diftatorfhip ^
Cic. 54.cc
Pompey is flill abfent ; Appius in a great buf-
**tie ; Hirrus preparing to oppofe it ; but feve
^' ral are named as ready to interpofe their nega-^' tive : the people do not trouble their heads" about it
; the Chiefs are againft it : I keep my-*'
felf quiet [<:]."Cicero's friend, Milo, was ir-
refoiute how to adf on this occafion y he was
forming an intereft for the Confulfhip ; and if he
declaredagainfl: aDi^iatorforp^ was afraid of mak-^
ing Pompey his enemy ; or if he Jhould not help the
opponents^ that it would be carried by force ; in
both vv^hich cafes, his own pretenfions were fure
to be difappoiiited: he was inclined therefore to
join in the oppofition, but fo far onely as to re-
pell any violence\_d].
The Tribuns in the mean time were growingevery day more and more infolent, and engrofling
all power to themfelves ; till Q^Pompeius Rufus,
the Grandfon of Sylla,and the r^ofl failions efpoufer
of a Jji5lator^ was^ by arefolute
decree of the Se>-
natey committed to prifon : and Pompey himfelf, up-
on his return to the City, finding the greater and
better part utterly averfe to his Didatorihip, yield-
ed at laft, after an Interregnum offix months^ that Cn,
jDomitius Calvinus, and M. Meffala.^ fhould be de-
clared Confids \f\,Thefe were agreeable likewife
to Capfar : Cicero hadparticularly
recommended
fcire difficile eft. Hirro ta-[^'J
Hoc horret Milo &jTien agente, nolle fe non fi ille Diftator fadlus fit, pasne
probabitAd Quint. 3.8. diiiidit. Intercefforem dic-
[f] De Didatore tamen tatarae fi juverit manu & prae-
a6lum nihil eft. Pompeius fidio fuo Pompeium metuit
abeft: Appius mifcet: Hir- inimicum ; fi non juverit,ti-
rus parat : multi interceflb- met, ne per vimperferatur
res numerantur : populusnon lb. 8.
curat : principes nolunt : ego [^] Vid.- Die. 1. 40. p
qyiefco Jb. 9. 141.
Meflala
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Messala.
of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 13^
MefTala to him ; of whom, he fays in a Letter A. Urb. 700.
to his Brother*,As to your reckening Mejfala and ^if 54-
Calvinus fure Confuls, you agree with what "^"^^
c-H.^ohnn-
think here \ for I will be anfwerable to Cafar for us Calvi-
Mejfala [/]. nus,
M.Valerius
But after all this Buflle about a DiSIator, there
feems to have been no greatreafon for being
much afraid of it at this time : for the Republic
was in fo greata diforder, that nothing lefs than
the Di5!atorial power could reduce it to a tolera-
ble flate : fome good of that kind might reafon-
ably be expelledfrom Pompey, without the fear
of any great harm, while there was fo fure a
check upon him as C^far; who, upon any exor-
bitant ufe of that power, would have had the Se-
nate and all the better fort on hisfide, by
the
fpecious pretenceof alTerting
the public liberty :
Cicero therefore judged rightly,in thinking, that
there were other things, which might be appre-
hended, and feemed likely to happen, that, in
their prefent fituation, were of more dangerous
confequence than a Di^atorfhip,
There had fcarce been fo long an Interregnum
in Ronze^ fince the expulfionof their Kings , dur-
ing which, all public bufinefs, and efpecially all
judicial proceedings,were wholly interrupted :
which explanes a jocofe pafTagein one of Cicero's
letters to Trehatius ; if you had not already^ fays
he, been abfent from Rome, you would certainly
have run away now : for zvhat bufinefsis there for
a Lawyer in fo many Interregnums ? I advife all
my Clients^ if fued in any a^ion^ to move every In-
[/] MefTalam quod cer- nione diiTentitis. Ego Mef-
tum Confulem cum Domitio falam Casfari pr^ellaboAd
nuineratis, nijiil a noltra opi- Quint. 3. 8.
K 4 terrex
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136The History of the Life
A. Urb. yco. terrex twice for more time : do not you thinks that .
^^c- S+- / have learnt the law of you to good purpofe \^g]?
^ r? _ He now be2;an a correfpondence of LettersvN. Do M IT I- ^ ^
usCALvi-^ith Curio, a young Senator of diftinguiflied
Nus, birth and parts,who upon his firfl entrance into
M.Valerius ^v^q Forum had been committed to his care, andMessala.
^^^ ^^ ^j^-g ^Ij^g ^i^Jlor in Afia. He was pof-
fefled of a largeand
fplendid fortune, by the
late death of his Father;
fo that Cicero, who
knew his high fpiritand ambition, and that he
was formed to do much good or hurt to his
country, was diefirous to engage himearly in the
interefts of the Republic \and by inflilling great
and generous fentim^ents, to inflame him with a
love of true glory. Curio had fent orders to his
agents at Rome^ to prodayne ajhew of gladiators in
honor ofhis
deceafed Father: but Cicero
ftopt thedeclaration of it for a while, in hopes to diifuade
him from fo great and fruitlefs an expence [^].
He forefaw, that nothing was more likely to
corrupt his virtue than the ruin of his fortunes ;
or to make him a dangerous Citizen, than pro-
digality : to which he was naturally inclined, and
which Cicero, for that reafon, was the more de-
firous to check at his firfl fetting out : but all his
endeavours were to no purpofe ; Curio refolved
to give thefidew of Gladiators \ and by a continual
profufionof his money, anfwerable to this be-
ginning, after he had a6led the Patriot for fome
'
[^] Nifi ante Roma pro- civile didicifle? Ep.Fam.7.11.fettus efTps, nunc earn certe \h\ Rups Studium nonde-
relinqueres. Qiqs enim tot fait declarandorum munerum
intei-regnisjurifconfultum de- tuo nomine: fed nee mihi
ilderat ? Ego omnibus, undeplacuit,
nee cuiquam tjorum,
pt:tir.ur,hoc confilii dederim, quidquam te abfente fiv-ri,
ut afingulis Interregibus bi- quod tibi, cum veniiTes, non
nas advocationespoilulent. eiTet integrum, &c. Ep. Fain.
$atifne tibi yideor abs te jus 2,3.
pme
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO.135;
PuBLius Crassus, who periiliedwith his Fa- A.Urb. 700.
ther in this fatal expedition,was a youth of an
^p'i"^'
amiable charadter ; educated with the ftri6left q^ Dqmiti-
care, and perfe6lly inilru6i:ed in all the liberal us Calvi-
iludies ;he had a ready wit and eafy language ; nis,
was gravewithout arrogance, modeft without ^.Valerius
negligence,adorned with all the accomplifliments
proper to form aprincipal
Citizen and Leader of
the Republic : by the force of his own judgement
|ie had devoted himfelf very earlyto the obfer-
vance and imitation of Cicero, whom he perpe-
tually attended, and reverenced with a kind of
filial piety.Cicero conceived a mutual affe6lion
for him, and obferving his eager thirft of glory,
was conflantly inftillinginto him the true notion
of it ; and exhorting him to purfue that fure path
to it,which his anceflors had left beaten and
traced out to him, through the gradual afcent of
civil honours. But, by ferving under Casfar in the
Gallic wars, he had learnt, as he fancied, a
fhorter way to fame and power, than what Cice-
ro had been inculcating ; and having fignalized
himfelf in a campaign or two as a foldier, was in
too much hafte to be a General -, when C^efar fent
him at the head of a thoufand horfe, to the af-
fiftance of his Father in the Parthian war. Here'
the vigour of his youth and courage carried him
on fo far, in the purfuit of an enemy, whofe
chief art of conqueft confifted inflying, that
he had no
way
left to efcape, but what his
highfpirit difdained, by the defertion of his troops,
and a precipitate flight ; fo that finding himfelf
oppofed widi numbers, cruelly wounded, and
in danger of falling alive into the hands of the
Parihians^ he chofe to die by the fword of his
Armour-bearer. Thus while heafpired,
as Ci-
cero fays, to the fame of another Cyrus or Alex-ander,
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Messala,
of M.TULLIVS CICERO, 141
as well as civil affairs\o'].
This ad was reverfed A. Urb. 700*.
by Sylla, and the ancient right reftored to the^q^^^'
*
Colleges;but Labienus, when Tribun, in ^'^-
q^.-Oomiti-
cero's Confullhip, recalled the law of Domitius, us Calvi-
to facilitate Csefar's advancement to the High- nus,
Prieflhood : it was neceffary however, that everyJ^- ^ alerius
Candidate Jhould be nominated to the people by two
Augurs^ who gave a foleimt teftimony upon oath of
hisdigfiity
and ftnefs for theoffice
: this was done
in Cicero's cafe by Pompey and Hortenfius, the
two mod eminent members of the College ; and
after the eledbion, he was inftalled with all the
iifual formalities by Hortenfius[/>].
As in the laft year, fo in this, the faftions of
the City prevented the choice of Confuls : the
Candidates, T. Annius Milo, Q^Metellus Scipio,
and P.Plautius Hypfseus, pufhed
on their feveral
interefts with fuch open violence and bribery, as
if the Confulfhip was to be carried onely by mo-
ney or arms [q],Clodius was putting in at the
fame time for the Pr^torfhip, and employing all
his credit and intereit todifappoint Milo, by
whofe obtaining the Confullhip, he was fure to be
eclipfed and controuled^ in the exercife of his fubor-
dinate magijlracy [r]. Pompey was wholly averfe
to Milo, who did not pay him that court, which
[o] Atque hoc idem de C3E- juratus judicium dignitatis
teris Sacerdotis Cn. Domiti- mes feceiat : & inaugura-us Tribunus PL tulit, ^c. De turn ab eodem, ex quo, au-
Leg. Ag.2.
7. guruminftitutis in
parentis[/>] Quo enim tempore me eum loco colere debebam.
Augurem a toto Collegio ex- Brut. init.
petirum Cn. Pompeius & Q. [^qlPlutar. in Cato.
Hortenfius nominaverunt; ne- [t] Occ .rrcbat ei, man-
que enim licebat a pluribus cam ac debilem Pra:turam
nominariPhilip.
2. 2. fuam futuram Confule Milo-
Cooptatum me ab eo in ne Pro IViilon.9.
collegium recordabar, in quo
he
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144 Ti)e Hist ORY of the Life
A. tJrb. 701.*
goes hard with a modeft man, to afl<: anyCic. 55.
tc
thing confiderable of one, whom he takes to*' be obliged to him ; left he be thought to de-*'
mand, rather than to afk :
and to look upon^'
it as a debt, not as a kindnefs. But fince your"
fervices to me, fo eminently difplayed in my''
late troubles, are known to all to be thegreateft ;
** and it is the part of an ingenuous mind, to** wifh to be more obliged to thofe, to whom" we are already much obliged ; I made no
' *'fcruple to beg of you by Letter, what of all
"things is the moft important and necefTary to
*' me. For I am not afraid left I ftiould not*' be able to fuftain the weight of all your fa-
''vors, though ever fo numerous ; being con-
*'fident, that there is none fo great, which my
*'
mindis
not able, both fully to contain, and"amply to requite and illuftrate. I have placed
*'all my ftudies, pains, care, induftry, thoughts,
*' and in Ihort, my very foul, on Milo's Conful-"
Hiip ; and have refolved with myfelf, to ex-*'
ped: from it, not only the common fruit of*'
duty, but thepraife
even of piety : nor was
'' any man, I believe, ever fo follicitous for his
" own fafety and fortunes, as I am for his ho-'' nor
;on which 1 have fixed ail my views and
*'
hopes. You, I perceive, can be of fuch fer-
"vice to him, if you pleafe,
that we fhall have" no occafion for any thing farther. We have*'
alreadywith us the
goodwifties of all the
"honeft, engaged to him by his Tribunate ;
'^and, as you will imagine alfo, I hope, by his
*' attachment to me : of the populace and the
*'multitude, by the magnificence of his fhewS)
'' and the gcncrofity of his nature : of the youth" and men ot intereft, by his own pecuHar cre-
*'
die or diligence among that fort : he has all"my
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO. 147
andrefledling, that he had already done enough A, Urb. 701':
to give his enemy a great advantage againfl him,^^^' 55*
if he was \th aUve to purfue it, refolved, what-
ever was the confequence, to have the pleafureof deftroying him, and lb ordered the houfe to
be ftormed, and Clodius to be dragged out and
murdered : the mailer of the Tavern was like-
wife killed, with eleven of Clodius's fervants,
while the reft faved themfelves by flight: fo that
Clodius's body was left in the road, where it fell,
till S. Tedius, a Senator, happening to come by,took it up into his Chaife, and brought it with
him to Rome-,where it was expofed in that con-
dition, all covered with blood and wounds, to
the view of the populace, who flocked about it in
crowds to lament the miferable fate of their
Leader. The nextday
the
mob,headed
byS.
Clodius, a kinfman of the deceafed, and one of
his chief Incendiaries, carried the body naked, fo
as all the v/ounds might be fcen, into the Forum,and placed it in the Roftra ; where the Three
Tribuns, Milo's enemies, were prepared to ha-
rangue upon it in a ftile fuited to the lamentable
occafion, by which they inflamed their mercena-ries to fuch a height of fury, that fnatching up the
body, they ran away with it into the Senate-houfe,
and tearing up the benches, tables, and every
thing combuftible, drefled up a funeralpile upon
the fpot, and, together with the body, burnt the
houfe itfelf, with a Bqftlica alfo, or public Hall
adjoining, called the Po'rcian ; and, in the fame
fit of madnefs, proceded to ftorm the houfe of
Milo, and of M. Lepidus, the Interrex, but
were repulfed in both attacks, with fome lofs [u].
These
[] Quanquamrevera, fu- 1. 6. c.5.
erat pugna fortuita. Quintil. '^A7ri(jcL<: IZ'jv ts (^ivx 75-
L 2 hvfh\7ci,-/\^
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 149
PoMPEY applied himfelf immediately to calm A. Urb. 701
the public diforders, and publilhed feveral newp*
55-
LawSy prepared by him for that purpofe : one of^^ Mac-'
them was, to appoint a fpecial commijfton to in- n us III.
quireinto Clodius^s deaths the burning of the Senate- Sine CoUegi.
hDufe^ and the attack on M, Lepidus -,and to ap-
point an extraordinary Judge^ of Confular rank,
to prefidein it : a fecond was, againjl bribery and *
corruption in ele5lions^ with the inflilion of new
and feverer penalties. By thefe laws, the method
of trials was altered, and the length of them li-
mited : three days were allowed for the examina-
tion of witnejfes,and the fourth for the fentence ; on
which the accuferwas to have two hours onely^ to
enforce the charge -,the Criminal three^ for his de-
fence [y'\: which regulation Tacitus feems to
confider,as the
firji fieptowards the ruin
of thtRoman eloquence
: by impofing reins^ as it were^
upon its free and ancient courfe [z]. Caelius op-
pofed his negative to thefe Laws, as being rather
privilegesthan Laws^ and provided particularly
againjl Milo : but he was foon obliged to with-
draw it, upon Pompey's declaring, that he would
fupport them by force of Arms. The three Tribuns^
all the while, v/ere perpetually haranguing, and
terrifyingthe City with forged ftories, of maga-
zines of arms prepared by Milo^ for inajfacring his
enemies^ and burning the City ; and produced their
creatures in the Rofira^ to vouch the truth of them
to the people : they charged him particularly with
a defign againft Pompeys life \ andbrought one Li-
cinius, a killer of the vi5Iims for facrifice.,to de-
clare that Milo's fervants hadconjeffed
it to him in
their cups.,and then endeavoured to kill him^ left
[j] Ibid. impofuitque veluti fraenos e-
[z] Primus tertio Confu- loquentige 5:c. Dialog, de
latu Cn. Pompeius aflrinxit, Orator. 38,
L 3 he
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO.lyi
Republic was freed at any rate from fopeftilent
A. Urb. 701.
a Demagogue *, yet he refolved to take the bene- ^^c.55.
fit of the occafion, for gettingrid of Milo too,
^""^^ ^1"'from whofe ambition and high fpirit he had caufe j^us III.
to apprehendno lefs trouble. He would not Sine
Collega.
Jiflen therefore to any overtures, v/hich were
made to him by Milo's Friends ; and when Milo
offered to drop his fuit for the ConfuIJhip. if that
would fatisfy him, he anfwered, that be "jooiild
not concern himfelfwith any man's filing
ordefifling^
nor give any obftru5lionto the power and inclination
of the Roman people.He attended the trial in
perfon with a ftrong guard to preferve peace, and
prevent any violence from either fide : there
were many clear and pofitive proofs produced
agamft Milo, though fome of them were fuppo-
fed to be forged;
among the reft, the r'ejlal vir^
gins depofed,that a woman unknown came to them^
in Milo'^s name^ to difchargea vow, faid to be made
by him, on the account of Clodius's death[f].
When the examination v/as over, Munatius
Plancus called the people together, and exhgrted
them to appear in a full body the next day, when
judgement was to be given, and to declare their
fentiments in fo publica manner, that the cri*
minal might not be fuffered to efcape ; which
Cicero reflects upon in the defence, as an infult
on the libertyof the Bench [/]. Early in the
morning, on the eleventh of April, thefhops
were
all
fhut,
and the wholeCity gathered
into the
Forum -,where the avenues were poiTelTed by
Pompey's foldiers, and he himfelf featert in a con-
fpicuous part,to overlook the whole preceding,
[e] Vid. Afconii argum.licere vobis, quod fentiatis,
in Milon. libere judicare. Pro Mil. 26,
[/] Utintelligatis
contra Vid. Afcon. ibid.
heilernani illam concionem
L 4 and
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Ty2 77?^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 701. and hinder all difturbancc. The accufers were,Cic. 55. Xoung Jppius, the Nephew of Clodius^ M, Anto-
s M^^-' ^^^*^' "^ ^' Valerius^ who, according to the
Nus III. new law, employed two hours^ in fupporting
Sine Collega.their indidtment. Cicero was the onely advocate
on Milo's fide ; but as foon as he rofe up to fpeak
he was received with fo rude a clamor hy the Clo^
dianSy that he was much difcompofed and daunted at
his firft Jetting out , yet recoveredfpirit enough to
go . through his fpeech of three hours ; which was
taken down in writings and puhlijhed as it was de*
livered ; though the copy of it now extant is fup-
pofed to have been retouched and corrected by
him afterwards, for aprefent
to Milo in his
exil [gl.
In the counfil of Milo's friends, feveral were
of opinion, that he fhould defend himfelf, by
avowing the death of Clodius to he an a5l of public
benefit : But Cicero thought that defence too de^
fperate y as it would difguft the gra\^, by open-
ing fo great a door to licence ; and offend the
powerfull,left the precedent fhould be extend-
ed to themfelves. But Toung Brutus was not fp
cautious , who, in an oration, which he compo-fed and publifhed afterwards in vindication of
Milo, maintained thekilling of Clodius to be
right
undjujl^ and of great fervice to the Republic [b].
It was notorious, that on both fides, they had
often threatened death to each other : Clodius ef-
peciallyhad declared feveral times both to the
M Cicero, cum inciperet cuifTet, ita defendi crimen,
dicere, acceptuseft acclama- interfici Clodjum pro Repub,
tionc Clodianorum itaque fuifTe, quam fbrmam M. Bru- ,
non ea, quafolitas erat, con- tus fecatus eft in ea oratione,V
ilantia dixit Manet autem quam pro Milone compofuit,
ilia quoque excepta ejus Ora- &edidit,quamvis non egiffet,
tio Afcon.
Argum.
Ciceroni id nonplacuit
y?]Cum quibufdam pla- ibid,
Senzitc
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of M, "TULLIUS CICERO, 153
Senate and the people, that Milo ought to be killed-,A. Urb, 701.
and thaty ifthe
Confiil/hipcould 7iot he taken from p-
55-
hiniy hislife
could : and whe?i Favonius ajked himus Mag-'
cnce, what hopes he could have of flaying his mad nus III.
franks ywhile Milo was
living -,he
replied^ that in Sine Collega.
three or four days at mofi^ he flooidd live no more :
which was fpoken juft three days before the fatal
rencounter, and attefted by Favonius \i\ Since
Milo then was charged with being the contriver
of their meeting, and the aggreflbr in it, and fe-
veral teftimonies were produced to that purpofe,
Cicero chofe to rifle the caufe on that iiTue; in
hopes to perfuade,what feemed to be the moft
probable, that Clodius aElually layin wait for
Milo, and contrived the time and place \ and that
Milo^s part was hut anecejfary
ai of felf defence.
This appeared plaufible, fromthe
nature of their
equipage, and the circumftances irr which they
met : for though Milo's company was the more
numerous, yet it was much more encumbered,
and unfit for engagement, than his adverfary's ;
he himfelf being in a chariot with his wife, and all
her women along with him ; while Clodius with his
followers were on horfehack ; as if prepared and
equipped for fighting \k\ He did notpreclude
himfelf
[/] Etenim palam didita- [ i ] Interim cnm fciret
bat, confulatum Miloni eripi Clodius Iter Iblenne ne-
non pofTe, vitam pofTe. Sig- cefTarium Miloni efle La-
nifica\dt hoc faepe in Senatu ; nuvium Roma ipfe profec-dixit in concione. Quine- tus pridie eft, ut ante fcum
tiam Favonio, qusrenti ex fundum, quod re intelledum
CO, qua fpe fureret, Milone eft, infidias Miloni colloca-
vivo ? Refpondit, triduo ii- ret Milo autem cum in 3e-
ium, ad fummum quatriduo natu fuiffet eo die, quoad Se-'
periturum. Pro Mil. 9. natus dimifTus eft, domumPoft diem tertium gefta
res venit, calceos h veftimenta
eft,
quamdixeiAt. lb. 16. mutavit ;
paullifper,dum fe
\iixar.
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vs MagNUS III.
Sine Collega.
i^^' Th History of the
Life
A. Urb. 701. himfelf however by this from the otherplea,
Cic. 55. which he often takes occafion to infinuate, that
^Ir^A/r*^^^' // Milo had really deftgned and contrived to kill Clo-
dius^ he would have deferved honors infiead of pu-
ni/bmentj for cutting off fo defperate anddangerous
an enemy to the peace andliberty of Rome [/].
In this fpeech for Milo, after he had Ihewn
the follyof paying fuch a regard to the idle ru-
mors and forgciics ot his enemies, as to give
them the credit of an examination, he touches
Pompey's conducl and 'pretended fears^ with a
fine and mafterly raillery ;and from a kind of
prophetic forefightof what might one day hap-
pen, addrefles himfelf to him in a very pathetic
manner."
I could not but applaud, fays he^'the wonderfull diligence of Pompey in thefc
'
inquiries :
but to tell you freely, what I think ;
'thofe who are charged with the care of the
' whole Republic, are forced to hear many'
things, which they would contemn, if they* were at liberty to do it. He could not refufe
' an audience to that paultry fellow, Licinius,' who gave the information about Milo's fer-
' vants I was fent for among the firil of
uxor, ut fit, comparat, com-
moratus eft obviam fit ei
Clodius expeditus in equo,
nulla rheda, nullis impedi-
mentis, nullis Grsecis Comi-
tibus, fine uxore,
quod
nun-
quam fere ; cum hie Infidia-
tor, (Milo) cum uxore in
rheda veberetur penulatus,
magno impedimento, ac mu-
liebri & delicato ancillarum &
puerorum comitatu Pro
Mil. 10. it. 21.
[/] Quamobrem ft cruen-
tum gladium tenens clama-
ret T. Annius, adefte, qusefo,
atque audite cives : P. Clo-
dium interfeci :
ejus furores,
quos nullis jam legibus, nullis
judiciis fraenare
poteramus,hoc ferro, atque hac dextra
a cervicibus veftrisrepuli,
&c. Vos tanti fceleris ul-
torem non modo honoribus
nullis afficietis, fed etiam ad
fupplicium rapi patiemini?-
Pro Mil, 28-^&c.
uthofe
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 155'*
thofe friends, by whofe advice he laid it be- A. Urb. 701.
*'fore the Senate j and was, I own, in no fmall
^^^-55-
"confternation, to fee the Guardian both of me
^^f^*J^^*'
and my Country under fo great an apprehen- ^^^ III.
"fion ; yet I could not help wondering, that Sine Collega.
"fuch credit was given to a Butcher ; fuch re-
"gard to drunken flaves ; and how the wound
"in the man's fide, which feemed to be the
^'
prick onely of a needle, could be taken for
^' the flroke of a Gladiator. But Pompey was
" fhewing his caution, rather than his fear : and**
difpofedto be fufpicious of every thing, that
"you might have reafon to fear nothing. There
" was a rumor alfo, that Cjefar's houfe was at- '
** tacked for feveral hours in the night : the
"neighbours, though in fo public a place, heard
"
nothingat all of it ;
yetthe affair was
thought*'fit to be enquired into. I can never fufpedl
** a man of Pompey's eminent courage, of be-
*'
ing timorous-,nor yet think any caution too
"great in one who has taken upon hiiufelf the
" defence of the whole Republic. A Senator"
likewife, in full houfe, affirmedlately
in the
" Capitol, that Milo had a dagger under his**
gown at that very time : Miloflript himfelf
*'prefently
in that moft facred Temple ; that,
^' viince his life and manners would not give him"
credit, the thing itfelf might fpeak for him,^' which was found to be falfe, and bafely forged." But if, after all, Milo mull Hill be feared ; it
,^*is no longer the affair of Clodius, but your
"fufpicions, Pompey, which we dread : your,
"your fufpicions,
Ifay, and fpeak it fo, that
*'
you may hear me. If thofe fufpicions flick
^' fo clofe, that they are never to be removed ;
"if Italy mult never be free from new levies,
*^
nor the City from arrns, without Milo's de-.
<* Urudion 5
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1^6 Th^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 701." ftruftion; he would notfcruple, fuch is his
Cic. 55.<c nature and his principles, to bid adieu to his
^^*^M^^^'"
Country, and fubmit to a voluntary exil : but
Nus III. " ^t taking leave, he would call upon Thee,Sine CoUega.
" O Thou Great One ! as he now does, to con-"
fider how uncertain and variable the condition
" of life is : how unfettled and inconftant a*'
thing fortune ; what unfaithfullnefs there is
"in friends ;
what diffimulation fuited to times
" and circumftances ; what defertion, what*' cowardice in our dangers, even of thofe, who
"are dearefl to us: there will, there will, I
"fay,
be a time, and the day will certainly*'
come, when you, withfafety ftill, I hope,
*'to your fortunes, though changed perhaps by
*' fome turn of the common times, which, as
*'
experience fhews, will often happen to us all,*'
may want the affedion of the friendliefl, the
*'fidelity
of the worthieft, the courage of the
" braveft man living, ^c. [/]"
Of one and fifty Judges^ who fat upon Milo,
thirteen onely acquitted, andthirty-eight con-
demned him',the votes were ufually given by
ballot; but Cato, who abfolved him, chofe to
give his vote openly ;and "
if he had done it
"earlier, fays Felleius, would have drawn others
"after him
-,fince all were convinced, that he,
*' who was killed, was, of all who had ever
"lived, the mofl pernicious enemy to his
*'
Country,and to all
goodmen
[n].^'Milo
went into exil at Marfeilles^ a few days after his
condemnation : his debts were fo great, that he
[w] Pro Mil. 24, 25,26 plum, probarentque eum ci-
[k] M. Cato palam lata vem occifum, quo nemo per-
abfolvit fententia, quam fi niciofior Reip. neque bonis
maturius tuliiTet, non defuif- inimicior vixerat. - Veil.
fent, qui fequerentur exem- P. 3. 47.
wa^
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. t^j
was glad to retire the fooner from the importu-A. Urb. 701;
nity of his creditors , for whofe fatisfadlion his^^^-
55-
whole eftate was fold by public audlion. Here^""^s^mIg-'
Cicero ftill continued his care for him, and in nus III.
concert with Milo's friends, ordered one of his SineCollega.
wife's freedmen, Philotimus, to afTift at the fale,
and to purchafe thegreateft part of the efFedls,
in order to difpofe of them afterwards to the
beft advantage^ for the benefit of Milo and his
wife Fatijia^ if any thing could be faved for them.
But his intended fervice was not fo well reiilhed
by Milo, as he expected ; for Philotimus was
fufpeded of playing the knave, andfecreting
part of the effedls to his own ufe ; which gaveCicero great uneafinefs ; fo that he prefTed Atti-
cus and Caslius toinquire into the matter very
narrowly,and
oblige Philotimus
"to give fa-"
tisfadion to Milo's friends ; and to fee efpe-*'
cially,that his own reputation did not fuifer
"by the management of his fervant [^J."
Through this wholeftruggle about Milo, Pom-
pey treated Cicero withgreat humanity : he af-
figned him a"guard at the trial ; forgave all
*' his labors for his friend, though in oppofition
[0] Confilium meum hoc ego ei coram dixeram, mihi-
fuerat, primum ut in poteftate que ille receperat,ne fit in-
noftra res eflet, ne ilium ma- vito Milone in bonis Adlus emptor & alienus manci- Att.
5.8. it. 6. 4.
piis, que permulta fecum ha- Qyod ad Philotimi liberti
bet, fpoliaret: deinde ut ofHcium & bona Milonis ac-
Fauftae, cui cautum ille vo- tinet, dedimus operam ut &luiflet, ratum effet. Erat Philotimus quam honeftiffime
etiam iliud, utipfi nos, fi Miloniabfenti, ejufquenecef-
quid fervaripofTet, quam fa- fariis fatis faceret, & fecun-
cillime fervaremus. Nunc dum ejus fidem & fedulita-
rem totamperfpicias velim tem exiftimatio tua conferva-
Si illequeritur Si idem retur. Ep. Fam, 8. 3.
Faufta vult, Philotimus, ut
ccto
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l6o "The Vil^TOTLY of the LifeA. Urb. 701. took to plead his caufe, before Judges of his
Coir^'^^^ appointing ; yet by Cicero's vigor in ma-
Cn.Pompei- '^^S^^S the profecLition,he was condemned by an
us Mag- Unanimous vote of the whole bench [j]. CiceroT^us 111. was highly pleafed v/ith this fuccefs, as he
figni-CLC^ciLiuc
i^gg in a Letter to his friend Marius, which willlvm.ETELLUS . .
Scipio. explane the motives of his condudl in it.
"I know very well, fays he^ that you rejoice
' *'at Burfa's fate, but you congratulate me too
"
coldly
:
you imagine, you
tell me, that for*'
the fordidnefs of the man, I take the Jefs
"pleafure in it : but believe me, I have more
"joy from this fentence than from the death^^ of my enemy : for, in the firil place, I love
'* to purfue, rather by a trial, than the fword ;
"rather with the glory, than the ruin of a
**
friend j and it pleafed me extremely, to fee**
fo great an inclination of all honeft men on"my fide, againft the incredible pains of one,
"the moft eminent and powerful : and
laftly,*' what you will fcarce think
pofiible, 1 hated*'
this fellow worfe than Clodius himfelf : for I
" had attacked the one, but defended the other :
*' and Clodius, when the fafety of the Republic*' was rifl<:ed upon my head, had fomething*'
great in view, not indeed from his own"
ftrength, but the help of thofe, who could*^
not maintain their ground, whilll I Hood firm :
** but thisfilly Ape, out of a gayety of heart,
'*
chofe me particularly tor the obje(5l of his in-*'
vedlives,
and perfuaded thofe, who envied
*'me, that he would be always at their fervice,
*'to infult me at any warning. Wherefore I
*'
charge you to rejoicein good earned ^ for it
[j]Plancum, qui omnibus fu condemnatus-
fententiit maximcveftroplau- Philip. 6, 4.
"is
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l6t The History of the Life
A. Urb. 701. G^^ [^] ; in the other two books, he gives aCic. 55.
body of laws conformable to his own plan and
us Mag- ^^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^^ ordered City [-z]: firfl, thoie
^us III. which relate to religion and the worjhip of the
QX^ciLius Gods ; fecondly, thofe which prefcribe the duties
Mete LL us and powers of the feveral Magijirates^ from which
the peculiarform of each government is de-
nominated. Th'efe laws are generally taken fromthe old conjlitution or cujiom of Rome [^] ; with
fome little variation and temperament, contrived
to obviate the diforders, to which that Republic
was liable, and to give it a ftronger turn towards
the Ariflocratical fide \h\ : in the other books
which are loft, he had treated, as he tells us, of
the particular rightsand
privileges of the Roman
people [fl.
PoMPEY was preparing an Infcription thisfummer for the front of the New Temple^ which
he had latelybuilt to Venus the Conquerefs^ con-
taining as ufual, the recital of all his Titles : but
in drawing it up, a queftion happened to be
liarted, about the manner of expreffing his third
\y ] Hanc igitur video fa- quae de optimaRepub. fen-
pientifTimorumfuifTe fenten- tiremus, in fex libris ante
tiam, legem neque hominum diximus, accommodabimus
ingeniis excogitatam, nee hoc tempore legesad ilium,
fcitum aliquod efie populo- quern probamus, civitatis fta-
rum, fed aeternum quiddam, tum lb.3. 2.
quod univerfum mundum re- [a] Et fi quas forte a me
geret, imperandi prohiben- hodie rogabuntur, quae non
dique fapientia. Ita princi- fint in noilra Repub. nee fue-
pem legem illam & ultimam rint, tamen erunt fere in more
mentem effe dicebant, om- majorum, qui tum, ut lex,
nia ratione autcogentis
aut valebat. lb. 2. 10.
vetantis Dei Quamobrem [^] Nihil habui ; fane non
lex vera atque princeps multum, quod putarem no-
ratio ell reda fummi Jovis. vandum inlegibus. lb. 3. 5,
lb. 2. 4. [r] lb.3.
20.
[2;] Non autem
quoniam
Confulfhip ;
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of M. rULLIUS CiCEkO. 16^
onful/hip% whether it fhould be by ConfulTer-A. Vrh.yot:
tium ov Tertio, This was referred to the princi- ^q'J^'
pal Critics of Rome^ who could not, it ferns, ^j^Po^pei.
agree about it ; feme of them contending for the vs Mag-one, fome for the other
; fo that Pompey leftit to nus III.
Cicero^ to decide the matter, and to infcribe what Q^C^cilius
he thought the beft. But Cicero being unwiHing scipiq.
to give judgement on either fide, when there were
great authorities on both, and Varro amongthem, advifed Pompey to abbreviate the word in
qvefiion^ and order TER T. onely to be infcribed \
whichfully
declared the thing, without deter-
mining the difpute.From this fadl we may ob-
ferve, how nicely exaft they were in this age, in
preferving a propriety of language in their pub-lic monuments and infcriptions [d].
Among the other ads of
Pompey,in this
third Confulfhip^ there was a new lawagainft bri-
bery, contrived to ftrengthen the old ones, that
were already fubfifting againft it,"by difquali-
**
fying all future Confuls and Prastors, from"
holding any province, till five years after the**
expiration of their Magiftracies :" for this
was thought Hkely to give fome check to the
eagernefs of fuing and bribing for thofe great
ofEces, when the chief fruit and benefit of them
was removed to fuch a difiance \e\ But before
the lawpafled, Pompey took care to provide an
exception for himfelf," and to get the govern-
" ment of Spain continued to him for ?iyt years
" longer ; with an appointment of money for
**the payment of his troops :'* and left this
fhould give offence to C^far, if fomething alfo
\_i'\ Thisftory
is told by Letter preferved by A. Gel-
Tiro, a favorite flave and lius. 1. 10. i.
freedmaa of Cicero, in a [^] Dio. p.\ 42.
-^
Ma of
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1^4'
^^'^ History of the LifeA.Urb. 701. of an extraordinary kind was not provided for
C ff^him ;
he propofed a law, todifpenfe withCafar^s
Cn. PoMPEi- ^^fince in fuing for theConfuljhip ; of which Cas-
us Mag- far at that time feemed very defirous. CsehusNus III. vvas the promoter of this law, engaged to it by
Q^C^ciLius (;^j^(.j.Q ^^ ^^^ j^-^^ requeji of Pompey and Ca-Metellus r r r-\ j- i -i 1
SciPio. J^^ L/ J >"^^^ 1^ was carried with the concurrence
of all the Tribuns, though not without difficulty
and obibrud:ion from the Senate : but this unu-
fual favor^ infiead of fatisfying Cafar^ ferved one-
ly^ as Suetonius fays, toraife
his hopes and de-
mandsjiill higher \g\.
By Fompefs lcni\ jufl mentioned, it was pro-
vided, that for a fupply of Governors for the
interval *' of five years, /// which the Confuls*' and Pr^tors were difqualilied, the Senators of"
Confular and Praetorianrank, who
had never*'
held any toreign command, fliould divide the*'
vacant Provinces among themfelves by lot :"
in confequence of which, Cicero, who was ob-
liged to take his chance with the reft, obtained
the Government of Cilicia^ now in the hands of
Appius, the late Conful : this Province included
alfo Tifidiuy Paniphilia^ and three Diocefes^ as
they were called, or DiJlri5Js of Afia^ together
with the If]and of Cyprus ; for the guard of all
which,"
a ftanding army was kept up of two**
Legions, or about twelve thoufand foot ;with
f two thoufand fix hundred horfe [^] :" and
[/] Rogatus ab ipfo Ra- retur Quod ut adeptus ell,
vennse de Ccslio .Tribuno aldora jam meditans & fpei
pleb. ab ipfo autem ? Etiam plenus, nullum largitionis,
a Cnseo nollro. Ad Att.7.
aut officiorum in quemquamI, genos publice privatimque
Ei"] Egit cum Tribunis omii:t. Suet.J.
Csef. 26.
pleb. lit abienti fibi- *\}j\
Ad Att,5. 15.
petitio fecundi Confulatus da-
thusk
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of M,rULLIUS CICERO. x6sthus one of thofe Provincial Governments^ which A. Urb. 701.
were withheld from others by Jaw, to corredl ^'^- 55-
their inordinate paffion for them, was. contrary ^ J?
7 ;/ 7 n 7 7 7 7 /> Cn. Pompei-
to his will ana expectation^ obtruded at lajt upon us Mag-Cicero
-,whofe bufinefs it had been through hfe nus Ifl.
to avoid them[/]. Q.C^cilius
The City began now to feel the unhappy ef-^'^^^"^^^^^^
feds, both of Julians andCraffus's deaths from
the mutual apprehenfions and jealoufies, which
difcovered themfelves more and more every daybetween Pompey and Csefar : the Senate was ge-
nerally in Pompey's intereft; and trading to the
name and authority of fo great a Leader, were
determined to humble the pride and ambition of
C.iefar, by recalling him from his Government ;
whilft Csefar, on the other hand, trufting to the
flrength ofhis
troops, refolved to keep pofTef-fion of it in defiance of all their votes ; and by
drawing a part of his forces into the Italic or
Cifalpine Gaul, fo as to beread^i^at any warning
to fupport his pretenfions, began to alarm all
Italy with the melancholy profpedb of an ap-
proaching civil war : and this was the fituation
of affairs, when Cicero fet forward towards his
Government of Cilicia.
[/]Cum & contra volun- cum imperlo in Provinciam
tatem meam Szpra^ter opi- proiicifci necefle eflet. Ep-
nionem accidiflct, ut mihji Fam.3. 2.
M 3 SECT.
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i66 ^e History of the Life
SECT. VIL
^. Urb. 702. tJI^ HIS year opens to us a new fcene in Ci*
Coff.
- rr^ ,-- .^ , _.
^P*/r^* X cero's life, and prefents him in a charader,
Serv^Sulpi-"^^^^^ he had never before fuftained, of the Go-
cius RuFus,i^^rmr ofa Province, and General ofan army. Thefe
M. Clau-preferments were,
of all
others,the moft ardent-
DiusMAR-]y (3efired by the great, for the advantages whichciLLus.
^i^gy afforded both of acquiring power, and
amaffing wealth : for their command, though ac-
countable to the Roman people, was abfolute and
uncontroulable in the Province ; where they kept
lipthe ftate and pride of foverein Princes, and
had all the neighbouring Kings paying a court to
them, and attending their orders. If their ge-
nius was turned to arms, and fo^d of martial
glory, they coU-ld never want a pretext for war,
lince it was eafy to drive thefubjedls into rebel-
lion, or the adjoining nations to ads ofhoftility
bytheir
oppreflionsand
injuries,till from the
definition of a number of innocent people, theyhad acquired the ^'itle of Emperor^ and with it
^he pretenfion to a triumph; without which
fcarce any Proconful was ever known to return
from a remote and frontier Province [a]. Their
Opportunities
[a] While the ancient dif- his own foldiers. This was
cipline of the Republic Tub- exprefsly enabled by an old
fifted, no general could pre- law : in fupport of which a
tend to a triqmph, who had fecond was afterwards provid-
not enlarged the bounds of ed, that piade it penal for
the Empire by his conquefts, any of their triumphant Com-
and killed at leaft five thou- manders to give a falfe ac-
fand enemies in battle, with- count of the number of flain,
cut any confiderable lofs of either on the enemy's iide, or
their.
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vf M.TULLIUS CICERO.16^
opportunitiesof raifing money were as immenfe A. Urb. 702.
as their power, and bounded only by their ^'^' S^-
own appetites : the appointments from the trea-q^, %',.
fury, for their equipage, plate, and necellary tur- cius Rufus,
niture, amounted, asappears from fome in- M. Clau-
flances, to near a hundred and fifty thoufanddiusMar-
pounds [J?]: and, befides the revenues of king-
cellus.
doms, and pay of armies, of which they had the
arbitrary management, they could exadt what
(Contributions they pleafed,not onely from the
Cities of their own jurifdidion, but from all the
ftates and Princes around them, who were un-
der the protectionof Rome. But while their
primary care was to enrich themfelves, they car-
ried out with them always a band of hungryfriends and dependents, as their Lieutenants^ Tri-
huns^ Prafe^iSyv.'ith a crew of freedmen and
favorite (laves, who were all likewife to be en-
riched by the fpoilsof the Province, and the
fale of their mailer's favors. Hence flowed all
thofe accufations and trials for the plunder of
the fubjeds, of which we read fo much in the
Roman writers : for as few or none of the Procon-
fuls behaved themfelves with that exad juilice,
as to leave no room for complaint, fo the fadions
of the Gity,and the quarrels of families, fubfift-
theirown; and obliged them. General of any credit, who
upon their entrance into the had gained fome little advan-
City, to take an oath before tage againftPirates or fugi-
theQuaeftors
orpublic
Trea- tives, or
repelled
the incur-
furers, that the accounts, iions of the wild barbarians,
which they had fent to the who bordered upon the di-
Senate, of each number, ftant provinces,
were true. [Val. Max. 2. 8.] [b']Nonne HS. centies &
Butthefe laws had long been olagies quali vafarii nomi-
negleded and treated as ob- ne ex aerariotibiattributum,
folete ; and the honor of a Romseinquiefturelicjuilli? in
Triumph ufually granted, by Pifon. 35.
intrigue and fa^ion, to every
W 4 ing
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CELLUS.
1^8^
The History of the Life
A. Urb. 702. ingfrom former impeachments, generally excited
^^50-fome or other to revenge the affront in kind, by
Serv. Sulpi- ^undertaking the caufe of aninjured Province,
CI us RuFus, and drefTing up an impeachment againll theirM. Clau-
enemy.diusMar' But whatever benefit or glory this Govern-
ment feemed to offer, it had no charms for Cice-
ro : the thing itfelf wasdijagreeahle
to his tem-
per [r],nor vv^orthy
of thofe talents, which were
formed to fit at the helm, and fhine in the admi-
niflration of the v/hole Republic : fo that he con-
lidered it onely as an honourable exil, or a bur-
then impofed by his country, to which his duty
obliged him to fubmit. Flis firfl care therefore
was to provide, that this command might not be
prolonged to hmi beyond the ufual term of a
year ;
which v/as
frequently c^one,when the ne-
cefTities of the Province, the chara6ler of the
man, the intriguesof
parties,or the hurry of
other buHnefs at heme, left the Senate neither lei-
fure nor inclination to think of changing the Go-
vernor : and this was the more likely to happenat prefent, through the fcarcity of magiflrates,
who were now left capable by the late law of fuc-;
ceding him. Before his departure therefore he
follicited all his friends, not to fuffer fuch a mor-
tification to fall upon him ,and after he was gone,
fcarce wrote a fmgle letter to Rome^ without
urging the fame requcfl in the moffprefTing terms :
in his firfl to Atticus, within three
days
from
their parting ; do 'not imagine fays he, that I
[t-]Totum negotlum non moribus, &c. ad Att.
5.10.
eft; dignum viribus noflris, qui Sed eft incredlbile, quam
ipajore onera in Rep. faftincre menegotii toedeat, non habet
& poffim k foleam. Ep. fam. fatis magnum campum ille
2,.xi. tibi non ignotus curfus animi
O reip miniflie aptam meis mei. ib.15.
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of M.I'ULLIUS CICERO. 169
have any other confolatmi in this great trouble^ than A. Urb. 702.
the hopes that it will not be continued beyond theq ^
year : many^ who judge of me by others^ do not take Serv.Sulpi-
me to be in earneft^ but you^ who know me^ will ufe cwjs Rufus,all your diligence^ efpecially, when the affair is to M Clau-
comeonUldiusMar-
He left the City about the firfl o^ May, attend-
ed by his Brother and their two Sons : for Quin-tus had quitted
his commiffion under Caefar, in
order to accompany him into Cilicia, in the fame
capacityof his Lieutenant, Atticus had defired
him, before he leftItaly,
to admonifL his Bro-
ther, to fhew more complaifance and affeclion to
his wife Pomponia, who had been complainingto him of her hufband's peevifhnefs and churlifh
carriage ;and left Cicero fhould forget it, he put
him in mind again, bya letter to
him on the,
road, that fince all the family were to be together
in the Country, on this occafion of his going
abroad, he would perfuade Quintus to leave his
wife at leaft in good humor at their parting : in
relation to which, Cicero fends him thefollowing
account of what pafTed.
" When I arrived at Arpinum, and my Bro-*' therwas come to me, our firft and chief difcourfe
" was on you ; which gave me an opportunity" of falling upon the affair of your Siller, which"you and I had talked over together at Tufcu-
" lum : I never faw any thing fo mild and mo-*'
derate as
myBrother was, without
giving
the
" leaft hint of his ever having had any real
Iji]Noli putare mihialiam credunt ex confuetudine alio-
confolationem efTe hujus in- rum. Tu, qui fcis, omnem
gentismoleftize,nifi quod fpe- diligentlam adhibebis ;turn
ro non longiorem annua fore, fcilicet, cum id agi debebit.
Hoc me ita veile niulti non lb. 2,
cccaufe
V
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of M, rULLIUS CICERO. 171
fee, that there is occafion alfo on your part for A. Urb. 70a,
< advke and admonition [e]." ^Coff^'One cannot help obferving from this little rn-
Serv.Sulpi-
eident, what is confirmed by innumerable inftances cius Rufus,in the Roman ftory, that the freedom of a divorce^ M. Clau-
which was indulged without reflraint at Rome,^^^^ Ma%'^
to the caprice of either party, gave no advantage^^^^^^*
of comfort to the matrimonial ftate ; but on the
contrary, feems to have encouraged rather a mu^
tual pervcrfenefs and obllinacy ; lince upon anylittle difguft, or obftrudlion given to their follies,
the expedient of a change was ready always to
flatter them, with the hopes of better liiccefs in
another trial : for there never was an age or
Country, where there was fo profligate a con-
tempt and violation of the nuptial bond, or fo
much lewdncfs and infidelityin
the Great of bothfexes, as at this time in Rome.
Cicero fpent a few days as he pafled for-
ward, at his Cuman Villa^ near Bai^, where there
was fuch a refort of Company to him, that he
had^ hefays,
a kind of a little Rome about him :
Hortcnfius came among the reft, though much
put of health, to pay his compliments, and wifh
him a good voyage, and, at taking leave, when
he afked, what commands he had for him in his
<ibfence^Cicero begged of him onely, to ufe all
hisauthority, to hinder his Government from being
prolonged to him [/]. In fixteen days from
Rome,he arrive^ ^t
Tarentum,where he had
[^] Ad A tt. 5.1. ne; pateretur, quantum e/Tet
[/] In Cumano cum ef- in ipfo, prorogari nobis pro-
fem, venit ad me, quod mi- vinciam. habuimus in Cu-
hi pergratum fuit, nofter manoquafi pufillamRomam :
Hortenfius : cui, depofcentitanta erat in his locis multi-
jnea mandata, caetera uni- tudo, ib. 2.
Yfrre fijandavij illud
proprie^
promifed
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lyi The History of the Life
A. Urb. 702. prbmifed to make a vifit to Pompey, who wasCic. 56. taking the benefit of that foft air, for the re-
^
"covery of his health, at one of his Villa's in thofe
cius RuFus parts; and had invited and prefTed Cicero to
M. Clau- fpend fome days with him upon his journey :
Dius Mar-they propofed great fatisfadlion on both fides
cELLus. from this interview, for the opportunity of con-
ferring together with all freedom, on the prefent
Hate of the Republic, which was to be their fub-
jedt : though Cicero expeded alfo to get fome l^^-
fons of the military kind, from this renowned
Commander* He promifed Atticus an account
of this Conference ; but the particulars being too
delicate to be communicated by Letters, he ac-
quainted him onely in general, that be found Pom-
fey an excellent Citizen^ and provided for all events^
which. could pojfibly be apprehended [ ^ ].
After three days fiay with Pothpey^ he pro-
ceded to BrundifiLim ; where he was detained for
twelve days by ajlight indifpofition^and the expec-
tation, of his principal officers, particularly of his
Lieutenant Ponlinius, an experienced Leader, the
fame who had triumphed over theAllohroges \ and
on whofe fkill he chiefly depended in his martial
affairs. From Brundifium, he failed to Aclium,
en the fifteenth of June ; whence partly by fea,
\\ Nos Tarenti, quos cum cefn libenter multos enim e-
Pompeio cT/ctAo-j/K^deRepub. jus prsclaros de Repub. fer-
habuerimus ad te perfcribe- mones accipiam : inltruar e-*
mus ib. 5. tiam confiliis idoneis ad hocTarentum veni a. d. xv nollrum negotium. ib. 6.
Kal. Jun. quod Pontinium Ego, cum triduum cum
ftatueram expeftare, commo- Pompeio & apud Pompeiumdiirimum duxi dies eos cum fuiffem, proficifcebar
Brun-
Pompeio confumere : eoque difium. Civem iilum egre-
magis, quod ei gratum eile gium relinquebam, &: adhaec,
id videbam, qui etiam a mequae timentur, propulfanda,
petierit,
ut fecum &apud
fe
paratifiimum.
ib.
7*
. .
elTem quotidie ; quod con-
and
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of MTULLIUS CICERO. 175
and partly by land, he arrived at Athens on the A. Urb. 702^
twenty-fixth [h'].Here he lodged in the houfe
^q ^^'of Ariftus, the principal profeffor
of /^^^(f^J^-Serv.sIjlpi-
my, and his Brother not far from him, with cius Rufus,
Xeno, another celebrated Philofopher of Epicu-M. Clau-
rus's School: they fpent their time here veryd'usMar-
agreeably ,at home, in Philofophical difquifitions ;
abroad, in viewing the buildings and antiquities
of theplace,;
with which Cicero was much de-
lighted : there were feveral other men of learn-
ing, both Greeks and Romans, of the party , ef-
peciallyGallus Caninius and Patro, an eminent
Epicurean, and intimate friend of Atticus[i].
The R E lived at this time in exil at Athens,
C Memmius, baniflied upon a convidion of bri-
bery, in his fuit for the confulfhip ; who, the
daybefore Cicero's
arrival, happenedto
goaway to Mitylene. The
figure,which he had
born in Rome, gave him authority in Athens ;
and the council of Areopagus had granted him a
piece of ground to build upon, where Epicurus
formerly livedo and where there flill remained the
old ruins of his walls. But this grant had given
great offence to the whole body of the Epicureans^
to fee the remains of their mailer in danger of
being deftroyed. They had written to Cicero at
Rome, to beg him to intercede with Memmius,to confent to a revocation of it; and now at
Athens, Xeno and Patro renewed their inflances,.
and prevailed with him to write about it, in the
mofl effedual manner ,for though Memmius had
[^] Ad Att.5. 8, 9.
multum & Philofophia fi
[z] Valde me Athene de- quid eft, eft in Arifto apudleclarunt : urbs duntaxat, & quern eram, nam Xenoneni
urbis ornamentum, & homi- tuum -
Quinto concefTeram
Jium amores in te, & in nos ad Att.5. x. Ep. fam. 2.
[*i?dambenevolentia i
fed 8.
13.
i.
laid
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1/4 72'^ til sro'kx of the Life
A, Urb. 702. laid afide his defign of building, ibeAreopagites
Cic. 56. iDQuld not: recall their decree without his leave[k],
S s I-^i<^^^o's letter is drawn with much art and accu-
cius KuFus, raey : he laughs at the trifling zeal of thefe Phi-M. Ci.Av- lofophers, for the eld rubhijh and paultry ruins of
PfusMAR-/^^^> Founder^ yet earnefily preffes Memmius^ to in^
cfitius.^a^^ them in a prejudice^ contra^ed through weak-^
nefsynot wickednefs \ and though he profefles an
utter diflike of their Philofophy, yet he recom-
mends them, as honefiy agreeable^ friendly men^
for whom he entertained the highefl efteem [/]*
From this letter one may obferve, that the greateft
difference in Philofophy made no difference of
friendfhip among the great of thefe times.
There was not a more declared enemy to Epi^
curus's do^rine, than Cicero : he thought it de-
llru6live of morality, and pernicious to Society ;
but he charged this confequence to the principles,
not the ProfefTors of them ; with many of whom
he held the flrideft intimacy ; and found them
to be worthy, virtuous, generous friends, and
lovers of their Country : there is a jocofe Letter
to Trebatius, when he was with C^far in Gaulj
upon his turning Epicurean, which will help to
confirm this refledion.
Cicero to Trebatius.
"I was wondering, why you had given over
**
writing to me ; till Panfa informed me, that
[if]Vifum eft Xenoni, & Memmio impetrari non pof-
poll, ipfi Patroni, me ad fet. Memmius autem asdifi-
Memmium fcribere, qui pri-candi confilium abjeciffet, fed
die quam ego Athenas veni, erat Patroni iratus, itaque
Mitylenas profedus erat, fcripfiad eum accurate^ ad
npn enim dubitabat Xeno, Att.5.
11.
q^wn ab Arcopagitis invito /] Ep. fam. X3. i.
<c
you
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 177*'
my coft. If any thing important happens in A. Urb. 702;
*' the repubhc, above the reach of thefe hack-S^^'i^
". ney writers, I will fend you an account ofitgERv Sulpi-
"myfelf ; in what manner it was tranfadled; cius Rufus,
*' what fpeculations are raifed upon it ; what ef- M. Clau-
*' fedts apprehended : at prefent there is no diusMar-/^ C t T TTC
"great expedation of any thing : as to thofe ru-
"mors, which were fo warm at Cum^, of af-
"fembUng the Colonies beyond the Po, when I
" came to Rome, I heard not a fyllable about
" them. Marcellus too, becaufe he has not yet" made any motion for a fuccefTor to the two
^
"Gauls^ but puts it off, as he told me himfelf,
P " to the firfl of June^ has revived the fame talk
"concerning him, which was
flirring when we" were at Rome together. If you faw Pompey," as you deligned to do, pray fend me word in
" what temper you found him, what converfa-
*' tion he had with you ; what inclination he'' fhewed
;for he is apt to think one thing, and
^*'
fay another, yet has not v/it enough, to con-''
ceal what hereally means. As for Caefar,
*' there are many ugly reports about him; but
*^
propagated onely in Vv'hifpers ;
fome fay, that" he has loft all his horfe ; which I take indeed*'
to be true^ others, that the feventh Legion" has been beaten ; and that he himfelf is be-
*'
fieged by the Bellovaci-,and cut off from the
*'reft of his army. There is nothing yet ccr-
'^tain ; nor are thefe uncertain ftories publicly
" talked of i but among the few, whom you"know, told openly, by way of fecrets : Do-
*^ mitius never mentions them, Vvir.houtclap-
*'
ping his hand to his mouth. On the twenty-"
firft of M^jy, the mob under the Roftra* fent
*' about areport, (may it fall on their own heads)
*' which was
warmly propagated through
the
Vol.il N ^- Forum
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1 78A. Urb. 702.
Cic. ^6.
CofT.
Serv. Sulpi-
cius rufus,M. Clau-
dius Mar-
.CELLUS.
7he History of the Life
Forum and the whole City, that you were
killed upon the road by Q^Pompeius : but I,
who knew him to be then at Bauli^ and in fuch
a flarving condition, that I could not help pi-
tying him, being forced to turn Pilot for his
bread, was not concerned about it; and wifhed
onely, that if any real dangers threatened you,
we might be quit for this lie : your friend
Plancus Burfa is at Ravenna ,where he has
had a large donative from C^far ; but is not
yet eafy, nor well provided. Your books on
government are applauded by all people [n].
M. T. Cicero, Proconful, to M. C^lius.
" How ! was it this, think you, that I charged
you
with ; to fend me the matches of Gladia-
tors ; the adjournments of caufes,and Chref-
tus's news-letter-,and what nobody dares men-
tion to me when at Rome? See, how much I
afcribe to you in my judgement : nor indeed
without reafon, for I have never yet met with
a better head for politics; I would not have
you write what palles every day in public,
though ever fo important, unlefs it happen to
affedl myfelf : others v/ili write it; many bring
accounts of it ; and fame itfelf conveys a great
partto me : I expecl from you, neither the
paft,nor the prefent ;
but as from one, who
fees a great way before him, the future onely,
that when I have before me in your Letters
the plan of the Republic, I may be able to
judge vv^hat fort of Edifice it will be. Nor
have I hitherto indeed any caufe 'to complainof you ;
for nothing has yet happened, which
[?/] Epift. Fam. 8. i
<c vou
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of MTULLIUS CICERO,lyp
*'
you could forefee better than any of us : elpe-A. Urb. 702*
*'
daily myfel f, who fpent feveral days with ^^c. 56.
*'
Pompey, in converfmg on nothing elfe, butg ^^'
*'
the Republic ; which is neither pofTible nor cius Rufus'"
proper for me to explane by Letter : take this M. Clau-*'
onely from me-, that Pompey is an excellent diusMar- *
"Citizen, prepared both with courage and
^^^^^^*
*'counfil for all events, v/hich can be forefeen :
"wherefore, give yourfelf up to the man ; be-
*'lieve me, he will embrace you ; for he now
" holds the fame opinion with us, of good and*' bad Citizens. After I had been ten days at*'
Athens, where our friend Gallus Caninius was" much with me, I left it on the fixth of July,*' when I fent aw^ay this Letter : as I
earnellly*' recommend all my affairs to you, fo
nothing*' more
particularly,than that the time of
my" Provincial Command be not prolonged : this
"is every thing to me ; which, when and how,
*' and by whom it is to be managed, you will"
be the befl able to contrive. Adieu [^].
He landed at Ephefui on the twenty-fecond of
July^ after a flow but fafe paffage offifteen days ;
the tedioufnefs of which was agreeably relieved
by touching on the way at feveral o^ the ijlandsof
the Mgean Sea, of which he fends a kind of jour-
nal to Atticus[/>]. Many deputations from the
Cities of Afia, and a great concourfe of peoplecame to meet him as far as Samos ;
but a much
greater ftill was expelling his landing at Ephefus :
the Greeks flocked eagerly from all parts, to fee
a man fo celebrated through the empire, for the
fame ot hislearning
and eloquence ; fo that all
hishoafiings,
as he merrily fays, of many years
[i?] Ep. fam. 2. 8. d. xl. Kal. Sext. ad Att.5.
[/>] Ephefum venimus a. i^. vid, it. ib. 12.
N 2 faft.
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i8o The History of the LifeA. Urb. 702 paft^ were now brought to the
teji-
[q]. After re*
c (T poking himfelf for three days at Ephefus, he march-
Serv. Sulpi- ^^ forward towards his Province , and, on the laft
CI us RuFus, of July, arrived at Laodicea, one of the CapitalM, Clau- Cities of his Jurifdidion. From this moment
diusMar-j.j^g ^j^fg Qf ]^jg Government commenced; which
he bids Atticus take notice of, that he mightknow how to compute the
precife extent of his annu-
al term \r\
It was Cicero's refolution, in this Provincial
Command, to praftife thofe admirable rules,which
he had drawn up formerly for his Brother , and
from an employment wholly tedious anddifagree-
able to him to derive frefli glory upon his cha-
racter, by leaving the innocence and integrity of
his adminiltration, as a pattern of governing to
all
fucceeding
Proconfuls. It hadalways
been
the cuftom, when any Governors went abroad to
their Provinces, that the Countries^ through which
they pajjed^ JJjoidd defray all the charges of their
journey : but Cicero no fooner fet his foot on fo-
reign ground, than he forbad all expence whatfo-
ever^ public or private^ to be made either upon him-
felf or any of his company ; which raifed a greatadmiration of him, in all the cities of Greece [j].
In
[q\ De concurfu legatio- [s] Ego quotidie medi-
num, privatorum, & de in- tor, pra^cipio meis ; faciam
credibili multitudine,quaE mi- denique ut fumma modellia
hi
jamSami, fed mirabilem & fumma abftinentia munus
in modum Ephefi praello fuit, hoc extraordinarium traduca-
aut te audifle puto ex quo mus. ib.9.
te intelligere certo fcio mul- Adhuc fumptus nee in me~
torum annorum oftentationes autpublice aut privatim, nee
meas nunc in difcrimen efle in quemquam comitum. Ni-
addudas ib.13.
hil accipitur lege Julia, nihil
[r] Laodiceam veni prid.ab
hofpite, perfuafum eft om-
Kal. Sextiles. Ex hocdiecla- nibus meis ferviendum gK^
vum anni movebis lb. i;;;. famse meae. Belle adhuc.
Hoc
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i82 The History of the Ltfe
A. Urb. 702. King^sfon, Upon this news, he marched towards
^^5^* Cilicia, to fecure his Province from the inroads
Serv^Sulpi-^^ ^^^ enemy, or any commotions within ; but as
cius RuFus, all accefs to it was difficult, except on the fide ofiM. Clau- Cappadocia,
an open country, and not well pro-
DiusMAR-yi(^g^. IpLetook his rout through that kingdom,
CELLus.^^^ encamped in that part of it which bordered
upon Cilicia^ near to the town of Cyhifira^ at the
foot of mount 'Taurus. His army, as it is faid
above, confiiled of about twelve thoiijfandfoot and
two thoufandfix hundred horfe^ befides the auxiliary
troops of the neighbouring flates, andefpecially
of Detotarus, King of Galatia, the moll faithful!
j^lly of Rome, and Cicero's particular friend y
whofe whole forces he could depend upon at any
warning [x].
Whilehe
layin this
Camp,he had an
op-portunity of executing a
fpecial commiiTion, with
which he was charged by the Senate ; to take A^
riobarzanes. King of Cappadocia, under his parti-
cular protection ; and provide for thefecurity of
his perfon and government : in honor of whom,the Senate had decreed, what they had never
done before to any foreign Prince, that his fafety
was of great concern to the Senate andpeople of
\x'\In cailra veni a. d. Ciliciam ducerem mihi lit-
vii. Kal. Sept. add. iii. exer- terae reddita funt a Tarcon-
citum luftravit. Ex his caf- dimoto, qui fideliffimus focius
tris cum graves de Parthis trans Taurum Populi. Rom.nuncii venirent, perrexi
in exiftimatur. Pacorum Orodi
Ciliciam, per Cappadocias Regis Parthorum filium, cum
partem earn, quae Ciliciam permagno equitatu tranfifle
attingit Euphratem, &c. Ep. fam.
Regis Antiochi Comageni 15.i.
Legatis primi mihi nuncia- Eodem die ab Jamblico,
runt Parthorum magnas co- Phylarcho Arabum litterae
pias Euphratem tranfire coe- de eifdem rebus, &c.
pifTe.' - - Cum exercitum in
Km^^
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of M.rULLWS CICERO. 183
Rome. His Father had been killed by the trea- A. Urb. 702,
chery of his fubjedls, and a confpiracy of the^c <r^'
fame kind was apprehended againft the fon ; Ci-sRvSuLPi.
cero therefore, in a council of his ofncers, gavecius Rufus,the King an account of the Decree of the Senate^
M. Clau-
and that in confequence of it he was then readyiusMar-
to aflift him with his troops and authority in any^^l"^*
meafures that fhould be concerted for thefafety
and quiet of his Kingdom The King, after great
profefllonsof his thanks, and duty to the Senate
for the honor of their decree^ and to Cicero him-
|felf for his care in the execution of it, faid, that'
he knew no occafion for giving him any particular^~ trouble at that time \
nor had any fufpicion of any'
defign againfihis
lifeor Croivn : upon which Ci-
cero, after congratulating him upon the tranquil-
lity
of his affairs, advifed him however, tore-
member his Father's fate^ and, from the admonition
of the Senate^ to he particularly vigilantin the care
of his perfon, and fo they parted. But the next,
morning the King returned early to the Camp,attended by his Brother and Counfellors, and
with many tears implored the protection of Cicero,
and the benefit of the Senate's decree \ declaring,"that he had received undoubted intelligence of
" a plot, which thofe, who were privy to it,
"durfl not venture to difcover till Cicero's arri-
*' val in the Country, buttrufting
to his autho-*'
rity, had now given full information of it ;
*' and that his Brother, who was prefent, and
" ready to confirm what he faid, had been folli-
"cited to enter into it by the offer of the crown :
*' he begged therefore, that fome of Cicero's"
troops might be left with him for his better"guard and defence. Cicero told him, that un-
" der the prefent alarm of the Parthian war, he*' could not
poffibly
lend himany part
of his ar-
N 4 "myj
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184 The "Hi ST o-s^Y of the Life
A. Urb. 702. rny ; that, fince the confpiracy was detefled,
^r' ^'*
^^^ ^^^ forces would be fuflicient for prevcnt-
Serv.Sulpi-"
^"S ^^^ effedls of it; that he Ihould learn to
cius RuFus,"
a6l the King, by fhewing a proper concern forM.Clau- "
his own life, and exert his regal power in pu-diusMar- ct
nifhing the authors of the plot,and pardoning
cELLus. jg^ji ^j^^ ^^^ ^ ^^^^ j^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ apprehend any
'.' farther danger, when his people were acquaint-*' ed with the Senate's decree, and faw a Roman**
army fo near to them, and ready to put it in
'' execution :'* and having thus encouraged and
comforted the King, he marched towards Ciliciay
and gave an account of this accident, and of the
motions of the Parthians^ in two public Letters to
the Confuls mid the Senate: he added a private
Letter alfo to Cato, who was a particular favorer,
and Patron ofAriobarzanes,
in v;hich he inform-
ed him," that he had not onely fecured the King's
*'
perfon from any attempt, but had taken care,*'
that he fhould reign for the future with honor'' and dignity, by refloring to his favor and fer-
"vice his old Counfellors, Vv'hom Cato had re-
"commended, and who had been difgraced by
*'
the intrigues of his Court ; and by obliging a*'
turbulent young pried of Bellona^ who was"
the head of the Malecontents, and the next
"in power to the King himfelf, to quit the coun-
"try [y]-This King, Ariobarzanes, feems to have been
poor even to a proverb :
Mandpiis locupks egit^ris Cappadociim rex,
Hor. Ep. I. 6.
for he had been miferably fqueezed and drained
by the Rommt Generals and Governors 5 to whom
[yl Ep.fam. 15. 2, 3,4.'
he
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 185
he owed vaft fiimms, either adlually borrowed, A. Urb. 702.
or ftipulatedto be paid for particular
fervices. Itq ^
was a common pradlice with the Grt2ito^ Rome^ Serv.Sulpi-
to lend money at an exorbitant intereft ^ to the Princes cius Rufus,and Cities^ dependent on the Empire \
which was M- Clau-
thought an ulefull piece of poHcy to both fides ;
dius Mar-
io the Princes, for the opportunity of engagingto their interefls the moil powerful! men of the
Republic, by a kind of honorable penfion ; to
the Romans^ for the convenience of placing their
money where it was fure to bring the greatefl re-
turn ofprofit.
The ordinary intereil of thefe
' Provincial loans was, one per Cent, by the months
with intereft upon intereft : this was the loweft ;
but, in extraordinary or hazardous cafes, it was
frequently four times as much. Pompey received
monthlyfrom this
very King,
above fixthoufand
pounds fterling ; which yet was fhort of his full
intereft. Brutus alfo had lent him a very large
fumm, and earneftly defired Cicero to procure the
payment of it, with the arrears of intereft : but
Pompey's agents were fo prefTing,and the King
fo needy, that though Cicero follicited Brutus's
aftair very heartily, he had little hopes of getting
any thing for him : when Ariobarzanes came
therefore to offer him the fame prefent of money,which he had ufually made to every other Gover-
nor, he generoufly refufed it, and defired onely,
that inftead of giving it to him, it might be paid to
Brutus : but the poor Prince was fo diftrelTed,
that he excufed himfelf, by the necefTity, which
he was under, of fatisfying fome other more pref-
fing demands ;fo that Cicero gives a fad account
of his negotiation, in a long letter to Atticus, whohad warmly recommended Brutus*s interefts to
him.
2 *' I come
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l66 The Hi story of the Life
A.Urb. 702. I come now, fays he, to Brutus; whom by
^c'^^'"y^"^ authority I embraced with inchnation,
Serv^Sulpi-" ^"^ began even to love : but what am I
cius RuFus,"going to fay ? I recall myfelf, left I offend
M. Clau- "you do not think, that I ever entered in-
diusMar-ccj-q
^j^y thing more wilhngly, or took morecELLus. <c
pains, than in what he recommended to me.*' He gave me a memorial of the
particulars,*' which you had talked over with me before ;
*'I purfued your inflru6lions exatftly : in the firft
**place, I preffed Ariobarzanes to give that mo-
*'
ncy to Brutus, which he promifed to me : as
*'
long as the King continued with me, all things*' looked well, but he was afterwards teized by*'
fix hundred of Pompey's agents; and Pompey,*'
for other reafons, can do more with him than**
all the world befides ; but efpecially, when it*'
is imagined, that he is to be fent to the Par-*'
thian war : they now pay Pompey thirty-three**
Attic talents per month, out of the taxes, though"
this falls fhort of a month's intereft : but our*'
friend Cnasus takes it calmly ; and is content*'
to abate fomething of the intereft, without
''prefTing for the principal. As for others, he
*'neither does, nor can pay any man : for he
*'has no treafury, no revenues : he raifes taxes
*'
by Appius's method of capitation : but thefe
"are fcarce fuiiicient for Pompey's monthly pay ;
*' two or three of the King's friends are very*'
rich , butthey
hold their own as
clofely,
as
*'either you or I I do not forbear however to alk,
**
urge and chide him by Letters : King Deiota-"
rus alfo told me, that he had fent people to
*' him on purpofe, to follicit for Brutus-,but
*'
they brought him word back, that he had real-
*'
ly no money : which I take indeed to be the
*^
cafe j that nothing is more drained than his*'
kingdom 5
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of M, TULLIUS CICERO. 187"kingdom , nothing poorer than the King [2]."
A. Urb. 702.
But Brutus had recommended another affair^q'^^'
of the fame nature to Cicero, which gave himServ!^Sulpi.
much more trouble. The City of Salamis in Cy- ciusRufus,
prus owed to two of his friends, as he pretended,M. Clau-
.
Scaptiusand Matinius, above twenty thoufand
^^^sMar.
pounds fterling upon bond, at a mofb extravagant
interefl \and he begged of Cicero to take their
perfons and concerns under hisfpecial protedion.
Appius, who was Brutus's father-in-law, had
granted every thing which was afked to Scaptius -,
a Pr^fe5iure in Cyprus^ with fome troops of horfe^
with which he miferably haraffed the poor Sala-
minians, in order to force them to comply with
his unreafonable demands ; for he Jhut up their
whole fenate in the council-room^ till five of them-
wereftarved
to death withhunger \_a].
Brutus la-
bored to placehim in the fame degree of favor
with Cicero : but Cicero being informed of this
violence at Ephefus, hy a deputation from Salamis^
made it the firft acl of his government to recall
the troops from Cyprus, and put an end toScap-tius's Prsefediure, having laid it down for a rule,
to grant no command to any man, who was con-
cerned in trade^ ornegotiating money in the Pro-
vince : to give fatisfadion however to Brutus, he
injoined the Salaminians to pay off Scaptiiis's bond^
which they were ready to do according to the te-
nor of liis edid:, by which he had ordered, that
no bonds in his province fhould carry above one per
Cent, by the month, Scaptius refufed to take the
money on thofe terms, infifling o7i four per Cent,
as the condition of his bond expreffed ; which by
[z] AdAtt. 6. I. clufum in curia fenatum Sa-
\a\ Fuerat enim Pr2Efed>us lamine obfederat, ut fame fe-
Appio, & quidem habuerat natores quinque morerentur,
lurmas Equitum, quibus in- ibid.
computation
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i88 ^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 702. cbmputation almoft doubled the principal fumm;^Cic. 56. 'vvhile the Salaminians, as they protefled to Cice-
<; SuLPr- ^^9 could not have paid theoriginal debt^ if they ^i
cius RuFus, had not been enabled to do it by his helf^ and out of
M. Clau- his own dues^ that he had remitted to them-,which
diusMar- amounted to fomewhat more than Scaptius'^s legal de-"""=
mad[b].This extortion raifed Cicero's indignation ; and
notwithftanding the repeated inftances of Brutus
and Atticus, he was determined to over-rule it ;
though Brutus, in order to move him the more
effedlually, thought proper to confefs, what he
had all along dijfembled,that the debt was
really his
cwn^ and Scaptius onely his agent in it \c\ This
furprifedCicero ftill more, and though he had a
warm inclination to oblige Brutus, yet he could
not confent to fo flagrant an injuftice, but makesfrequent
and heavy complaints of it in his letters
to Atticus" You have now, fays he, in one
" of them, the ground of my condudt ; if Bru-
*' tus does not approve it, I fee no reafon
*'why we Ihould love him ; but I am fure, it
*'will be approved by his uncle, Cato [^]." In
[hi] Itaque ego, quo die mine, quam inveftigali prae-
tetigi provinciam, cum mihi torio ib.5.
21.
Cyprii Legati Ephefum obvi- [r] Atque hoc tempore ip-
am veniffent, litteras mifi ut fo impingit mihi epillolam
equites ex infula llatim dece- Scaptius Bruti, rem illam fuo
derent ad Att. 6. i . confe- periculo efTe : quod nee mihi
ceram, ut folverent cemefi- unquam Brutus dixerat nee
mis r *4- Scaptius quaternas tibi ib. nunquam ex illo
poftulabat-^ib.homines non audivi illam pecuniam qH^q
modo non recufare, fed etiam fuam ib.
dicere, fe a me folvere. Quod [d] Habes meam caufam :
enim Praerori dare confuef- quae fi Bruto non probatur,
cent, quoniam ego non acce- nefcio cur ilium amemus : fed
peram, fe a me quodam mo- avunculo ejus certe probabi-
do dare; atque etiam minus tur. ib.5. 2,1.
dfe aiiquantoin
Scaptiino-
another i
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ipo"
^'^^ History of theLife
A. Urb. 702."
fay,that you are not with me ; how can fuch
Cic. ^6, a thing, as Enniusfays,
come out of yourCoff. <c
mouth, to defire me to grant troops to Scap-
cius RuFus ^^^^ ^^^ ^"^ ^^^^ ^^ extortmg money r could
M. Clau-'
"you, if you were with me, fuffer me to do it,
diusMar-" if I would? if I really had done fuch aCELLus. cc
thing, with what face could I ever read again,
," or touch thofe books of mine, with which you"
are fo much pleafed [/] ?" He tells him like-
wife in confidence, that all Brutus's Letters to
him, even when he was afking favors, were un-
mannerly^ churliJJj^and arrogant *,
withoutregard-
ing either what, or to whom he was writing ; and
if he continued in that humor ; you may love him
alone^ fays he, if you pleafe, you /hall have no rival
of me ; but he will come, I believe^ to a better
mind [^]. But to fhew, after all, what a real in-
clination he had to oblige him, he never \th
urging King Ariobarzanes, till he hadfqueezedfromhim a hundred talents, in part of Brutus's debt, or
about twenty thoufand pounds \ the fame fumm
probably, which had been deflined to Cicero him-
felf {h\
While
[/] Ain* tandem Attice, gat aliquid, contumaclter, ar-
laudator ittegritatlscVelegan- roganter, daoivmnTojf folet
tiae noftrae ? aufus es hoc ex fcnbere < ib. 6. i.
ore tuo, inquit Enninc, ut e- Omnino (foli enim fumus)
quites Scapvio ad pecuniam nuilfts unquam ad me literas
cogendamdarern, me rotare ? mifit Brutus in
quibus
non
an tu, ft mecum elles, qui eiretarrogans,ctx.c/f<y;/HT(?j/ali*
fcribis raOrderi te internum quid -in quo tamen ille mi-
quod Hiin fmsul fis, paterere hi ril'um magis quam ftoma-
me id facere, fi vellem r * chum movere folet. Sed pla-
& egoaudebo legere unquam, ne parum cogitat, quid fcri-
aut attingereeos iibros, quos bat, aut ad quem ib. 6. 3.
ta dilaudas ? fi tale quid fe- [^] Bruti tui caufa, ut fae-
cero ' ad Att. 6. 2. pe ad tefcripfi,
feci omnia
[g] Ad me etiara, cum ro- Ariobarzanes non in Pom-
peium
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 191
While he lay encamped in Cappadocia, ex- A. Urb. 702,
pedlingwhat way the Parthians would move, he
^p i^*
received an account, that they had taken a difFe-serv.Sulpi-
rent rout, and were advanced to Antiochin
Sy- cius Rufus,ria, where they held C. Caflius blocked up , and M. Clau-
that a detachment of them had adlually penetrat-diusMar-
ed into Cilida, hut were routed^ and cutof- hy
thofe troopsJwhich were
leftto guard the Country,
Upon this he prefently decamped, and by great
journiesover mount 'I^aurus^ marched in all hafte
to poflefs himfelf of the paffes of Amanus : a great
and ilrong mountain, lying between Syria and
Cilicia, and the commiOn boundary of them both.
By this march, and the approach of his army to
the neighbourhood of Syria, the Parthians being
difcouraged, retired from Antioch; which gaveCaflius an
opportunityoffalling upon them in their
retreat^ and gained a conftderahle advantage^ in
which one of their principal commanders^ Ofaces^
was mortally wounded[t].
In the fufpence of the Parthian war, which
the late difgrace of CrafTus had made terrible at
Rome^ Cicero's friends, who had no great opi-
nion of his mihtary talents, were in fome painfor his fafety
and fuccefs : but now that he
found himfelf engaged, and puihed to the necef-
pelum prolixior per Ipfum, cia In aquaram divortio divi-
quam per me in Brutum dit ramore adventus noflri,
pro ratione pecuniae liberius & CaiTio, qui Antiochia tene-
cft Brutus traflatus, quam batur, animus acceflit, & Par-
\ Pompeius. Bruto curata hoc this timor injedus eft. Ita-
anno talenta circiter c. Pom- que eos cedentes ab oppido
peio in fex menfibus promif- Caflius infecutus rem bene
face. ibid.geffit. Qua in fuga magna
[z] Itaque confeftim iter in aufloritate Ofaces, dux Par-
Ciliciam feci per Tauri py- thorum, vulnus accepit, co-
las. Tarfum veni a. d. iii.queinteriitpaucispoft diebus.
Non. Oft. inde ad Amanum Ad Att.5.
20.
contendi, qui Syriam a Cili-
fity
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ipz The History of the Life
A. Urb. 702. fityof adling the General, he feems to have want-
Cic. 56. e(j neither the courage nor condud of anexperi-
c c* enced Leader. In a Letter to Atticus, datedSeRV.SuLPI- 1 . ^ cc \liT ' r r
cius RuFus, rrom his Camp;
"
We are m great Ipirits, lays
M. Clau-"
he, and as our counfils are good, have nodiusMar- f
diflruft of an engagement : we are fecurely en-cELLus.
camped, with plenty of provifions, and in
*'
fight ahnofl of CiUcia ; with a fmall army in-
*'deed, but, as I have reafon to believe, intire-
*'
lywell affeded to me ; which I fhall double
*'by the acceffion of Dciotarus, who is upon the
** road to join me : I have the allies more firmly''
attached to me, than any Governor ever had :
**
they are wonderfully taken with my eafinefs
" and abftinence ;we are making new levies of
"Citizens, and cftablifhing magazines : if there
"be occafion for fighting, we
fhallnot decline
*'it
; if not, fliall defend ourfelves by the
*'
flrength of our pofts: wherefore be of good
"heart, for I fee as much as if you were with
*'me, the fympathy of your love for me [k]"But the danger of the Parchians being over for
this feafon, Cicero refolved, that his labor fhould
not be loiL, and his army difmifled, without at-
tempting fomething of moment. The inhabitants
of the mountains, clofe to which he now lay, were
a fierce, untamed race of Banditti or Freebooters,
who had never fubmitted to the Roman power,
but lived in perpetual defiance of it, trufling to
their forts and caflles, which werefuppofed
to
be impregnable from the iirength of their fitua-
tion. He thought it therefore of no fmall impor-
tance ro tliC Em.pire, to reduce them to a ftate of
fubjedlion ; and, in order to conceal his defign,
and take them unprovided, he drev; off his forces
[Q lb. 5. 18.
on
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 193
on pretence of marching .to the diftantparts of A. Urb. 702.
Cilicia; but after a day's journey ftopt fhort, S^^n^^'
and having refreflied his army, and left his bag- ^^^^ Sulpi-
gage behind, turned back againin
the night \vith cius Rufus,the utmoil celerity, and readied Amanus hforeM.ChAxj-
day on the thirteenth of O^ober, Ke divided hisdiusMar-
troops among his four Lieutenants, and himfelf,^^^^^'s.
accompanied by his Brother, led up one part of
them, and fo coming upon the natives by fur-
prize, they eafilykilled or made them all
pri-
foners : they took f.x ftrong forts^ and burned ma-
ny more , but the Capital of the mountain. Era-
na^ made a brave refiftance, and held out frombreak of day, to four in the afternoon. Uponthis fuccefs Cicero was faluted Emperor,, and fat
down again at the foot of the hills, where he
fpent five days in demolifhing the other ftrong
holds, and wafting the lands of thefe Moun-
taineers. In this place his troops were lodged in
the fame Camp *xhich Alexander the great had
formerly ufed,when he beat Darius at
Ifj'us \ and
where there remained three Altars,^ as the monument
of his vi^ory^ which bore his name to that day : a <
circumftance, which furniflied matter for fomepleafantry, in his Letters to his friends at Rome
[/].
Vol. IL O From
[/] Qui mons erat hofti- or, quam auttuautego. Ibi
um plenas fempicernorum. dies quinque morati, direpto
Hie a. ad. iii. idus Odtoo. & valiato Amano, inde dif-
magnum numerum hoftium cefTimus. Ad Att.5,
20.
oc idimus. Caflella muni- Extedito exercitu ita noc-
tifliina, nodurno Pontinii ad- tu iter feci, ut ad iii. Id.
ventu, noftro matucino cepi- Odob. cum lucilceret, in A-
mus, incendimus. Impera- manum afcenderem, diftribu-
tores appellati fumus. Caftra tifque cohortibus & auxiliis,
paucos dies habuimus, ea ip- curr. :iliis Quintus frater Le-
la, quas contra Darium ha-g-*"-i^
mecum fimul, aliis C.
buerat apud IfTum Alexander, Pontinius Legatus, reliquis
Imperator baud pauUo meli- M. Anneius, & M. Tullius
Legati
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194- ^h^ History of theLife
A.Urb. 702. From Amanus, he led his army to anothei
^c^^' P^^^ ^^ ^^^ High-lands, the mofl difafFed:ed to
Serv. Sulpi-^^^ Roman name, poflefled by a flout and free
cius RuFus, people, who had never been fubjed even to the
M. Clau-Xing of that Country. Their chief Town was
diusMar-called PindenifTum, fituated on a fteep
and craggyCBLLus,
j^.||^ (Irongly fortified by nature and art, and pro-
vided with every thing neceflary for defence : it
was the conftant refuge of all deferters, and the
harbour of foreign enemies, and at that very time
was expedling, and prepared to receive the Par-
thians : Cicero^ refolving therefore to chaftife
their infolence, and bring them under the Roman
yoke, laid(icge
to it in form-,and though he
puflied it on with all imaginable vigor, and a
continual battery of his Engines, yet it coft him
above fix weeks to reduce it to the necefTity offurrendering at difcretion.
The inhabitants were
fold for flaves^ and when Cicero was writing the
account from his Tribunal, he had already raifed
about a hundred thoufand pounds by that fale : all
the other plunder^ excepting the horfes^ was given
to thefoldiers. In his letter upon it to Atticus,
the Pindeniffians, fays he, furrendered to me on the
Saturnalia, after a Jiege of feven-andforty days :
hut what^ the plague, will you fay, arethefe Pin-
denijfmns ? I never heard of their name before--^
How can I helpthat ? could I turn Cilicia into jE-
Legati prsefTent : plerofque occifa, cepimus, caflellaque
riec opinantes oppreflimusfex capta: complura incendi-
Kranam autem, qu^e fuit non mus. His rebus itageftis,
Vici inftar, fed urbis, quod caftra in radi^ibus Amani ha-
erat Am ani caput acnter& buimus apud aras Alexandri
diu repugnantibus,Pontinio quatriduum : & in reliquiis
iilam partem Amani renente, Amani delendis, agrifque va-
ex antelucano tempore ufque ftandis -id tempusomnecon'ad horam diei dtcimam, Tumfimus Ep. fam. 15. 4.
magna multitudine liollium vid. ibid. 2. lo;
5 U/ia
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i
CELLUS.
tf M. TVLLIUS CICERO.ip^
iolia or Macedonia ? take this however for certain^A. Urb. 702.
that no man could do more, than I have done, with ^^^-5 6-
.fuch an army^ &c {w\ After this adion, anotherServ s
neighbouring nation, of the fame fpirit and fierce- cius Rufustiefsy
called Tiburani^ terrified by the fate of Pinde- M. Clau-
nijfum, voluntarily fubmitted, and gave hoftages % fo diusMar-
that Cicero fent his army into winter quarters un-
der the command of his Brother, into thofe parts of
the province^ which were thought the mojl turbu'
lent [n].
While he was engaged in this expedition,
Papirius Psetus, an eminent wit and Epicurean,
with whom he had aparticular intimacy and cor-
refpondence of facetious Letters, fent him fome
military inftrudlions in the way ofraillery ; to
which Cicero anfwered in the fame jocofe man-
ner :" Your Letter, fays he, has made me a
**
complete commander : I was wholly ignorant**
before of your great Ikill in the art of war ; buc
[tn]Confeftis his rebus ad Qui (nialumj ifti Pindenif-
Oppidum Eleutherocilicum, fae ? qui funt ? inquies : no-
Pindeniffiim, exercitum ad- men audivi uunquam. Quidduxi : quod cum efiet ahiffi- ego faciam ? potui Ciliciam,
mo & munitiffimo loco, ab >^toliam, aut Macedoniam
iifque incoleretur, qui ne Re- redd ere ? hoe jam fic habeto,
gibus quidem unquam paru- nee hoc exercitu hictanta ne-
iflent: cum & fugitivesreci- gotia geri potuilTe. &c.
perent, & Parthorum adven- ad Att.5.
20.
turn acerrime expedarent : Mancipia vsenibant Satur-
ad exiftimationem imperii nalibus lertiis, cum hsec fcri-
pertinere arbitratus fum com- bebam in tribunali, res erat
primere eorum audaciam ad H. S. cxx. lb.
vallo & fofTa circum- [] His erant finitimi pari
dedi, fex caftellis, caftrifquefcelere Sc audacia Tihurani :
maximis fepli, aggere, vi- ab his, PindenifTo capto, ob-
neis, turribus oppugnavi, u- fidesaccepi, exercirum in hi-
fufquetormentis multis, mul- berna dimifi. Q^ Fratrem
tisfagittariis, magno labore negotio praspofui,
ut in vicis
meo feptimo quadragefiraoaui ccptis aut nialo pacatis
tlie rem confeci Ep. fam. exercitus collocaretur. Ep.
15. 4.
fam.15. 4,
O 2*'
perceive.
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CELLUS.
Ti;6 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 702.<c
perceive, that you have read Pyrrhus and Ci-
^^5^-"
neas. Wherefore I intend to follow your pre-
Serv^Sulpi-" cepts,and withal, to have fome
lliipsin rea-
cius RuFus, " dinels on the coad ; for they deny that there
M. Clau- " can be any better defence againfl the Parthian
^J^^^^^^'"
horfe. But raillery apart: you little think," what a General you have to deal with : for in
*'this government, I have reduced to pradlice,
*' what I had worn out before with reading, the
" whole inftitution of Cyrus, i^c.[f?]"
Thefe 1
martial exploits fpread Cicero's fame into Syria,
where Bibulus was juft arrived to take upon him
the Command; but kept himfelf clofe within the
gatesof Antioch, //// the Country was cleared of all
the Parthians : his envy of Cicero's fuccefs, and
title of Emperor, made him impatient to pur-
chafe the fame honor by the fame fervice, on the
Syrian fide of the mountain Amanus : but he had
the misfortune to be repulfed in his attem.pt, with
the intire lofs of the fr/l Cohort^ and feveral offi-
cers of diftin^ion^ which Cicero calls anugly
blow
both for the time and the effeB of it [^ ].
Though Cicero had obtained what he calls a
jufl vi^lory at Amanus^ and, in confequence of it,
the appellation of Emperor^ which he afTumed from
this time , yet he fent no public account of it to
KomiC, //// after the affair of Pindeniffum^ an ex-
ploitof more eclat and importance , for which he
expedfed the honor cf a Thankfgiving^ and began to
entertain
hopeseven of a
Triumph.His
publicLetter is loft, but that lofs is fupplied by a par-
[_o] Ep. fam.9. 25. coepit laureolam in muftaceo
[/] Erat in Syria noftrum qaasrere. At ille cohortem
nomen ingratia. Venit in- priniam totam perdidit
terim Bibulus. Credo voluit iane plagam odioiam accepe-
appaJlatione liac inani nobis rat turn re turn tempore.
efie par. In eodem Amano ad Au. 5. 20.
ticular
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cf MTULLIUS CICERO. 197
ticular narrative of the whole adlion in a privateA. Urb. 702.
Letter to Cato : the defign of paying this com-q ^
pliment to Cato, was to engage his vote and con- Serv.Sulpi-
CLirrence to the decree of the Supplication ; and by cius Rufus,the pains, which he takes to obtain it, where he M. Clau-
was fure of o;ainino; his point without it, fhews^^^sMar-
. CELLusthe high opinion which he had of Cato's autho-
rity,and how defirous he was to have the tefli-
mony of it on his fide. But Cato was not to be
moved fi*om his purpofe by compliment, or mo-
tives of friendlhip : he was an enemy by princi-
ple to all decrees of this kind, and thought them
beftowed too cheaply, and proftituted to occa-
fions unworthy of them : fo that when Cicero's
Letters came under deliberation, though he fpokewith all imaginable honor and
refpecftof Cicero,
lndhighly
extolled both his civil andmilitary
ad-
minijlration^ yet he voted againfithe Supplication \
which was decreed however without any other
diffenting voice, except that of Favonius, who
loved always to mimic Cato, and of Hirrus, who
had a perfonal quarrel with Cicero : yet when
the vote was over, Cato himfelf affijledin drazving
up the decree^ and had his name infert(d in it *,
which was the ufual mark of a particular appro-
bation of the thing, and triendlhipto tlie perfon
in whofe favor it pafled [q].But Cato's anfwer
to Cicero's Letter will fhew the temper of the
[^] Nunc publice littcras ter ira^us Hirius. Cato au-
Roir.am mittere parabam. tcm & fc/ibendo afFuit ib.
Ubcriores erunt, quam fi ex Res Ipfa dcclarat, tibi il-
Amano mififTem. Ibid. lum honorem fupplicationis
Dcindede Triumphs, quern jucundum fuifl'e, quod Icri-
video, nifi Reipub. tempora bendo afFuilli. Ha:c enim
impcdient, ivTto^i'^oi/ad Senatus confulta non Ignore
Alt. 7. I. ab amiciilimis ejus, cujus dc
Ei porro afTenfus eft unus, honoreagitur,
fcribi Iblere.
fdijiiliarjs meus Favonius i al-
Ep.fam.
15
6.
Q 3 man,
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200 ^he H I STORY of the Life
A' Urb. 7p2. without therijk of a battle with the Parthians
[x].
^^S; ^ During thefe months of adlion, he fent away the
Serv Sulpi-tivo ycung Cicero^Sy the fon and nephew, to King
cfus RuFus, Deiotarus'i courts under the condu5f of the King's
M.Clau-fnny who came on purpofe to invite them: they
Diu; Marvt-ere kept firidly
to their books and exercifes,
and Tijadegreat proficiency in both ; though the
one of thcr.iy as Cicerofays, wanted the bit^ the
ether the fpur : their Tutor Dionyfius attended
them, a man of great learning and probity^ but^ as
his young pupils complained, horribly paffio-
nate \j\ Deiotaius himfelf wasfetting forward
to join Cicero with all his forces, upon the firfl
news of the Parthian irruption : he had with him
thirty cohorts^ cf four hundred men each^ armed
anddisciplined after the Roman manner^ with two
thoufmd horfe \ but the Parthian alarm being over,Cicero fent Couriers to meet him on the road, in
order to prevent his marching to no purpofe^ fo far
from his own dominion [z] : the old King how-
ever fecms to have broucrht the children backo
[.v]Ut
optafti,ita eft; vel- autem aiunt eum furenter i-
les enim, ais, tautunimodo raici. Sed homo nee doc-ut habetem negotii quod eflet tior, nee fandior fieri
potefl.
ad laureolam Talis. Parthos lb. 6. i.
times, quia diffidis copiis [r] Mihi tamen eum De-
iioftris. Ep. fam. 2. 10. 8. iotaro eonvenit, ut ille in
5. meiscatlrisefiet eum omnibus
\_y']CIccrones noftios De- fuis copiis,
habet autem co-
iotarus iilius, qui Rex a Se- hortes quadringenarias noHra
natuappcl'atu5 eft, iecimi in armatu a triginta ;
equitumregnum. Dum in a:ftivis nos duo millia ib.
eiienius, ilium pueris locum Deittirum confeftim jameiie belli'.].mum duximus. Ad ad me venienrem cum magnoAtt.
5. 17. k iirmo equitatu & peditatu
Cicerones pueri amant in- Ik cum omnibus fuis copiis,
ter fe, dilcunt, exercentur : certiorem feci, non videri
fed alter frreniseget, alter clTe cauiam cur abeilet a reg-
ealcaribus Dionyf^ub niihi no f.p.f^m.
13. 4.
quid-m in aniciibiio eft, Pueri
again
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of M.TULLIVS CICERO. 201
again in perfon,for the opportunity
of paying his A. Urb. 702.
compHments, and fpending feme time with hisCoff^*
friend; for, by what Cicero intimates, they ap- Serv. Sulpi-
pear to have had an interview [c]. cius Rufus,
The remaining part of Cicero's Government M. Clau-
was employed in the civil affairs of the Province :
^"^ MhK-
where his whole care was to eafe the feveral ci-
ties and diftri6ls of that exceflive load of debts,
in which the avarice and rapacioufnefsof former
governors had involved them. He laid it down
for the fixt rule of his adminiftration, not to fuf-
fer any money to be expended either upon himfeJf or
hisofficers : and when one of his Lieutenants, L.
Tullius, inpafling through the country, exa5Ied
cnely the forage and firingsijohich was due by law,
cind that but once a day^ and not^ as all others had
done before^ from every Town and Village throughwhich they paffed^
he was much out of humor, and
could not help complaining of it, as a flain upon
his Government^ fince none of his people befides had
taken even afingle farthing. All the wealthier
Cities of the Province ufed to pay to all their
Proconfuls large contributions for being exempted
fromfurnifhing winter quarters to the army : Cyprusalone paid yearly on this fingie account two hun-
dred talents^ or about forty thoufand pounds : but
Cicero remitted this whole tax to them, which
alone made a v aft revenue-,and applied all the
cuflomary perquifites of his office to the relief of
the opprefTed Province : yet for all his fervices
and generofity, which amazed the poor people,he would accept no honors, but what were mere-
ly verbal ; prohibiting all expenlive monuments,as StatueSy Temples, brazen hcrfes, &c. which,
[a]Deiotarus mlhi
narravit,Sec. ad Att. 6. i
;;.
z\.'
by
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toi Tbe Hi STORY of tf)e Life
A. Urb. 702. by the flattery of Afia, ufed to be eredled ofCic. 56. courfe to all Governors, though ever fo
corrupt
Serv^Sulpi-^"^ opprefTive.
While he was upon his vifita-
cius RuFus, tion of the Afiatic Diftrids, there happened to beM. Clau- a kind of famine in the country , yet where-ever
Plus Mar- he came, he not only provided for his family atcELLvs,
jj-g ^^^ expence, but prevailed with the Mer-
chants and Dealers, who had any quantity of
corn in their ftore-houfes, toJupply
the people with
it oneajy
terms
[^];
livinghimfelf, all the
while,fplendidly
and hofpitably^ and keeping an open tahky
not onely for all the Romanofficers y but the Gentry
of the Province[cj.
In the following Letter to
Atticus, he gives him a fummary view of his
manner of governing.'*
I fee, fays he, that you are much pleafed"
with my moderation and abflinence ; but you" would be much fo, if you were with me ;
**
efpecially at Laodicea ; where I did wonders at
[^] Cave putes quicquam exinfula(nonuTp^oA/)?&^^ fed
homines magis unquam efTe veriflimeioquor)numniusnul-
miratos, quam nullum terun- lum me obtinente erogabitur.
cium, me obtinente
provin-
Ob hsec beneficia,
quibus
ob-
ciam, fumtus faftum efle nee ftupefcunt, nullos honores
in Remp. nee in quemquam mihi, nifi verborum, decernj
meorum, prxterquam in L. fmo. Statuas, fanajTsflpiTr-TT-cf,
Tullium, Legatum. Is caste- prohibeo ib.
roquiabllinens (fed Julia lege Fames, quse erat in haq
tranfitans, femel tamen in mea Afia, mihi optanda fue-
diem, non ut alii folebant rit. Quacunque iter feci,
omnibus vicis) facit ut mihi nulla vi, audoritate & co-
excipiendus fit, cum terun- hortatione perfeci, ut & Grae-
ciuni nego fumtus factum, ci & Gives Romani, qui fru-
Praeter eum accepit nemo, meritum comprelferant, mag-Has fordes anoftro Q^Titin- num numerum populis poUi-iiio accepimus ad Att. 5.21. cerentur ib,
Civitates locupletes, ne in [f] Ita vivam, ut maxi-
hiberna milites reciperent, mos fumptus facio. Mirifice
jnagnas pecunlas dabant. deledor hoc inftituto. A'X
Cyprii talenia Attica cc, Qua Att. 5. 15.
^'thq
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 203" the feflions, which I have
juft held, fof the A. Urb. 702^
^^ affairs of the Diocefes, from the thirteenth of^q^^'
**February to the lirft of May. Many cjties are
Serv!^Sulpi-
*' wholly freed from all their debts , man^r great- ciusRufus,<
lyeafed ; and all, by being allowed to govern
M. Clau-
<' themfelves by their own laws, have recovered^'usMar-
'* new life. There are two ways, by which I
*' have put them into a capacity offreeing, or
*' of eafingthemfelves at leaft of their debts ;
"the one is by fuffering
no expence at all to be' made on the account of my government.
'' When I fay none at all, I fpeak not hyperbo-*'
lically ; there is not fo much as a farthing : it
*'is incredible to think, what relief they have
** found from this fingle article. The other is
"this ; their own Greek Magiftrates had ftrange-
*'
ly abufed and plundered them. I examined*'
every one of them, who had born any cfEce
"for ten years pail : they all plainly confeiTed ;
*'and, without the ignominy of a public con-
"vidion, made reftitution of the money, which
*'
they had pillaged: fo that the
people, who" had paid nothing to our farmers for the prefent
** Luftrum, have now paid the arrears of the**
lad, even without murmuring. This has**
placedme in high favour with the Publicans,
' agrateful
fet of men, you'll fay : I havereally
*' found them fuch the reft of my jurifdid:ion"
fhall be managed with the fame addrefs : and*'
create the fame admiration of
my clemency** and eafinefs. There is nodifficulty of accefs
*'to me, as there is to all other Provincial Go-
*'vernors ; no introdudiion by my Chamber-
*^ lain : I am always up before day, and walking*'
in my Hall, with my doors open, as I ufed*'
to do, when a Candidate at Rome : this is
"great and gracious here ; though not at all
^"
troublefom
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20+ '^^^'^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 702." troublefom to me, from my old habit and
Cic. 56. C4
difcipline&c." {d\
S V S T PI.This method of governing gave no fmall
cius RuFus, umbrage to Appius \ who confidered it as a re-
M Clau- proach upon himfelf, and fent feveral querulousDius Mar- Letters to Cicero, becaufe he had reverfed fomecELLUi.
^^ 1^^^ conftitutions :
" And no wonder, faysCice-
'
ro, that he is difpleafedwith my manner, for
" what can be more unlike, than his adminiftra-
*'tion and mine ? under him the Province was
" drained by expences and exadions j under me,*' not a penny levied for public or private ufe :
" what Ihall I fay of his Prasfedls, attendants,
*' Lieutenants ? of their plunders, rapines, inju-"
ries ? whereas now, there is not a fingle fami-
"ly governed with fuch order, difcipline,
and
"modcfty, as my Province, This fome of Ap-"pius's
friends interpret ridiculoufly ; as if 1 was
"taking pains
to exalt my own charadler, in
*' order to deprefshis ; and doing all this, not
*'for the fake of my own credit, but of his dif-
"grace [^]."
But the truth was, that, from
the time of his reconciliation with Appius, he
had a fincere defire to live on good terms with
him \as well out of regard to the fplendor
of his birth, and fortunes, as to his great al-
liances ;for one of his daughters was married to
Pompey's fon, and another to Brutus [/] : fo
that,
fy] lb. 6. z. [/] Ego Appium ut tc-
U\ Quid enim poted efTe cum fepe locutus fum, valcle
tair.en diliimile, quam illoim- diligo. Meque ab eodiligi
perante,exhauftameffe iunp- ftatim coeptum effe, ut fimulta-
tibus & jadluri-s provinciam, tern depofuimu?, fenfi jam
TiObis earn obtinentibus, num. me Pompeii totum efle fcis ;
mum nullum ^i^t erogatumBrutum a me amari intelli.
nee privaiimnecpublicc^&c. gis. Quid ell caufsB, cur
ib. 6. I..
'
mihi non in optatiseft com-
pledi
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 205
that, though their principlesand maxims were A. Urb. 702,
totally different, yet he took care to do every ^q'^^^'
thing with the greateft profefTionsof honor and Serv.Sulpi-
refped towards Appius, even when he found it cius Rufus,
necefTary to refcind his decrees ; confidering him-M. Clau
felf onely, he fays,as a fecond Phyfician called
^'^sMar-
in to a cafe of Jicknefs^where he found it
neceffary
to change the method of cure^ and when the Patient
had been brought low by evacuations^ and blood-let-
ting^to apply all kinds of lenitive and
rejlojing
medicines [^].
As foon as the Government of Cilicia was al-
lotted to him, he acquainted Appius with it by
Letter, begging of him, that^ as no man could fuc-
cede to it with a more friendly difpofitionthan him^
felf fo Appius would deliver up the Province to him^
in
fuch
a condition^ as one
friend
wouldexpe5l
to re-
ceive it from another [^] ; in anfwer to which,
Appius, having intimated fome defire of an in-
terview, Cicero took occafion to prefsit with
much earneftnefs, as a thing of great fervice to
them both ; and, that it might not be defeated,
gave him an account of all his ftagesand mo-
tions, and offered to regulate them in fuch a
manner, as to make the place of their meeting the
plefti hominem, florentem Att. 6. i.
setate, opibus, honoribus, in-[/y]
Cum contra volunta-
genio, liberis, propinquis af- tern meain accidiiTe:, ut
linibus, amicis. Ep. fam. niihi cum imperio in Provin-
2. 13. clam ire neceiTe efiet hsec
fi"] Ut fi Medicus, cum una confolatio occuirebat,
aegrotusalio medico traditus quodnequetibiamiciorjcuam
fit, iraici velit ei medico, qui ego l"um, quifquam pofiet
fibi fuccefierit, fi quce ipfein fu'ccedere, neque ego ab ullo
curando conilituerit mutet provinciam atciperi,quimal-ille. Sic Appius, cum i^ d- let earn mihi quam maxime
^cttfia-kui provinciam curarit, aptam explicatamqiictradere,
ianguineni miferit, &c. ad &c. Ep. fam.3.
2.
mofi
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C
of M,rULLIUS CICERO. 207*'
to my friend ? I, who of all men am apt to A. Urb. 702.
*' do more in that way than becomes my digni- ^ "i
ty ? but enough of this. The fame man toldServ-Sulpi-
me likewife, that you faid, What! Appius cius Rufus^*' went out to meet Lentulus ; Lentulus to Ap-
M. Clau-
**pius ; but Cicero would not come out to Ap-
^'^^ ^'^^^
*'
pius.Can you then be guilty of fuch imper-
**tinence ? a tnan, in my judgement, of the
**
greateft: prudence, learning, experience ; and"
I may addpolitenefs too, which the Stoics
*' rightly judge to be a virtue ? do you imagine,*'
that your Appius's and Lentulus's are of more*'
weight with me than the ornaments of virtue ?
*' before I had obtained thofe honors, which, in
*' the opinion of the world, are thought to be" the greateft, I never fondly admired thofe
*' names of
yours
: I looked indeed
uponthofe,
*' who had left them to you, as great men ; but**
after I had acquired, and born the highefb*'Commands, fo as to have nothing more to de-
*'fire, either of honour or glory, I never indeed
" confidered myfelf as your fuperior, but hoped,*' that I was become your equal : nor did Pom-"
pey, whom I prefer to all men. Who ever*'
lived, nor Lentulus, whom I prefer to my-*'
felf, think otherwife : if you however are of" a different opinion, it will do you no harm to
** read with fome attention what Athenodorus*'
fays on thisfubjedl, that you may learn where-
*' in truenobility confifts. But to return to the
" point : I defire you to look upon me, not one-"
ly as your friend, but a moft affedionate one :
*'it fhall be my care by all
polTible ferv^ices to con-*'
vince you, that I am truly fo : but if you have"
a mind to let people fee, that you are lefs con-**
cerned for my intereft, in my abfcnce, than"
my
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2o8 Tlje History of the Life
A. Urb. 702. ''my pains for yours deferved, I free you fromCic. 56. that trouble i
Coff.
CI us RuFus
"^^^ ^
havefriends enough
to
ferve and loveM. Clau-
" Both me and mine^ and above all Great Jove.piusMar- E.I. 174.CELLUS.
" but if you are naturally querulous, you fliall
*' not dill hinder my good offices and wifties for''
you : all that you will do, is to make me lefs
" follicitous how you take them. I have writ-** ten this with more than my ufual freedom,*' from the confcioufnefs of my duty and afFec-
**tion, which being contradted by choice and
**
judgement^ it will be in your power to preferve,*'
as long as you think proper. Adieu [k]"Cicero's Letters to
Appius
make one book
of his familiar EpiftleSythe
greateft part of which
are of the expotlulatory kind, on thefubjedt of
their mutual jealoufiesand complaints: in this
flip-
pery flate of their friendfhip,an accident happened
at Rome, which had like to have put an end to it.
His daughter Tullia, after parting from her fe-
cond hufband Cralfipes, as it is probably thought,
by divorce [/], was married in her father's abfence
to a third, P. Cornelius Doiabella : feveralparties
had been offered to her, arid among them Ti.
Claudius Nero, who afterwards married Livia,
whom Auguilus took away from him : Nero made
his propofals to Cicero in Cilicia, who referred
him to the women, to whom he had left the
[h] Ep. fam.3. 7. him as the onely Senator, be-
[7]What corif.rins this fides Hirrus, to whom he did
notion is, thatCriiiiipes ap- not think fit to write about
rears to hav:- been :ilive at the affair of hisSupplication.
.'this time, and and^^r Cicero's Ad Att.7.
1.'
difpleafuit
: who mentions
management
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 209
management of that affair; but before thofe A- ^'"b. 702.
overtures reached them, they had made up the^^'^
match with Dolabeila, being mightily taken "^^"^^ Serv.Sulpi-
his complaifant and obfequious addrefs \m\, HcciusRufus,was a nobleman of Patrician
defcent^and of great
M. Clau-
parts andpolitenefs-, but of a violent, daring,
diusMar-
ambitious temper, warmly attached to Csefar ,
and by a life of pleafure and expence, which the
prudence of Tullia, it was hoped, would corredt,
greatly diftrelled in his fortunes ; which made
Cicero very uneafy, when he came afterwards to
know it []. Dolabeila, at the time of his mar-
riage, for which he made way alfo by the divorce
of his wife [<?], gave a proof of hisenierpri-
fmg genius, by impeaching Appius Claudius, of
praoiices againjlthe fiate^ in his government cf Q-
licia, andof bribery
andcorruption
in his
fuit forthe
Confuljhip, This put a great difficulty uponCicero, and made it natural to
fufpedl, that he
privately favored the impeachment, where the
Accufer zvas his fon-in-law : but inclearing him-
felf of it to Appius, though he difTembled a little
[rn] Ego dum in provincia qus nofti ferenda. Ad Att.Omnibus rebus Appium orno, 7. 3.
fubito fum fadlus accufatoris Dolabellam a te gaudeo
ejus focer-^ fed crede mihi primum laudari, deinde e-
nihil minus putaram ego, qui tiam amari. Nam ea qua?
de Ti. Nerone, qui mecum fperas Tuliis mea prudencia
egerat, c;rtos homines ad pofle temperari, fcio cui tuse
muiieres mi.eram, qui Ro-epiflolse refpondeant. Ep.
mam venerunt faftis Tponfa- fam. 2.
15.
ic. 8.13,
libus. Sed hoc fpero melius. Hac obleflabar fpecula,
Muiieres quidem valde.intel- Dolabellam meum fore ab iis
ligo deletlari obfequio & co- molelliis, quas libertate fua
mitate adolefcentis. ad Att. contraxerat, liberura ib. 16.
6^6.[0] Illud mini occuric,quod
[//]Gener eft fuavis inter poftulationem, Sc nomi-
quantumvis velingenii,
vel nis delacionem uxor a Dola-
hdmanitatis; fatis. Reiiqua bella difceffit ib. 8. 6.
Vol. II. P perhaps
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2IO The H I STORY of the Life
A. Urb. 702. perhaps in difclaming any part or knowledge of
^r-' ^' ^^^^ match, yet he was very fincere, in pro-
c c ',. fefline himfelf an utter ftransfer to the impeach-
cius RuFus, inent, and was in truth greatly dilturbed at it.
M.Clau- But as from the circumilance of his fuccedingtodiusMar-
y\ppius in his Government, he was of all mencELLus.
^^^ nio^ capable of ferving or hurting him at the
trial ;fo Pompey, who took great pains to fkreen
Appius, was extremely defirous to engage him
on their fide, and had thoughts of fending one of
his fans to him for that purfofe : but Cicero faved
them that trouble, by declaring early and openly
for Appius, and promifing every thing from the
Province that couldpolTibly
be of fervice to him j
which he thought himfelf obliged to do the
more forward! y,to prevent any ftifpicion of trea-
chery to his friend^ on the account of his new alii-
ance[/>]
: fo that Appius, inflead of declining
a trial, contrived to bring it on as foon as he
could , and v>^ith that view, having dropt his
pretenfionsto a Triumph, entered the City, and
offered himfelf to his Judges, before his Accufer
was prepared for him, and was acquitted without
any difficulty of both the indidments.
I N a little time after his trial he was chofen
Cenfor.^ together with Pifo, Cafar's father-in-law^
the lafl who bore that office during the freedom
of the Republic. Clodius^s law^ mentioned a-
[/] Pompeiusdiciturvaldenunciata, non majore equi-
pro Appio laborare, ut eti- dem lludio, fed acrius, aper-
am patent alterutrum de filiis tius, fignificantius dignitatem
ad te mifTurum. Ibid. tuam defendilTem nam ut
Poll hoc nesiOtium autem vetuG nollra fimultas antea
h temeritatem noflri Dola- flimulabat me, ut caverem
bella^^ deprecatorem me pro ne cui fufpicionem fidle re-
illius periculo prcebeoib. 2. conciliate;
gratia;darem : fic
^3,affinitas novam curam affert
Tamen hac mihi affinitate cavcndi. lb. 3. 12.
bov^
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of M,rULLIUS CICERO. an
bove, which had greatly reftrained the power of A. Urb. j^z,
thefe Magiflrates, was repealed the lad year by q^Scipio,
the Conful, and their ancient authority Serv.Sulpi-
reftored to them [^], which was now exercifed cius Rufus,with great rigor by Appiiis : who though really
M. Clau-
a libertin, and remarkable for indulging himfelf^' us Mar-
in all the luxury of life, yet by an affedation of
feverity, hoped to retrieve his charader, and
pafs for an admirer of that ancientdifcipline, for
which many of his ancellors had been celebrated.
Caslius gives apleafant account of him to Cicero;" Do you know, fays he, that the Cenfor Ap-*'
pius is doing wonders amongft us, about fiia-
"tues and pidures, the number of our acres,
" and the payment of debts ? he takes the Cen-*'
forfhip for foap or nitre, and thinks to fcour*'
himfelf clean with it; but heis
miftaken; for" while he is laboring to wafh out his ftains, he''
opens his very veins and bowels, and lets us'*
fee him. the more intimately : run away to us"
by all the Gods, to laugh at thefe things :
" Drufus fits Judge upon Adultery, by the
" Scantinian law : Appius on ftatues and pic-
" tures [r]." But this vain and unfeafonable
attempt of reformation, inftead of doing any good,ferved onely to alienate people from Pompey*s
caufe^ with whom Appius was ftridly allied :
whilft his collegue Pifo, who forefaw that ef-
fedl, chofe to fit flill, and fuffer him todifgrace
[$] Dio, p. 147. Nam ford es eluere vult, ve-
[r] Scis Appium Cenfo- nas fibi omnes & vifcera a-
rem hie oftenta facere ? deperit.
Curie per Deos, &
lignis & tabuljs, de agri mo- quam primum hsec rifum ve-
do, Sc cere alieno accerrime a- ni. Legis Scantinias judici-
gere f perfuafum eft ei, Cen- um apud Drafum fieri. Ap-furam lomentum aut nitrum pium de tabulis Sc fignis age-
elie. Errare mihi videtur. re. Ep, fam. 8. 14.
P 2 .the
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2lt The History of the Life
A. Urb. 702. /^^ Knights and Senators atpleafure^ which he did
r w ^^^^ great freedom, and among others, turned
Serv.Sulpi- ^^^^^^^' the Hijlorian^ out of the Senate^ and was
cius RuFus, hardly reftrained from putting the fame affront
M. Clau-upon Curio, which added ftill more friends and
DiusMAR.-|.j.ength to Csefar [s\
As to the -pubhc news of the year, the grand
affair, that engaged allpeople's thoughts, was
the expectation of a breach between Casfar and
Pompey,
which feemed now unavoidable, and in
which all men were beginning to takepart, and
ranging themfelves on the one fide or the other.
On Pompey's, there was a great majority of the
Senate and the Magiftrates^ with the better fort ofnil ranks : on C^far's^ all the criminal and obnoxious^
all who hadfiiffered piinifhr/ient ^
or deferved it; the
greatejl part of the youth^ and the City mob , fome
of the popular Tribuns^ and all who wereoppreffed
with debts ;who had a header fit for their
purpofe,
darings and well provided^ and wanting nothing but
a caufe.This is Cicero's account ; and Caelius's
is much the fame : / fee^ fays he, that Pompeywill have the Senate^ and all who judge of things ;
C^far^ all who live in fear anduneafinefs ; hut
there is no comparifon between their armies[/]. Cas-
far had put an end to the Gallic war, and reduced
the whole Province to the Roman yoke : but
[j]Dio. 1. 40. p. 150. caufam folam ilia caufa non
[/JHoc video, cum ho- habet, casteris rebus abundat
mine audaciffimo, paratiffi- ad Att. 7. 3.
moque negotium eiie : cm- In hac difcordia video,
nes damnatos, omnesigno- Cn. Pompeium fenatum, qui-
niinia afFcftos, omnes dam- que res judicant, fecuni habi-
nadone ignominiaqi.e dignos turum : ad Caefarem omnes,
.iliac facere. Omnem fere qui cum timore aut mala fpe
iuventutem, Oinnem illam ur- vivant ad Casfarem acceiTu^-
banam ac perditam plebem j ros. Exercitum conferen*
,Tribunes valentes
omnes,dura non zKi,
Ep.fam. 8.
^uixre alieno premantur 14.
thousfh
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ai4 7i&^ History of the Life
i^.Urb. '}02. far [^]. Cicero condemns this a6l as violent and
Cic. 56.unjuft; Marceilus, fays he, behavedJhamefuUy in
S SuLPi-^^^ ^^f^ ^f ^^^ Comejtjian : for if the man had never
cius RuFus, ^^^^ a Magijirate^ he was yet of a colony beyondM. Clau- the Po^ fo that Por/ipey will not be
lefs fhock^dat it
PIUS Mar-^j^^^ Q^f^y. himfelf \%\
cELLus. ^^^ ^^^^ Conful, Serv. Sulpicius, was of a
more candid and moderate temper ; and being
unwilling to give fuch a handle for a civil war,
oppofed and over-ruled the motions of his Col-
kgue, by the help of fome of the Tribuns : nor
was Pompey himfelf difpofed to procede fo vio-
lently, or to break with Casfar on that foot ; but
thought it more plaufibleto let his term run out,
and his command expire of itfelf, and lb throw
upon him the odium of turning his arms againft
his
Country,if he fliould refolve to adl
againftthe Senate and the laws. This counfil prevailed
afcer many warm contefcatlons, in which the fum-
mer was chiefly fpent,and a decree was offered
oi the laft of September,*' That the Confuls
*'eled, L. Paullus and C. Marceilus fhould
" move the Senate on thefirftof march, to fet-
. '' tie the Confular Provinces ; and if any Ma-*'
glilrateihould interpofe,
to hinder the effedt
"of their decrees, that he Ihould be deemed an''
enemy to the Republic , and if any one adlu-
,
"ally interpofed,
that this vote and refolution
*' fnould be entered into the journals, to be con-''
fidered fome other time
by
the Senate, and
*.' laid alfo before the people." But four of the
Tribuns gave their joint negative to this decree,
C. Caslius, L. Vinicius, P. Cornelius, and C. Vi-
[y] Appian, 2. 443. padanus. Ita mihi videtur
[x] Marceilus foede de Co- noii minus llomachi noilro,
menii : etli ilJe Magiftratuip ac Caefari moviiTe. Ad Att.
non gefferit,erat tamen tranf- 5.11,
bius
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CELLU^.
of M. rVLLIUS CICERO. 215
bius Panfa. In the coiirfe of thefe debates, Pom- A. Urb. 702.
pey, who affecled great moderation in whatever^^'^
he faid of Casfar, was teized and urged on allServ^^Sulpi.
fides to make an explicit declaration of his fenti-cius Rufus,ments. When he called it unjull to determine M. Clau-
any thing about Casfar's Government, i?eforethe diusMar-
firjl of march^ the term prefcribed to it by law,
being afked,"What, if any one fhould then
*'
put a negative upon them, he faid^ there was'' no difference whether Casfar refufed to obey
" the decrees of the Senate, or provided men"
to obflru6l them : What, fays another^ if he
*' fhould infift on being Conful, and holding his
" Province too ? What, replied Pompey^ if my" fon fhould take a ftick and cudgel me [^] ?" in-
timating the one to be as incredible, and as im-
piousalfo as the other.
C I c E R o's friend Cslius obtained the Mdile^
fhip this Summer from his Competitor Hirrus,
the fame who had oppofed Cicero in the Augu-rate, and whofe difappointment gave occafion to
many jokes between them in their Letters[hi.
In
this magiftracy, it being cuflomary to procure
wild beads of all kinds from different parts of the
Empire for the entertainment of the City, Calius
begged of Cicero tofupply
him with Panthers from
Cilicia, and to employ the CibariteSj a people of
his Province famed for hunting, to catch them :
for it would he a refieBion upon you^ fays he, when
Curio had ten Panthers
from
that Country-^ not to
[<7
]Cum interrogaretur, quit alius, & Conful efTe &
fi qui turn intercederent: dix- exercitum habere volet? at
it hoc nihil interefie, utrum ille quam clementer. QuidC. Casfar Senatui didlo audi- fi filius meus fuftem mihi im-
ens futurus non eflet, an pa- pingere volet ? Ep. fam. 8. 8.
raret, qui Senatuiti decernere[/>] Ep. fam. 2.
9,10. it,
nonpateretur.
Quid fi, in- 8. 2, 3, 9,
P 4- let
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of M,rULLIUS CICERO. 217
JBut though he would not break his rules for the A. Urb. 702.
fake of his friend, yet he took care to provide^^^ 5^-
Panthers for him at his own expence, and fays Serv Sulp -
pleafantly upon it,that the
Beafts made a fad com- cius Rufus,'
plaint againjl him^ andrefolved to
quitthe country^
M. Clau-
fmce no fnares 'were laid in his Province for any other dius Mart
Creature hut themfelves [/].cellu.
Curio likewi'fe obtained the 'Tribunate this
Summer, which he fought with no otherdefign,
as many im.agined, than for the opportunity of
mortifying Casfar, againft whom he had hitherto
acSted with greatfiercenefs [^]. But Cicero, who
knew from the temper and views of them both,
how eafy it would be to make up matters between
them, took occafion to write acongratulatory
Letter to him upon this advancement, in which
Jie exhorts him with
greatgravity,
"to confider
" into what a dangerous criiis his Tribunate had*'
fallen, not by chance, but his own choice ;
*' what violence of the times, whatvariety of
^'dangers hung over the Repubhc, hov/ uncer-
^' tain the events of th:no;s were, how change-'^
able mens minds, how muchtreachery and
"falfhood in human lifehe begs of him there-
^' fore to beware of entering into any new coun-
^'fils, but to purfue and defend, what he him-
*'felf thought right,
and not fuffer himfelf to be
^' drawn away by the advice of others"referring
without doubt to M. Antony, the chief compa-nion and corrupter of his youth : in the conclu-
(ion, he conjures hirn, to ^'employ his prefent
[f] De Pantheris, per eos, Ep. fam. 2. 1 1 .
qui venari folent,agiturman-
[^] Sed ut fpero & volo,
dato meo diligenter: led mi- & uc fe fert
ipfe Curio, bo-
ra paucitas eft : & eas, quae nos Sc fenatum malct. To-
fvint, valde aiunt queri quod tus ut nunceft:, hoc fcaturit.
nihil cuiquam inlidiarum in ib. 8.4.
jnea provincia nifi fibi fiat.
*'
power
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2 20 ^'^^ History of theLife
A. Urb. 703 puMic money beyond thelegal time, or abov the
^^^- 57- fumm prefchbed by law, as appears from his
T S^* Letters to fome of them who defired it \ pi. Out
Paullus, Of ^"^ annual revenue, which was decreed to
C Claudius him for the ufe of the Province, he remitted to
Marcellus. /^^ Treafury all that he had not expended, to the
amount of aboveeight hundred thoufand pounds,
"This, fays he, makes my whole company
"groan ; they imagine that it fhould have
" been divided
amongthemfelves, as if I
ought*'to have been a better manager for the treafu-
"ries of Phrygia and Cilicia, than for our own,
*' But they did not move me ; for my own ho-*' nor weighed with me the mofl : yet I have*' not been wanting to do every thing in my"power that is honorable and
generous to them
all [qVHis lalt concern was, to what hands he fhould
commit the Government of his Province uponhis leaving it, fmce there was no fuccefibr
ap-
pointed by the Senate on account of the heats
among them about the cafe of Casfar, which dif-
turbed all their debates, andinterrupted all other
[j{)]Laodicese me prides fumptu, qui rnihi decretus
acceptarum arbitror omnis eilet. Me C. Cslio Quaeflo-
publicae ptcunlitnihil eft, ri relinquere annuuir., referre
qaod in illo genere cuiquam in asrarium ad H. S. ero, in-
poffim commodare, Scz. Ep. gemiiit noilra cohors, oirine
tam. 2. 17.illud putans dillribui fibi o-
Illud quidem certe fadum portere : ut ego amicior in-
ed, quod lex jubebat, ut a- venirer Phrygum aut Cil;-
pud duas civ'tates, Laodicen- cum sranis, quam nofl o.
f fern, & Apamaenf.-m, quse Sed me non moverunt; nam
nobis maximas videbantur mea laus apud me plurimumrationes confedas & confoli- vah]it Nee tamen quicquamdatas deponeiemus, Lc. ib. honorifice in quemquam fieri
5.20. potiiit, quod praetermiferim.
[^]Cum enim reflur & ad Act. 7. i.
gloricfum putarem ex annuo
bufnief?.
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 221
bufmefs. He had no opinion of his Quasftor,A. Urb. 703.
C. Cslius, a young man of noble birth, but of^q'^^'
no greatvirtue or prudence ;
and was afraid af- ^miuus
ter his glorious adminiftration, that by placing fo Paullus,
greata trufl in one of his charader, he fhould C. Claudius
expofe himfelf to fome cenfure. But he had no^-^arcellus.
body about him offuperior rank^ who was willing
to accept it, and did not care to force it upon his
Brother, left that might give a handle to fufpe5l
him of fome intereft
orpartiality in the choice [r\
He dropt the province therefore, after fome de-
liberation, into Callus's hands, and fet forward
immiediately upon his journey towards Italy.
But before he quitted A fia, he begged of Atti-
cus by Letter to fend him a particular detail of all
the news of the City" There are odious re-
"ports, fays he,
about Curio and Paullus^not
*'that I fee any danger, while Pompey ftands,
" or I may fay indeed, v/hile he fits, if he has" but his health ; but in truth, I am
forry for
"my friends Curio and Paullus. If you are now
*' therefore at Rome, or as foon as you come*'
thither, I would have you fend me aplan of
" the whole Republic, which may meet m^ on" the road, that I may form myfelf upon it, and*'
refolve what temper to aiTume on my coming"
to the City : for it is fome advantage not to
*' come thither a mere ftranger [j]." We fee
what
\j-'\ Ego de provincia de- A Quinto fratreimpetrari
cedens Qossilorem Gallium non poterat : quern tamen ii
prspofai provinciaePueram? reliquiUem, dicerent
iniqui,
inquies.At Qua^ftorem ; at non ms plane poft annum, uc
nobilem adoleicentem j at Senatus voluifi'et, de provin-omnium fere exemplo. Ne-
ciadecefiifre,quoniam alteram
que erat fuperiorehonore u- me
reliquifiem. Ep. fam. 2.
fus, quem prsficerem. Pon-15-.
vit. it. ad Att. fc. 5, 6.
tinius muko ante difcefTerat. [j] Hac odiofa afFereban-
tur
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222 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 703. what a confidence he placed in Pompey, onCic. 57, whom indeed their whole profpedt either of peace
T /p?./r ,. with Csefar, or of fuccefs affainft him, depended :i,, ZCMILIUS ... ,
, 1.
1 1 1 r.
Paullus, as to the intimation about his health, it is exprel-
C. Claudius fed more llrongly in another Letter ; All our
Marcellus.jjopes^ fays he, hang upon the
life of one man^ who
is attacked every year by a dangerous fit of Jick-
nefs \t\.His conftitution feems to have beenpe-
'
ciiliarly fubje6t to fevers ; the frequent returns of
which, in the prefent fituation of affairs,
gavegreat apprehenfion to all his party : in one of
thofe fevers, which threatened his life for many
days fucceffively, all the ^owns of Italy put up
public prayers for his fafety ; an honor, which
had never been paid before to any man, while
Rome was free [].
Upon taking leave of Cilicia, Cicero paid avifit to Rhodes, for the fake^
hefays, of the chil-
dren[a*].
His defign was to give them a view
of that florilhing Ifle, and a little exercifeper-
haps in that celebrated School of eloquence,
where he himfelf had iludied with fo much fuc-
cefs under Molo. Here he received the news of
Hortenfms's death[j ], which greatly afFeded him,
tur de Curione, de Paullo : fpeshabemus ibid. 8. 2.
non quo uUum periculum vi- [] Quo quidem temporedeam ftante Pompeio, vel e- univerfa Italia vota pro falu-
tiam fedente, valeat modo. te ejus, primo omnium civi-
Sed mehercule Curionis & um, fufcepit Veil. Pat.
Paulli meorum familiarium 2. 48. Dio,p. 155.vicem doleo. Formam
igi- [.v] Rhodum volo puero-tur mihi totius Reip. li jam es rum caufa. Ad Att. 6.
7.
Romae, aut cum eris, velim [j ] Cum e Cilicia dece-
niittas, quaj mihi obviam ve- dens Rhodum venifTem, &niat. Ex qua me fingere pof- eo mihi de Q^Hortenfii mor-
fum, &c. ad Att. 6.3.
te efiet allatum ; opinione
[/]In unius hominis, quot- omnium majorem animo cepi
annis periculofe aegrotantis, dolorem Brut. init.
anima, pofitas omnes noiiras
by
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2 24 The Hi ST okY of the Life
A, Urb. 703- Pleader as they had been by the Hearer [^] -, while'
^c'P' Cicero's more valued produ6lions made all others
L i^MiLius^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ fought for, and
confequently
Paullus, the lefs carefully preferved. Hortenfius howeverC. Claudius was generally allowed by the AncientSj and byMarcellus. Cicero himfelf, to have pofTefied every accom-
pliiliment, which could adorn an Orator; ek-
gance of Jlile ; art of compojition , fertility of inven-
tion \ fweetnefs of elocution ; gracefidnefs of alli-
en[I?].
Thefe two Rivals lived however alwaysv/ith great civility and refpedl
towards each other,-
and were ufualiy in the fame way of thinking and
acting in the affairs of the Republic ; till Cicero,
in the cafe of his exil, difcovered the plain marks
of a lurking envy and infidelity in Hortenfius :
yet his refentment carried him no farther than to
fomefree
complaints ofit to their
common friendAtticus, who m.ade it his bufinefs to mitigate this
difguft,and hinder it from proceding to an open
breach; fo that Cicero, being naturally placable,
lived again with him after his return on the fame
eafy terms as before, and lamented his death at
this time with great tendernefs, not onely as the
private lofs of a friend, but a public misfortune
to his Country, in being deprived of the fervice
and authority of fo experienced a fiatefnan at fo
critical a conjuncture [^].
From
\^a]Motus 5:
gediisetiam
gentesnon invenimus
plus artis habebat, quam trat Quint, xi. 3.
Oratori fatis. Brut. 425. di- [^] Erat in verborum fplen-
cebat melius quam (cripfit dore elegans, compofitioneHortcniius. Orator, p.
261.aptus, facuhate copiofus :
Ejus fcriptatantum intra nee pra:termittebat fere quic-
famam funt, qui diu princcps quam, quod erat in caufa
Oratoram exiitimatus eit, vox canora & luavis - Erut.
noviirime quoad vixir, iecun- 425,
dus-y ut
appareat placuilTe
a-
[r]
Nam & amico amiflb
liquid eo dicentt:, quod ie- cum confuetudine jucuncia,
J turn
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 225
From Rhodes hepafTed on to Ephefus,
A. Urb.703.
whence he fet fail on the firft of 05ioher^ and af-^^^'
P'ter a tedious pafTage landed at Athens on the ^ ^milius
fourteenth \d\ Here he lodged again in his old Paullus,
quarters,at the houfe of his friend Aridus. His C. Claudius
PredecefTor, Appius, who pafled alfo throughMarcellus.
Athens on his return, had ordered a new Fortico
or Veftihule to he built at hiscoft
to the Temple ofthe Eleufinian Ceres \ which fuggefted a thoughtlikewife to Cicero of adding fome ornament of
the fame kind to the Academy^ as a public monu-ment of his name, as well as of his affedion for
the place: for he hated^ hefays, thofe falfe in-
fcriptions of otherpeople''
s ftatues {e\ with which
the Greeks ufed to flatter their new Maflers, b^'
effacing the old titles, and infcribing them anew
to the
greatmen of Rome. He
acquaintedAt-
ticus with his defign, and defired his opinion
upon it : but in allprobability, it. was never exe-
cuted, fmce hisflay
at Athens was now very (hort,
and his thoughts wholly bent onItaly : for as all
his Letters confirmed to him the certainty ofa war^
in which he muft neceflarily bear a part, fo he
was impatient to be at home, that he might havethe clearer view of the ftate of affairs, and take
turn mukorum oiRciorum verfis ventis ufi elTemus
conjundlione me privatum vi- Ep. fam. 14. 5.
debam augebat etiam mo-[^]
Audio Appiam -Ts-poTJ-
leftiam, quod magna fapien- Ait/of, Eleufinefacere. Num
tium civium bonorumque pe- inepti fuerimus, fi nos quo-nuria, vir
egregius, conjunc- que Academias fecerimus ?
tiffimufque mecum confilio- equidem valdeipfas
A-
rum omniuin focietate alie- thenas amo, V^olo efie ali-
niffimo Reipub. tempore ex- quod moaumentuni. Odi fal-
tinclus Brut. init. iasinlcriptiones alienarum
{d'\ Prid. Id. O6lob. Athe- Statuarum. Sed at tibi pia-nas venimus, cum fane ad- cebit. Ad Art. 6. t.
Vol. II. Q^ his
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226 The H I STORY of the Life
A.Urb. 703. his meafures with the greater dehberation [/].
^^57' Yet he was not flill without hopes of peace, and
L ^Emilius^^^^ ^^ fhoLiid be able to make up the quarrel be-
Paullus, tween the chiefs ; for he was, ot all men, the bellC.Claudius
qualifiedto efieci: it, on account not onely of his
Marcellus.authority, but of his intimate friendfhip
with
them both-,who feverally /?^/^^rf^/ court to him
at this time^ and reckoned upon him as their own,
and wrote to him with a confidence of his heinga
determined friend [^ ].
In his voyage from Athens towards Italy, Tiro,
one of his flaves, whom he foon after made free,
happened to fall Tick, and was left behind at Pa-
rrs to the care of friends and a Phyfician. 1 he
mention of fuch an accident will feem tnfiing to
thofe v/ho are not acquaintedwith the charader
andexcellent
qualitiesof
Tiro,and how much we
are indebted to him for preferving and tranfmit-
ting to pofleritythe precious
coiledlion of Cicero's
Letters, of which a great part ftill remain, and
one intire book of them written to Tiro himlelf ;
feveral of which relate to the fubjecl of this 'very
illnefs.Tiro was trained up in Cicero's family,
among the reft of his young flaves, in every
[/] Cognovi exmultorum Ad Att, 7. 3.
amicorum Uteris ad arnia\g\ Ipfi^m tamen Pompei-
rem fpedlare. Ut mihi cum lira feparatim ad concordiam
vcnero, diflimulare non lice- hortabor. lb.
at, quid fentiam- Sed quum Me autem uterque nume-
fabeunda fortuna eft, eo citi- rat fuum. Nifi forte fimulat
us dabimus operam ut vcnia- alter. Nam Pompeius non
mus, quo facilius de tota re dubitat (vere enim judicat)
delibereraus. Ep. fam. ea, qua? de Repub. nunc fen-
14.5. tiat, mihi valde probari.U-
Sive euim ad concordiam triufque autem accepi literas
res adduci poteil, five ad bo- ejufmodi ut neuter quem-norum vidoriam, utriufve quam omnium
plurisfacere
rei me aut adjutorem elle ^'e- quam me vider^tur. lb. 7.i .
lim, aut certe non c.xpertera.
kind
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228 The History of tic Life
A. Urb. 703."
that you fhall be able to overtake me, that Ls
^c'a^^'
"^^^^ ^^ y^^^^
confideration. I have fent Mario
L. ^Emilius"
^^ y^^ ^^^^^ inflrudlions, either to come with
Paullus, " you to me as foon as you can, or if you Ihould
C.Claudius"ftay longer, to return
inflantly without you.Marcellus. (c
AfTure yourfelf however of this, that, as far
*'as it can be convenient to your health, I wifh
''
nothing more than to have you with me,but
"if it be neceflary for the pcrfedling your reco-
*'
very,to
ftaya while
longerat Patr^ ; that I
*' wifh nothing more than to have you well. If
*'
you fail immediately, you will overtake me at
*' Leucas : but ifyou ftayto eftablifli your health,
*' take care to have good company, good wea-*'
ther, and a good veffel. Obferve this one"
thing, my Tiro, if you love me, that neither
" Mario's coming, nor this Letter hurry you.*'
By doing what is mofb conducive to your health,''
you will do what is moft agreeable to me: weigh*^
all thefe things by your own difcretion. I want'*
you ; yet fo as to love you ; my love makes" me wifh to fee you well ; my want of you,''
to fee
you
as foon as
pofTible
: the firfl is the
*'better ^ take care therefore, above all things,
" to get well again: of all your innumerable fer-
*' vices to me, that will be the moftacceptable.
c the third of November [{]."
By the honor, that he mentions in the Letter,
he means tbe honor of a Triumph ^which his friends
encouraged him to demand for his fuccefs at A-manus and PindenilTum : in writing upon it to
Atticus, hefays,
"confider what you would ad-
"vife me with regard to a Triumph to which
*'
my friends invite me : for my part,if Bibulus,
"who, while there was a Parthian in Syria,
ne-
[/} Ep. hvti, 16. 1.
^'veri
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 22c,'
*' ver fet a foot out of the gates of Antioch, A. Urb. 703."
any more than he did upon a certain occafion ^^c- 57-
"out of his own houfe, had not follicited a
^ Jp"
Triumph,I fliould have been
quiet;but
now Paullus"it is a fliame to fit Hill
[k],'' Again,''
as to a C. Claudius*'
Triumph, I had no thoughts of it before Bi- Marcillus.^
"bulus's moft impudent Letters, by which he
" obtained an honorable fupplication. If he had"
really done all that he has written, I fhould"
rejoice at it, and wifh well to his fuit ; but for
" him, who never ftirred beyond the walls,*' while there was an enemy on this fide the Eu-*'
phrates, to have fuch an honor decreed, and
''for me, whofe army infpired
all their hopes*' and
fpiritsinto his, not to obtain the fame,
*'will be a difgrace to us , I
fay to us; joining
*'
you
to myfelf : wherefore I am determined to
*'
pufliat all, and hope to obtain all
[/].'*
After the contemptible account, which Ci-
cero gives of Bibulus's conduct in Syria, it mufl
appear llrangeto fee him honored with a
fuppli-
cation, and afpiring even to a Triumph : but this,
was not for any thing that he himfeif had done,
but for what his Lieutenant CaiTius ha.d perform*ed in his abfence againft the Parthians ; the fuc-
cefs of the Lieutenants being afcribed always to
the aufpices of the General, who reaped the re-
v/ard and glory of it : and as the Parthians v/ere
[/J]Ad Art. 6.8. tern fuit, non extalerit, ho-
[/] De Triumpho, nulla nore augeri, me, in cujusex*me cupiditas unquam tenuit cjcitu fpem illius exercitus
ante Bibuli im'pudcntiffimas habuit, idem nonaiTeqni, de-
litteras, quas amplilTima fup- dccus ei\ nollrum ; noilrum,
piicatio conlecuta elL A quo inquam, te conjungens. Ita-
li ea gefta funt, quae fcripfu, que omniaexpcriar, &, ut
gauderem & honori faverem. fpsro, affequar, Ad Att.
Nunc ilium, qui pedem per- 7. 2.
ta, quoad hollis cis Euphra-A *
0^3 tke
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 231
In this difpofition he had an interview with A. Urb. 703.
Pompey on the tenth of December^ of which he^p'i'^'
gives the following Account :
" W^ were toge- ^ ^ ,l,us
'^ ther, fays he^ about two hours. He feemcd Paullus," to be extremely plealed at my return-, he ex- C.Claudius
" horted me to demand a Triumph ; promifed^^^'^*^^^^^^-" to do his part
in it ; advifed me not to appear*'
in the Senate, before I had obtained it, led I
''fliould difguft any of the Tribuns by declaring
"
mymind : in a word; nothing could be more
"obliging than his whole difcourfc on this fub-
"jed. But as to public affairs, he talked in
" fuch a ilrain as if a war was inevitable, with-
" out giving the leail hopes of an accommoda-
"tion. He faid, that he had long perceived*' Csfar to be alienated from him, but had re-
"ceived a very late inftance of it ; for that
" Hirtius came from Ctefar a fev/ days before,
" and did not come to fee him ; and when Bal-
" bus promifed to bring Scipio an account of
''his bufinefs, the next morning before day,
*' Hirtius was gone back again to C;far m the
"night : this he takes for a clear proof of Cas-
" far's refolution to break v/ith him. In fliort,
^ I have no other comfort but in imagining,'' that he, to whom even his enemies have
''voted a fecond Confulfhip, and Fortune given
" the grcateft power, will not be fo mad as to
"put all this to hazard :
yet if he begins to
vero, quae quidcm eodem Cn.Pompeio afTentio ib.3,
tempore ad poiram Brundifi- Nunc incido in difcrimen
nam venit, quo ego in per- ipfum, dabunt opevam, ut
turn, mihiqiie obvia in Foro ellciant fententiam meam
luit. Ibid. tu autem de noftro Itatu co-
ivlihi o-ta/s .-^ unum erit, gitabis j primuiii quo artifi-
quod a Pompeio gubernabi-cio tueamur bencvolentit.m*-
tur die. iVl. Tulli (jCv']'<'j.:t.Csfaris ib. 1.
0^4"
ruHi
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2^2 The History of theLife
A. Urb. 705."
rufli on, I fee many more things to be appre-Cic. 57. <c tended than I dare venture to commit to writ-
T"
ine : at prefent I propofe to be at Rome on
Paullus, " the third of January \n].
C. Claudius There is one little circumftance frequentlyMarcellus. touched in Cicero's letters, which gave him a
particularuneafmefs in his prefent fituation, viz.
his Codinga fumm of money to defar^ which he
imagined might draw fome reproach upon him,
fince he thought itdijhonorahle
and indecent^ he
fays,to be a debtor to one^ againft whom we were
ailing in public affairs: yet to pay it at that time
would deprive him of a part of the money which
he had referved for his Triumph [i?].He defires
Atticus however very earneftly to fee it paid,
which was done without doubt accordingly, fmcc
we meet with no farther mention ofit :
it doesnot appear,
nor is it eafy to guefs, for what oc-
cafion this debt was contracted, unlefs it was to
fupply the extraordinary expence of his buildings
after his return from exil, when he complainedof being in a particular want of money from that
general diflipationof his fortunes.
PoMPEY, finding Cicero wholly bent on peace,
contrived to have a fecond conference with him
before he reached the City, in hopes toallay his
fears, and beat him off from that vainprojecfb
of an accommodation, which might help to cool
the zeal of his friends in the fenate : he over-
took him therefore at
Lavernium,and came on
[;r]Ad Att. 7. 4. eft, quod folvendi funt num-
[0]Illud tamen nor. defi- mi Caefaii, & inftrumentum
nam, dum adeffe te putabo, triumphi eo conferendum.
de Csefaris nomine rogare. Eft enim dixo^tcVj dvliToKi-^
lit confedlum relinquas. lb. TcvofMi/a yjx.o}ZiKiT',]VefTe.
5.6. lb. 7. 8.
^
jVIihi autem moleiliftim'am
with
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 233with him to Formias, where they fpent a whole A. Urb. 703,
afternoon in a clofe converfation. Pompey ftrong-^^^- 57-
ly difcouraged all thoughts of a pacification, de- r ^daring, " that there could be none but what Paullus,
was treacherous and dangerous; and that if C.Claudius
Caefar (hould difband his army, and take the Marcellus
Confullhip, he would throw the republic into
confufion : but he was of opinion, that when
he underftood their preparations againft him,
he would
drop
the
Confulfhip,
and hold faft
his army : but if he was mad enough to come
forward and aftoffenfively, he held him in
utter contempt from a confidence in his own
troops, and thofe of the Republic. Theyhad got with "them the copy of a fpeech,
which Antony, one of the new Tribuns,
made to the people four days before : it wasa perpetual inve&ive on Pompey's conduct
from his firft appearance in public, with great
complaints againflthe violent and
arbitrary
condemnation of Citizens, and the terror of
his arms. After reading it overtogether,
what think you, fays Pompey, would Casfar
himfelf do, if inpofTeflion of the Republic,
when this paultry, beggarly fellow, his Qiias-
flor, dares to talk at this rate ? on the whole,
Pompey feemed not onely not to defire, but
even to dread a peace [/>]."
Cicero however would not flill be driven
from thehopes
andpurfuit
of anaccommoda-tion J the more he obferved the
difpofition of
bothparties,
the more he perceived thenecefTity
of it : the honefl, as they were called, were dif-
united among themfelvcs : many of them difTa-
fisfied with Pompey ; all fierce and violent ; and
Wlb. 7, 8.
denouncing
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25+ 7^^ History of the Life
denouncing nothing but ruinto theiradverfaries;
he clearly forefaw, what he declared without fcru*
pieto his friends,
"that which fide foever got
" the better, the war muft necefTarily end in a"
Tyranny j the onely difference was, that if
"their enemies conquered, they Ihould be pro-
"fcribed, if their friends, be flaves." Thoucrh
he had an abhorrence therefore of Char's caufe,
yet his advice was, to grant him his own terms,
rather than
try
the
experiment
of arms," and
*'
prefer the mod unjuft conditions to thejuileft
*^' war : fince after they had been arming him*'
againftthemfelves for ten years pafl, it was too
'late to think of fighting, when they had made
*' him too ftrong for them [^]."A. Urb. 704. This was the fum of his thoughts and coun-
P'5
fils, when he arrived at Rome on the fourth of
C.Ci^hvmvsJ^^^^^U'y where he found the two new Confuls
Marcellus, intirelydevoted to Pompey's interefts. On his
L. CoRNELi-approach towards the City great multitudes came
us Lentu-q^^ ^q m^tt him with all poffible demonftrations
of honor : his laft ftage was from Fompeys villa
near Alha^ becatifehis own at 'Tufculum lay out of
the great road^ and was not commodious for a public
entry : on his arrival^ as he fays, he fell into the
very flame of civildifcordy
and found the war in
[y] De Repub. quotidie vias. Jb. 7. 7.
magis timeo. Non enim bo- Ad pacem hortari non de-
ni, ut putant, confentiunt. fino, quae vel injufta utilior
Quos ego Equites Romanos, eft, quam juftifTimum bellum.
quos Senatores vidi, qui acer- lb.7. 14.
rime turn cetera, turn hoc Mallem tantas ei vires non
iter Pompeii vituperarent. dedilTet, quam nunc tarn va-
Pace opus eit, exvitftoria cum lenti refifterit. lb. 7. q.
multa mala, turn certe Ty- Nifi forte hasc illi turn ar-
rannas exiflet.-' lb. 7. 5. ma dedimus, ut nunc cum
Ut fi vi6\us eris, profcri- \)tnt parato pugnaremus. lb.
here ; fi viceris, tamen. fer- 7. 6.
effeft
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of M fULLIUS CICERO. 235
cffecSt proclamed [r]: for the Senate, at Sclpio's
A. Urb. 704.
motion, had juft voted a decree,"
that C^far^q' ff^'
*' fhould difmifs his army by a certain day, or c. Claudius*'
be declared an enemy; and when M. Antony Marcellus," and Q. Caffius, two of the Tribuns, oppofedL-Corneli-
*'their negative to it," as they had done to
us^^^^'^"'
every decree propofed again ft C^far, and could
not be perfuaded by the intreaties of their friends,
to give way to the authority of the Senate, they
proceded to that vote, which was the laft re-
fort in cafes of extremity, " that the Confuls,"
Pr^tors, Tribuns, and all who were about the**
city with Proconfular power, Ihould take care*'
that the Republic received no detriment."
As this was fuppofed to arm the Magiftrates
with an abfolute power, to treat all men as they
pleafed, whom they judgedto be
enemies, fothe Two TrikmSy together with Curio, imme-
diately withdrew themfelves upon it, andfled indif-
guife to Ctefar's ca?np^ on pretence of danger and
"violence to their perfons^ though none was yet offered
or dejtgned to them\_s\
M. Antony, who now began to make a
figure in the affairs of Rome, was of an ancient
and noble extradion ;the Grandfon of that ce-'
lebrated ftatefman and orator, who loft his life
in the mafTacres of Marius and Cinna : his Fa-
[r] Ego ad urbem acceffi[.?]
Antonliis quidem no-
prid.non. Jan. obviam mihi fter & Q^Caffius, nulla vi ex-
iic eft proditum, ut nihil pof- pulii, ad Csefarem cum Curi-fit fieri ornadus. Sedincidi in one
profedli erant ; poftea
ipfam flammam civilis difcor- quam fenatus Confulibus,
diai vel potius belli Prstoribus, Tribunis plebis
Ep. Fam. i6. ii. & nobis, qui Proconfules fu-
Ego in Tufculanum nihil mus, negotium dederat, ut
hoc tempore. Devium eft curaremus, ne quid Refp.Toi<; d7rif.vl6o<T(, &-c. ad x'^tt. detrimenti
caperet Ep.
7. 5.Fam. 16, II.
ther.
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236^^^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 704. ther, as it is already related, had been honoredCic. 58. 'with one of the mofl important commifTions ofCoil.
^f^g Republic ; but after an inglorious difcharge
Marcellus, o^ i^> ^i^^ ^^^^ ^^^ character of a corrupt, op-L. Corn ELI- preflive,
and rapacious Commander. The Son,us Lentu- trained in the difcipline of fuch a Parent, whomLU8 Crus.
j^g Iq^ when he was very young, launched out
. at once into all the excefs of riot and debauche-
ry, and wafted his whole patrmcTjy before he had
pit on the manly gown ; fhewing himfelf to be the
genuin Son of that Father, who was born, as
Salluft fays,to fquander money^ without ever em-
ploying a thought onhufinefs^ till a
prefent fiecejjity
urged him. His comely perfon, lively wit, in-
finuating addrefs, made young Curioinfinitely
fond of him ;fo that, in fpight of the com-
mands of a fevere Father, who had often turned
Antony out of doors, and forbidden him his
houfe, he could not be prevailed with to forfake
his company ; but fupplied him with money for
his frolics and amours, till he had involved him-
felf on his account in a debt of fifty thoufand
pounds. This greatly afflidled old Curio-^
and
Cicero was called in to heal thediftrefs of thefami-
lyywhom the Son entreated, with tears in his
eyes, to intercede for Antony, as well as for
himfelf, and not fuffer them to be parted ; but
Cicero having prevailed with the father to make
his fon eafy, by difcharging his debts, advifed
himto infift
uponit as a
condition, andto
en-force it by his paternal power, that he ihould
have no farther commerce with Antony [/].
This
^
\f\Tenefne memoriaPrs- domini poteflate, quam tu in
textatum te decoxiffe ? Curionis. Quoties te pater
nemounquam puer emptus
ejus domo fuo ejecit ?
Ivbidinis caufa tani tuit in kifne me de^rebus
mihi no-
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238 The History cf the LifeA. Urb. 704. of coming home^ where his debts would not fufFer
C ff^*-^ ^^ ^^ ^^
y^'^^ '^^^^ ^^ Ctefar into Gaul^ the
C.Claudius ^^^^ refuge of all the needy, the defperate, and
Marcellus, the audacious:
and after fome flay in that Pro-L. CoRNELi-
vince, being furnifhed with money and credit by
xus"cr^^'Csfar, he returned to Rome to fue for the Quse-
florfhip [jy].Csfar recommended him in a
prefiingmanner to Cicero,
''
entreating him to''
accept Antony's fubmifTion, and pardon him*'
for what waspafb,
and to afiifh him in his
" prefentfuit : with which Cicero
readily com-*'
plied," and obliged Antony fo highly by it,
that he declared war prefently againft Clodius," whom he attacked with great fiercenefs in the*'Forum, and would certainly have killed, if
*^' he had not found means to hide himfelf un-**
der fome flairs." Antony openly gave out,*'
that he owed all this to Cicero's generofity, to
*^ whom he could never make amends for for-
" mer injuries, but by the deflrudlion of his ene-"my Clodius [z]" Being chofen Queflor,
he went back immediately to C^far, without ex-
pe6linghis lot^ or a decree of the Senate^ to ap-
point him his Province : where, though he had
all imaginable opportunities of acquiring money,
yet by fquandering, as fafl as he got it, he came
am, contra fenatus aulori- cuftoditus Aim a te, tu a me
tatem, contra Rempub. & obfervatus in petitionc Quae-
religiones : fed habebat du- fturae, quo quidem temporecem Gabinlum, &c. ib. P. Clodium in foroes cona-
[j] Prius in ultimam Gal- tusocciderc ita praedicabas,
liam ex ^gypto quam do- te non exilHmare nifi ilium
mum venifti e Gallia ad interfeciiTes, unquam mihi
Quaefluram petendam. ib. pro tuis in me injuriis fatis
vid. Plutar. in Anton. ^9lt fafturum ib. 20.
[z] Acceperam jam ante Cum fe ille fugiensin fca-
Ciefarislitteras,
ut mihi fa- larum tenebras abdidillet, &c.
tisfieri paterer a te poftca pro Mil.15.
a fecond
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cf M.TULLIUS CICERO. 139
a fecond time emply mid beggarlyto Rorne^ to put
^-V^^- 74'
in for the Tribunate ; in which office, after the^^^q|^*
example o^ his friend Curio^ having fold himfelfc Claudius
to C^far, he was, as Cicero fays, as much /^^ Marcellus,
caufe of the enfuing war^ as Helen was of that ofl^-Corneli-
rroy [al^ Tus^Cru"."
It is certain at leafl, that Antonyms flight gave
the immediate pretext to it, as Cicero had foretold :
'
Csefar, fays he, will betake himfelf to arms,'either for our want of preparation, or if no
'
regard be had to him at the eledion of Con'fuls ; but efpecially,
if any Tribun, obflru^t-
'
ing the deliberations of the Senate, or exciting' the people to fedition, fhould happen to be* cenfured or over-ruled, or taken off, or ex-
'
pelled, or pretending to be expelled, run'
awayto him
[b]
"in the fame Letter he
gives a fhort, but true ftate of the merit of his
caufe :
"What, fays he, can be more impudent ?
*' You have held your government ten years,*' not granted to you by the Senate, but extort-" ed by violence and fa6tion : the full term is
"expired, not of the law but of your licentious
*'
will : but allow it to be a law ; it is now de-*'
creed, that you muft have a fuccelTor : you*'
refufe, and fay, have fome regard to me : do"you firfl fhew your regard to us : will you
[ci]Deinde fine fenatus caufa belli, &c Phil. 2.
confuko, fine forte, fine lege 21, 22.
ad Csefarem cucurriili. Id [h'] Aut addita caufa, fi
cnim unum in teriisegefta- forte Tribun us
pleb. fenatum
tis, aeris alieni, nequitiae, per- impediens, aut populum in-
ditis vitas rationibus perfu- citans, notatus, aut fenatus
gium efie ducebas advolafti confultocircumfcriptus, aut
egens adTiibunatum, ut in fublatus aut expulfus fit, di-
eo Magiftratu, fipoifes, viri cenfve fe expu'fum ad fe
tui fimilis efles ut Helena confugerit ad Att. 7.9.
Trcjanis, fie ifte huic
R.eipub.*'
pretend
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240 ^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 704.'^
pretend to keep an army longer than the peo-Cic. 58. cc
pig ordered, and contrary to the will of the
C ci!fuDius
" Senate [c]?" but C^far's ftrength lay
not in
Marcellus, the goodnefs of his caufe^ but of his troops [d] ; aL. CoRNELi- confiderable part of which he was now drawingus Lentu-
together towards the confines ofItaly,
to beLus LRUS.
Yesif^Yto enter into adion at any warning : the
flight of the 'Tribuns gave him a plaufible handle
to begin, and feemed tofandlify his attempt ;
but "his real motive, fays Plutarch^ was the
'' fame that animated Cyrus and Alexander be-
''fore him to diflurb the peace of mankind
;
*'the unquenchable thirft of Empire, and the
*'wild ambition of being the greateft man in
*'the world, which was not pofTible, till Pom-
*'
pey was firfh deftroyed [^]." Laying hold
therefore of the occafion, he prefently paffed theRubicon, which was the boujidary of his Province
on that fide ofItaly,
and marching forward in
an hoflile manner, pofleiTed himfelf without re-
fiftance of the next great Towns in his way, A-
riminum, Pifaurum, Ancona, Arctium, &c [/].
In this confufed and difordered flate of the
City, Cicero's friends were folliciting the decree
of his Triumph^ to which the whole Senatefigni-'
fied their ready confent : but '' the conful Len-*'
tulus, to make the favor more particularly his
[c] Ibid. it. Ep. fam. 16. quod paulio ante decretum
1 1 . eft, ut exercitum citra Rubi-
fy] Alterius duels caufa conem, qui finis eft Gallise,
melior videbatur, alterius e- educeret ? Philip. 6.3.
rat firmior. Hie omnia {"pe- Itaque cum Caefar amen-
ciofa, illie valentia. Pom- tia quadam raperetur, &
peium fenatus audoritas, C- Ariminum, Pifaurum, Anco-
farem militum armavit fidu- nam, Arretium oceupaviiTet,
cia. Veil. Pat. 2. 49. Urbem reliquimus Ep.fam.
[e']Plutar. in Anton. i6. 12,
[/] An ille id faciat,
(Cown.
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of M,TULLIUS CICERO. 24,1
**Own, defired that it might be deferred for a A. Urb. 704.
"while, till the public affairs were better fettled, ^p'n^^'
"giving his word, that he would then be the q Claudius
*''
mover of it himfejf [^]." But Casfar's fud- Marcellus.den march tov/ards Rome put an end to all far- L. Corneh-
ther thoughts of it, and flruck the Senate with^^ Lentu-
fuch a panic, that, as if he had been already at
thegates, they refolved prefently
to quit the
City, and retreat towards the fouthern parts of
Italy. All the principal Senators had particular
di(lrid:safligned to their care, to be provided
with troops, and all materials of defence againft
Csefar. Cicero had Capua^ ixjith the infpeMon of
the Sea coaft from Formic : ht zvotdd not accept any
greater charge for the fake of preferving his autho-
rity in the tafk of mediating a peace \h\ ;and for
thefame reafon, when
heperceived
his new Pro-
vince wholly unprovided agalnii ^n enemy, and
that it was impoffihleto hold Qapua without afirong
Garrifon^ herefigned
his Employment^ and chofenot
to a5t at all[f]; ,
Vol. IL R ^
Capua
[^1 Nobis tamen Inter h?.3 prsfam a rormiis. Nullum
turbas Senatus frequens flagi- majus ncgotiun) fufclpere vo-
tavit Triumphum : fed Len- lui, quo plus apud ilium mea;
tulus Conful,quo majus fuum litters cohortationefque ad
beneficium faceret, fimul at- pacem valerent. Ep. fam. i6;
ijiie expediflet qu^ elTent ne- li.
cefTaria de Repbb. dixit fe [/] Nam cdrte nd'qu^turn
ielaturum. p.Fanl. i6. 1 1. pec'cavi, cUmimparatam jam
[>&] Ego negOtib prsfurri Capuam, non folum ignavise
lion turbulerito ;vult enim delciflus, fed etiam peffidce
me Pompeius efTe, quern to- fufpicionem fugiens, acciper^
ta haec Campana & mariti- noliii ad Ait. 8. 12.
ina orahabeat;'STicr>;e7?-oj', ad Quod tibi oftenderam, cum
quern deleAus & fumriia ne- a me Cilpuam rejeciebam;
gotii ref&rentur. Ad Act. 7, quod feci non vitandi oneris
i, caufa, fed quod vidcbam te-
Ego adhuc orse maritime fleri illam urbem fine cxer-citu
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2^27he History of the Life
A,Urb. 704. Capua had always been the common femlna-
Cic. 58.i-y
or placeof educating Gladiators for the
greatCoff.
j^gj^ qj: Rome ;where Csefar had a famous fchool
Marc^llus^ of them at this time, which he had long main-
L. Corn ELI- tained under the beft mafters for the occafions of
us Lentu- his publicfhews in the City ; and as they were
lusCrus.ygj-y
numerous and well furnilhed with arms,
there was reafon to apprehend that they would
break out, and make fome attempt in favor of
their mafter, which might have been of danger-
ous confequence in the prefent circumftances of
the Republic ; fo that Pompey thought it necef-
faryto take them out of their fchool, and diftri-
bute them among the principal Inhabitants of
the place, affigningtwo to each mafier of a family^
by which he fecured them from doing any mif-
chief \k\While the Pompeian party was under no
fmall deje6t:ionon account of Pompey's quitting
the City,and retreating from the approach of
Csefar, T. Labienus, one of the chief Com-
manders on the other fide, deferted Ccefar^ and
came over to them, which added fome new lifft
to their caufe, and raifed an expecftation that
clta non pofle Ep. Clc. ad powers Ecclefiaftical, carried
Pomp. Ad Att. 8. u. with them in their original
As Cicero, when Procon- ufe, the notion of a real au-
ful of Cilicia, often men- thority, and jurifdiftion.
tions the Diocefesthat were
[i ] Gladiatores Csfaxis^
annexed to his government, qui Capuae funt fane com-
[Ep. Fam. 13. 67.] fo in mode Pompeius diftribuit,bi-
this command of Capua he nos fingulis patribusfamilia-
calls himfelf theEpifcapus
of rum. Scutorum in ludo 1 00
the Campanian coaft : which fuermit eraptionem fafluri
Ihews, that thefe names, fuiffe dicebantur fane mul-
which were appropriated af- turn in eo Reip. provifumeft.terwards in the Chriftian AdAtt. 7. I4.
Church to charat^ers and
many
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of M. TULLIVS CICERO.245
many more would follow his example. Labie- A. Urb. 704.
nus had eminently diflino-uifhed himfelf in the ^^^-5 8-
Gallic war, where next to Casfar himfelf, he had q q
born the principal part; and by Casfar's favor, Marcellushad raifed an immenfe fortune : fo that he was L.Corneli-
much carefTed, and carried about every-where^^ Lentu-
by Pompey, who promifed himfelf great fervice^^^ ^Rus
from his fame and experience, andelpecially
from his credit in Csefar's army, and the know-
ledge of all his counfils : but his account of
things, like that of all defertors, was accommo-
dated rather topleafe,
than to ferve his new
friends ; reprefenting the weaknefs of defar^s
troops^ their averjion to his prefent defigfis^the
dif-
affeiliojt of the two Gauls^ and difpofition to revolt ;
the contrary of all which was found to be true
inthe experiment
: and as he came to them fin-
gle, without bringing with him any of thofe
troops with which he had acquired hisreputa-
tion, fo his defertion had no other effedt, than
to ruin his own fortunes, without, doing anyfervice to Pompey [/].
But what gave a much better profped to all
honeft men, was the propofal of an accommoda-tion, which came about this time from Cosfar ;
[/] Maximam autempla- (Pompeius) ron dubltantem
gam accepit, quod is, qui de imbecillitate Caefaris co-
fummam audoritatem in il- piarum : cujus adventuCnze-
lius exercituhabebat, T. La- us nofter multo animi plus
bienus focius fceleris efle no- habet. lb. 7.16.
luit : reliquit ilium, & no- Nam in Labieno parum efl
bifcum eft : multique idemdignitatis,
lb. 8. 2.
faduri dicuntur. Ep. fam.
16. 12.'
forth in armis
Aliquantum animi videtur Cafaris Labienus erat : nunc
attuliffe nobis Labienus ad transfuga 'vilis
Att. 7, 12. Lucan.5. 345.
Labienum fecum habetR 2 who
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i44 The Hi St c>Rr of the Life
A. Urb. 704. who while he was pufhing on the war with in-
Cic. 58. credible vigor,talked of nothing but peace,
C C Dius ^^^^"^^^^^"^^^P^^^^^'^^^^^y ^ perfuade Cicero,
Marcellus. " that he had no other view, than to fecure him-L. CoRNELi- "
felf from the infults of his enemies, and yieldus Lentu- ic
fj^e j.fl- rank in the ilate to Pompey [m]."ttJsCRus. ^^^ conditions were,
"that Pompey Ihould go
"to his government of Spain, that his new le-
"vies fliould be difmiiTed, and his garrifons
*'withdrawn, and that Caefar Ihould deliver up
''his Provinces, the farther Gaul to Domitius,
*'the hither to Confidius, and fue for the Con-
"fuKhip in perfon, without requiring the privi-
^'
lege of abfence*" Thefe terms were readily
embraced in a grand council of the Chiefs at
Capua, and young L. Casfar, who brought them,
was fent back with Letters from Pompey, and theaddition onely of one prasliminary article,
"that
"Csefar in the mean while fliould recall his
**
troops from the Towns, which he had feized
*'
beyond his own Jurifdidion, fo that the Senate
*'
might return to Rome, and fettle the whole*'
affair with honor and freedom [;/]." Cicero
was prefent at this council, of which he gave an
account to Atticus ;
"I came to Capua, fays be,
*'
yefterday the twenty-fixth of January, where
[w] Ealbus major ad me traditurum. Ad Confttlatus
fcribit, nihil malle Caefarem, petitionem fe venturum; ne-
quam, principe Pompeio, fi- que fe jam velle, abfente (c,
ne metu vivere. Tu, puto, rationem fuihaberi. Ep. fam.
hasccredis. Ad Att. 8, 9. 16. 12. ad Att. 7. 14.
[] Feruntur oftlnino con- Accepimus conditiones j
ditiones ab illo,aut,Pompeius fed ita at removeat praefidra
4:at in Hifpaniam ;diledus ex iis locis, quae occupavit,
quifunt habiti, &
prjefidia ut fine metu de iisipfis
con-'
noftra dimittantur : fe ulteri- ditionibus Romse Senatus ha-
rem Galliam Domitio, cite- beripofl'et.
Ibid,
riorem Confidio Noniano -
"I met
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO.245'
*'I met the Confuls, and many of our order: A. Urb. 704:
**
they all wifh that Csefar would ftand to his S^^'i^**'
conditions, and withdraw his troops : Favo- p r\.'
*'
nius alone was agamlt all conditions impofed Marcellus,"by Casfar, but was little regarded, by the L. Corne-
"Council: for Cato himfelf would nov/ rather
^^^^^ Lentu.
"live a Slave than fight; and declares that if^^^
Crvs.
*'Csfar recall his garrifons, he will attend the
*'Senate, when the conditions come to be fetded,
*' and not go to Sicily, where his fervice is
'' more neceiTary, which I am afraid will be"
of ill confequence there is a itrange va-*'
riety in our Sentiments ; thegreateft part are
*'of opinion, that Casfar will not ftand to his
"terms, and that thefe offers are made onely to
"hinder our preparations ; but I am apt to think
"that he will v/ithdraw his
troops; for he
gets" the better of us by being made Conful, and'* with lefs iniquity, than in the way, which he"
is now purfuing , and we cannot pofTibly come*' off without fome lofs ; for we are fcandaloufly*
unprovided both with foldiers, and with money," fmce all that which was either private in the"
City, or public, in the treafury, is left a prey'to him
[<?]."
During the fufpence of this treaty, and the
expedlation of Caefar's anfwer, Cicero began to
conceive fome hopes that both fides were relent-
ing,and
difpofed to make up thequarrel ; Cse-
far from a refie6lion on his raflinefs, and the
Senate on their want of preparation : but he ftill
fufpedled C^efar, and the fending a meflage fo
important by a perfon foinfignificant, as yowtg
Lucius C^far^ looked^ hefays,
asif he bad done it
by way of contempt^ or with a view to difdame it^
[0]Ad Att.
7, 15,
R 3 efpecially
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24^ "^^^ History of th Life
A. Urb. 704.efpecially,
when after offering conditions, which
Coff^*were likely
to be accepted, he would not Tit ftill
C, Claudius ^o wait an anfwer, hut continued his march with
Marcellus, the fame diligence^ and in the fame hofiile manner^L. CoRNELi- ^j hefore [^]. His fufpicions proved true; for^^
Crus^' ^^ letters, which came foon after from Furnius
and Curio, he perceived, thatthey made a mere jefi
cf the Emhaffy [^].
It feems very evident, that Casfar had no
real
thoughts
of
peace, byhis
paying
noregardto Pompey's anfwer, and the
triflingreafons
which he gave forflighting
it[r]
: but he had
a double view in offering thofe conditions ^ for
by Pompey's rejefting them, as there was reafon
to expedl from his known averfion to any treaty,
he hoped to load him with the odium of the war :
or by his embracing them, to flacken his pre-
parations, and retard his defign of leaving Italy;
whilfl: he himfelf in the mean time, by following
him with acelerity that amazed every body [j],
might
[/>] Spero inprjefentiapa- fermone aliqiio arrepto pro
cem nos habere. Nam & il- mandatis abufus eft ib. 13.
lum furoris, & hunc noftrum[y] Accepi litteras tuas,
copiarum fuppcenitet. Ib. Philotimi, Furnii, Curionis
Tamen vereor ut hisipfis ad Furnium, quibus irridet
(Caefar) contentus fit. Nam L. Caefaris legationem,-
cum ifia mandata dedifiet L. ib. 19.
Caefari, debuit efle paullo [r\ Casf. Comment, dc
qiiietior,dum refponfa refer- Bell. Civ. 1. i.
rentur. Ib. 7. 17. 'is']
O celeritatem incredi-Caefarem quidem, L. Cae- bilem ! adAtt. 7.22. Cice-
fare cum mandatis de pace ro calls him a monfter of vi-
miflb, tamen aiunt acerrime gilance, and fcelerity-
Joca occupare ib. 18. [ib. 8. 9.] for from his paf-
L. Ciefarem vidi ut idip- fage of the Rubicon, though
fummihi ille videaturirriden- he was forced to take in ail
di caufa fecifie, qui tantis de the great Towns on his road,
rebus huic mandata dedcrit. and fpcnt feven days before
nili forte non dedit, & hie Corfinium, yet in lefs than
two
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 24.7
might chance to come up with him before he could A. Urb. 704.
embark, and givea decifive blow to the war ;
^^^y^'
from which he had nothing to apprehend, but q Claudius
it's being drawn into length.
*'
I now plainly Marcellus,''fee, fays Cicero, though later indeed than IL. Corneli-
*' could have wifhed on account of the afTurances^^ Lentu-
"given me by Balbus, that he aims at jiothing
*^elfe, nor has ever aimed at any thing from the
"beginning, but Pompey's life [t]"
If we confider this famous pajfage of the Ru-
bicon^ abftradtedly from the event, it feems to
have been fo hazardous and defperate,that
Pompey might reafonably contemn the thought
of it, as of an attempt too ralh for any prudent
man to venture upon. If Csfar's view in-
deed had been to poflefshimfelf onely of Italy,
there could have been no difficulty in it : his ar-
my was undoubtedly the belt which was then in
the world , flufhed with vidory, animated with
zeal for the perfonof their Ger.eral, and an over-
match for any which could be brought againft it
into the field: but this fingle army was all that
he had to trull to ; he had no refource : the lofs
of one battle was certain ruin to him ; and yet hemull necefTarily
run the rifk of many before he
could gain his end : for the whole Empire was
armed againft him; every Province offered a.
freih enemy, and a frefh field of adion, where
he was like to be expofed to the fame dangleras
on the plainsof Pharfalia. But above all, his e-
two months he marched[/] Intelligo
ferlus equl-
through the whole length of dem quam vellem, propter
Italy, and came before theepiftolas fermonefque Balbi,
gates of Brundifium before fed video plane nihil aliud
Pompey could embark on theagi,
nihil a6tum ab initio,
9th of March. Ad Att., 9. quam ut hunc occiderec. Ad
13.Att.
9. 5.R 4 nemies
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 249
faw from the firft ^benecejfity of quitting Italy^ yet
A. Urb. 704.
he kept the fecret to himfelf, and wrote word at^p'i^*
the fame time to Cicero, that he Jhould have a q Claudius
Jirm army in a few day5^ with which he would Marcellvs,march againji C^efar into Picenum^ fo as to give
^-CoRnELi-
them an opportunity of returning to the City [jyj.^sLentu-
The plan of the war, as it was commonly under-
flood, was to pofTefs themfelves of theprincipal
poflsof Italy,
and a6l chiefly on the defenfive,
in order to diftrefs Csefar by their difi^erent armies,
cut off his opportunities of forage, hinder his ac-
cefs to Rome, and hold him continually employ-^
ed, till the veteran army from Spain, under
Pompey's Lieutenants, Afranius, Petreius, and
Varro, could come up to iinifh his overthrow [z].
This was the notion which the Senate entertained
of the war ; theynever conceived it
pofllble that
Pompey Ihould fubmit to the difgrace offlying
before Caefar, and giving up Italya prey to his-
enemy : in this confidence Domitius, with a
very confiderable force, and fome of theprinci-
pal Senators, threw himfelf into Corfinium, a
ftrong town at the foot of the Apenninc, on the
[^] Omnes nosd-yrfoij-peo-
tionibus flare noluerit, bel-
vyiTui, expertes fui tanti & lum paratum eft : tantum-
tam inufitati confilii relinque- modo ut eum intercludamus,
bat. Ad Att. 8. 8. ne ad urbempoflit accedere :
Pompeius ad me fcriblt, quod fperabamus fieri poffe :
paucisdiebus fefirmum exer- diledlus enim magnos habe-
citum habiturum, fpemque bamus ex Hifpaniaque fex
afFert, fi in Picenum agrum legiones & magna auxilia, A-ipfe venerit, nos Romam re- franio & Petreio ducibus, ha-
dituros effe. lb. 7.16. bet a tergo. Videtur, fi in-
[] Sufcepto autem bello, faniet, poiTe opprimi, modqaut tenenda fit urbs, aut ea ut urbe falva Ep. fam. 16.
|-elifta, ille commeatu & re- 12.
liquiscopiisintercludendus- Summa autem fpes Afra-
ad Att. 7. 9.nium cum magnis copiis ad-
Sin autem ille fuis condi- ventare ad Att. 8. 3.
Adriatic
-^i*'
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cf M.rULLIUS CICERO. 251
Cicero was as much difappoint^d as any of A. Urb. 704.
the reft; he had never dreamt of their being ^p'J^*
obliged to quit Italy, till by Pompey's motions q CiIudius
he perceived at laft his intentions ; of which he Marcellus.
fpeaks,with great feverity, in feveral of his Let- L. Corneli-
ters, and begs Atticus's advice upon that new ^^ Lentu-
face of their affairs ; and to enable Atticus to
giveit the more clearly, he explanes to him in
ihort what occurred to his own mind on the one
fide and the other." The great obligations,
*'
fays he, which I am under to Pompey, and'
my particular friendlhip with him, as well as
*' the caufe of the Republic itfelf, feem to per- ^
* fuade me, that I ought to join my counfils
*' and fortunes with his. Befides, if I ftay be-
*'hind, and defert that band of the beft and
^^
moft eminent Citizens, I muft fall under the"power of a iingle perfon, who gives me many
*'
proofs indeed of being my friend, and whom,^ *'
as you know, I had long ago taken care to
*' make fuch from a fufpicion of this very ftorm,** which now hangs over us
-, yet it fhould be*' well confidered, both how far I may venture
*' to truft him, and fuppofing it clear, that I
*'
may truft him, whether it be conliftent with*' the charader of a firm and honeft Citizen to
*' continue in that City, in which he has born*' the greateft honors, and performed the great-*'
eft ad:s, and where he is now invefted with" the moft honorable Priefthood, when it is to be*^ attended with fome danger, and perhaps with** fome difgrace,
if Pompey ftiould ever reftore
*' the Republic. Thefe are the difficulties on*' the one fide
;let us fee what there are on the
^' other : nothing has hitherto been done by our*'
Pompey, either with prudence or courage ;
^^
1 may add alfo BOthing but what v/as contra-(;
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252 ^e History of the Life
A. Urb. 704."
ry to my advice and authority : I will omitCic. 58.
cc|.j!^Qfg q1^ flories : how he firft nurfed, raifed
C Cla D u" ^^^ armed this man againft the Republic ;
Marcellus, " how he fupported him in carrying his laws byL. Corn ELI-
"violence, and without regard to the Aufpices ;
us Lentu- how he added the farther Gaul to his Govern-Lus Crus. <c
rnent, made himfelf his fon-in-law, affifted as**
Augur in the Adoption of Clodius, was more*'
zealous to reftore me, than to prevent my*'
being expelled;
enlarged
the term of Casfar's
*'command, ferved him in all his affairs in his
"abfence, nay, in his third
Confullhip, after
*' he began to efpoufe the interefts of the Re-**
public, how he infifted, that the ten Tribuns*'
fhould jointly propofe a law to difpenfe with*'
his abfence in fuing for the Confulfhip, which*'
he confirmed afterwards by a law of his own,*' and oppofed the Conful Marcellus, when he*' moved to put an end to his government on the'firfl of March : but to omit, I
fay,all this,
** what can be more dilhonorable, or fhew a*'
greaterwant of condudt than this retreat, or
*'rather Ihamefull flight
from the City ? what*' conditions were not preferable to the
neceflity*' of abandoning our country ? the conditions, I
*'confefs, were bad ; yet what can be worfe than
"this ? but Pompey, you'll fay, will recover
*'the Republic ; when ? or what preparation is
*'there for it ? is not all Picenum loft ? is not
*'
the wayleft
open to the City? is
notall
our**treafure both public and private given up to
*'the enemy ? in a word, there is no party, no
*'forces, no place of rendezvous for the friends
** of the Republic to refort to ; Apulia is chofen*'
for our retreat ; the weakeft and remoteft
*'
part of Italy, which implies nothing but de-
**fpair, and a defign of flying by the opportu*
3"
nity
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 2^5**
nity of the Tea, ^c.[r].
In another Letter, A. Urb. 704.
"there is but one thing wanting, fays he, to
^^^-5^-
''complete our friend'sdifgrace ; his failing
^o qq^^^^^^^*'
fuccour Domitius: nobody doubts but that Marcellus,*' he will come to his relief; yet I am not ofL. Corneli-
that mind. Will he then defert fuch a Citi-^^^^J^J^"""*'
zen, and the reft, whom you know to be*' with him ?
efpecially when he has thirtyco-
*'horts in the Town : yes, unlefs all things de-
*'ceive me, he will defert him : he is ftrangely
''frightened ; means nothing but to
fly ; yet**
you, for I perceive what your opinion is,
*'think, that I ought to follow this man. For
**
my part, I eafily know, whom I ought tofly,
*' not whom I ought to follow. As to that
**
faying of mine, which you extoll, and think*'
worthyto be
celebrated,that I had rather be
*'conquered with Pompey^ than
conquer with C^-**y^r ; 'tis true, I ftill fay fo
-,but with fuch a
*'
Pompey as he then was, or as I took him to*' be : but as for this man, who runs away, be-
*' fore he knows from whom, or whither ; who' has betrayed us and ours, given up his coun-
try, and is now leaving Italy ; if I had rather
be conquered with him, the thing is over, I
" am conquered, ^c, [d]
"
There was a notion in the mean while, that
univerfally prevailed through Italy, of C^far^s
cruel and revengeful temper^ from which horrible
efi^edls were apprehended : Cicero himfelf was
fl:rongly pofleflfed with it, as appears from manyof his Letters, where he feems to take it for
granted, that he would be a fecond Phalaris, not
a Pijiftratui ; a bloody^ not agentle Tyrant. This
he inferred from the violence of his pafi life \ the
[c]
Ad Att. 8.
3.
MAd Att, 8. 7.
nature
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2^4^^^ History of the
Life
A, Urb. 704. nature of his prefent enterprize ; and above alUCic. 58. from the character of his friends a7jd followers i
C Claudiu^^^ ^^^^' generally fpeaking, a needy, pro-
Marcellu^ fligate, audacious crew ; prepared for every thingL.C0RNEL1- that was defperate [^]. It was affirmed likewife
us Lentu- with great confidence, that he had openly de-hvs Crus.
ciared, that he was now coming torevenge the
deaths of Cn. Carho, M. Brutus^ and all the other
Marian Chiefs^ whom Pompey, when adling un-
derSylla,
had cruellyput
to death for their
op-pofition
to the Syllan caufe [/]. But there was
no real ground for any of thefe fufpicions : for
Csefar, who thought Tyranny, as Cicerofays,
the greateft of Goddeffes^ and whofe fole view it
had been through life to bring his affairs to this
crifis, and to make a bold pulh for Empire, had,
from the obfervation of paft times, and the fate of
former Tyrants, laid it down for a maxim, that
clemency in victory was the beft means of fecuring
the ftability of it {g\. Upon the furrender there-
fore of Corfinium, where he had the firfl oppor-
tunity of giving a public fpecimen of himfelf, he
\e'\Iftum cujus ^dKct^Kyyh pcenas perfequi, &c. Ad Att*
limes, omnia teterrime fac-9. 14.
tunim puto. Ad Att, 7.12.
^{g\ 'Xh Bi^u
(JLiyWtiv r
Incertum eft Phalarim nep(_e/' Ti/pcty;'//rt. Adi Att. 7.
an Pififtratum fit imitaturus 11.
ib. 20. Tentemus hoc modo, ii
Nam ca^dem video fi vice- pofTumus, omnium volunta-
rit- & regnum non modo tcs recuperare, & diuturna
Romano homini fed ne Per- viftoria uti :
quoniam reliqui
fse quidem tolerabile ib. credulitate odiumefFugere
10. 8. non potuerunt, neq; vidoriam
Qui hiepoteft
fe gerere diutius tcnere, praeter unum
non perdite? vita, mores an- L. Syllam, quem imitaturus
te fada, ratio fufcepti nego- non fum. Haic nova fit ra-
tii, locii -ib.9.
2. it. 9. 19. tio vincendi ; ut mifericordia
[/] Atque eum loqui qui- & liberalitate nos muniamus.
dam cLvbivjiKai narrabant ;
Ep.Csefaris ad
0pp.Att.
Cn. Carbonis, M. Bruti fc9. 7.
fliewed
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 255
ihewed a noble example of moderation, by the A. Urb. 704.
generousdifmifTion of Domitius, and all the o-
^^^*
ther Senators who fellinto his hands-, among whom q. Claudius
was Lentulus Spinther, Cicero's particular Marcellus.friend [h].
This made a great turn in his favor,L-
^^^^^';
by eafmg people of the terrors, which they had^^^ crus,*
before conceived of him, and feemed to confirm
what he afFedled every where to give out, that
he fought nothing by the war hut thefeciirity of
his
ferfonand dignity. Pompey on the other hand
appeared every day more and more defpicable,
by flyingbefore an enemy, whom his pride and
perverfenefswas faid to have driven to the necef-
fityof taking arms
"tell me, I beg of you,
*'fays Cicero, what can be more wretched, than
*'for the one to be gathering applaufe from the
*' worft of caufes, the other
givingoffence in
*' the beft ? the one to be reckoned the preferver*' of his enemies, the other the defertor of**
his friends ? and in truth, though I have all
*'the affedbion which I ought to have for our
*' friend Cnseus, yet I cannot excufe his not"coming to the relief of fuch men
\ for if he*^
was afraid to do it, what can be more paultry ?
*' or if, as fom.e think, he thought to make"
his caufe the more popular, by their deftru-*'
dlion, what can be moreunjufl ? i^c,
[^]."
From this firft experiment of C^far'sclemency,
{hi C^r. Comment. 1. i. quamvis amemus Cn^sum no-
Plutar. in Caef. ftrum ut & facimus & debe-
[/]Sed obfecro te, quid mus, tamen hoc, quod tali-
hoc miferius, quam alterum bus viris non fubvenit, lau-
|)laufus in fcedifiima caufa dare non pofTum. Nam five
qusererci alterum oiFenfiones timuit quid ignavius ? five,
in optima ? alterum exifti- ut quidam pucant, mellorcm. jnari confervatorem inimico- fuam caufam iilorum ca:Ge
'
tum, alterum defertorem a^ fore putavit, quid injuftius ?
Hiicorum ? & mehercule ad Att. 8. 9.
Cicero
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2^6 The History of the Lifek. UVb. 704. Cicero took occafidn to fend him a Letter of corn-
Coir^* plii^ient,and to thank him
particularly for his
C.Claudius generous treatment of Lentulus, who when Con-^
Marcellus, ful, had been the chief author of his reftorationjL. CoRNELi. to which Csefar returned the following anfwer.us Lentu-
LUS Crus. ^ r-T-C^iar Emperor to Cicero Lmperor.
" You judge rightly of me, for I am tho^''
roughly known to you, that nothing is farther*
>' removed from me than cruelty ; and as I have"
a great pleafure from the thing itfelf, fo I re-
*'
joice and triumph to find my a6l approved by*'
you : nor does it at all move me, that thofe^*' who were difmifled by me, are faid to be gon6''
away to renew the war againll me : for I de-*'
fire nothing more, than that I may always adt"like myfelf , they like themfelves. I wifh that
*'
you would meet me at the City, that I may"
ufe your counfil and afliftance as I have hither-
''to done in all things. Nothing, I alTure you,
''is dearer to me than Dolabella-, I will owe
"this favor therefore to him : nor is it poflible
^' for him indeed to behave otherwife, fuch i^
"his humanity, his good fenfe, and his affec-
"tion to me. Adieu [^]."
When Pompey, after the unhappy affair of
Corfinium, found himfelf obliged to retire te
Brundifium, and to declare, what he had never
beforediredily owned,
his
defign of quitting Itdly^and
carrying the vjar abroad[/] i
he was very
defirous to draw Cicero along with him, and
wrote two Letters to him at Formiae, to prefs
him to come away diredly 5 but Cicero, already
[/f]Ad Att. g. 16. denique me certiorcm confilii S
[/] Quiamiffo
Coj^rfirtio
fui fecit. ^ib.9.
2.
much
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO.257
much out of humor with him, wasdifgufted flill A. Urb. 704.
the more by his fhort and negligent manner of ^'c. 58.
Writing, upon an occafion fo important [;;/]: the q ^^^'
fecond of Pompey's Letters, with Cicero's an- m^rce^lu^^
fwer, will explane the prefent ftate of their af- L. Cornhli-
fairs, and Cicero's fentiments upon them. us Lent u-
Lus Crvs.
Cn. Pompeius Magnus Proconful to M. Cicero
Emperor*
" If you are in good health, I rejoice : 1 read*'
your Letter with pleafure : for I perceived in"
it your ancient virtue by your concern for the" common
fafety. The Confuls are come to"
the army, which I had in Apulia : I earneftly*'
exhort you, by your fingular and perpetual"
affedlion to theRepublic,
to
comealfo to
us^" that by our joint advice we may give help and"
relief to the afflicted ftate. I would have you" make the Appian way your road, and com.e"
in all hafte to Brundifium. Take care of your''
health."
M. Cicero Emperor to Cn. Magnus ProconfuL
" When I fent that letter, which was deli-
*' vered to you at Canufium, I had no fufpicion'' of your crofling the fea for the fervice of the"
Republic, and was in great hope?, that we*'
fliGuld be able, either to bring about an ac-
" commodation, which to me feemed the mod"
ufefull, or to defend the Republic with thegreat-
'eft dignity in
Italy. In the mean time, be-
[w] EpIIlolarum Pompeii fcribendo diligentiam volui
duarum, quas ad me miiit, tibi notam efie : earum ex-
negligentiam, meamque ia emp'ia ad te mifi. lb. 8.1 1.
Vol. IL Si "fore
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'
258 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 704."
fore my Letter reached you, being informed
Cic. 58. (c Qf yQuj. refolution, by the inftru6lions which
C Claudius" Y^^ ^^"^ ^^ ^^^ Confuls, I did not wait till I
Marcellus. " could have a Letter from you, but fet out im-L. CoRNELi- <'
mediately towards you with my Brother and
us Lentu- ccqui- childrrn for Apulia. When we were come
Lus Crus.,, ^^ Theanum, your friend C. Meffius, and ma-"ny others told us, that Csfar was on the road
" to Capua, and would lodge that very night at
*' iEfernia : I was much diflurbed at it, becaufe,
<'if it was true, I not onely took my journey to
" be precluded,but myfelf alfo to be certainly
"a prifoner.
I went on therefore to Cales with
intent to (lay there, till I could learn from
** ^fernia the certainty of my intelligence: at
" Cales there was brought to me a copy ot the
''
Letter, which you wroteto
the Conful Lentu-*'
lus, with which you fent the copy alfo of one
" that you had received from Domitius, dated
*' the eighteenth of February, and fignified,
" that it was of great importance to the Repub-*'
lie, that all the troops fhould be drawn toge-"
ther, as foon aspoflible,
to one place j yet
" fo as to leave a fufficient Garrifon in Capua."Upon reading thefe Letters, I was of the fame
"opinion with all the reft, that you were re-
" folved to march to Corfinium with all your"
forces, whither, when Casfar lay before the
" Town, I thought it impoflible for me to come.
" While this affair was in the utmoftexpeftati-'*
on, we were informed at one and the fame
*' time both of what had happened at Corfinium,*' and that you v/ere adually marching towards
" Brundifium : and when I and my Brother re-
" folved without hefitation to follow you thither,
' we were adverrifcd by many, who came from'
Samnium, and Apulia, to take care that wedid
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 259
did not fall into Csefar's hands, for that he was A. Urb. 704.
upon his march to the fame places v/here our S'^'i^'
road lay, and would reach them fooner than o nT.r'rT^,Tr.1 t t n . f* .
^ Claudius
we could poflibly do. This being the cafe, itMARCELLus.
did not feem advifeable to me, or my Brother, L. Corneli-
or any of our friends, to run the rifle of hurt- ^^ Lentu-
ing, not onely ourfelves, but the Republic, by^^^ ^^^*
our rafhnefs : efpecially when we could not
doubt, but that if the journey had been fafe
to us, we fliould not then be able to overtake
you. In the mean while I received your Let-
ter, dated from Canufium the twenty-firftof
February, in which you exhort me to come in
all hafte to Brundifium : but as I did not receive
it till the twenty-ninth, I made no queftion
but that you were already arrived at Brundi-
fium, and all that road feemed wholly fhut
up to us, and we ourfelves are furely intercept-
ed as thofe who were taken at Corfinium : lor
we did not reckon them onely to be prifoners,
who were actually fallen into the enemay's hands,
but thofe too not lefs fo, who happen to be
enclofed within the quarters and garrifons of
their adverfaries. Since this is our cafe, I
heartily wilh in the firft place,that I had al-
ways been with you, as I then told you when
I relinquifhed the Command of Capua, which
I did not do for the fake of avoiding trouble,
but becaufe 1 faw that the Town could not be
held without an
army,
and wasunwillingthat the fame accident fhould happen to me,
which to my forrow has happened to fom.e of
our braveit Citizens at Corfinium : but fmce it
has not been my lot to be with you, I wifh
that I had been made privy to your counfils :
for I could not poiTibly fufped:,and fhould
fooner have believed any thing, than that forS 2
*' the
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26o The History of theLife
A. Urb. 704."
the good of the Republic, under fuch a Lea-
^r a^'"
^^^ ^^ y^^' ^^ ^^ould not be able to ftand our
r> r,./rT.wT."
ground in Italy: nor do I now blame your
Marcellus."
conduct, but lament the fate or the Republic;L.CoRNELi-
"and though I cannot comprehend what it is
us Lentu- cc-vvhich you have followed, yet I am not the
tus Rus. cci^r^ pei-fuaded, that you have done nothing,
''but with the greatefl reafon. You remember^
*'I believe, what my opinion always was ; firil,
**to preferve peace even on bad conditions
; then^^ about leaving the City ; for as to
Italy, you"
never intimated a tittle to me about it : but I
" do not take upon myfelf to think, that my*'
advice ought to have been followed : I follow-
*' ed yours ; nor that for the fake of the Repub-*'
lie, of Vv^hich I defpaired, and which is now*'
overturned, fo as not to be raifed up again'* without a civil and mofi: pernicious war : I
fought you ; defired to be with you , nor will I
omit the firft opportunity which offers of ef-
fecting it. I eafily perceived, through all this
affair, that I did notfatisfy
thofe who are fond
of fighting: for I made no fcruple to own,
that I wifhed for nothing fo much as peace-," not but that I had the fame apprehenfions" from it as they -,
but I thought them more to-
''lerable than a civil war ; then, after the war
" was begun, when I faw that conditions of*'
peace were offered to you, and a full and ho-*'
norable anfwergiven
to
them,I
beganto
*^
weigh and deliberate well upon my own con-
*'dud, which, confidering your kindnefs to me,
*'I fancied that I fhould
eafily explane to your**
fatisfadtion : I recoUeded that I was the onely*'
man, who, for the greateftfervices to the pub-
''lie, had fuffered a mofb wretched and cruel pu-
'' nilliment: that I was the onely one, who, if I" offended
cc
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO. 261
^^ offended him, to whom at the very time when A. Urb. 704.
" we were in arms againil him, a fecond Con- ^if*5^-
"fulfhip
and mod fplendid Triumph was offer- q Claudius"
ed, fliould be involved again in ail the fame Marcellus.''
druggies ;fo that my perfon feemed to ftand L. Corneli-
"always expofed as a public mark to the infults
"^ Lentu-
" of profligate Citizens : nor did I fufpefl any" of thefe things till I was openly threatned with
"them, nor was I fo much afraid of them, if
"they were really to befall me, as I judged it
" prudent to decline them, if they could ho-"
neftly be avoided. You fee in fhort the Itate
*' of my condu6i: while we had any hopes of"
peace ; what has fince happened deprived me" of all power to do any thing : but to thofe
*' whom I do not pleafe I can eafily anfwer, that
"I never was more a friend to C. Csefar than
"they, nor they ever better friends to the Re-
"public than myfelf : the onely difference be-
*' tween me and them is, that as they are ex-
*'eel lent Citizens, and I not far removed from
"that charader, it was my advice to procede
"by way of treaty,
which I underilood to be*'
approved alfo by you , theirs by way of arms ;
" and fince this method has prevailed, it fhall be"my care to behave m.yfelf fo, that the Repub-
"lie may not want in me the
fpiritof a true
''Citizen, nor you of a friend. Adieu
[//]."
The difguft,which Pompey's management
had given him, and which he gently intimates
in this Letter, was the true reafon why he did
not join him atthis time : he had a mind to deli-
berate a while longer, before he took a ftep fo
decifive : this he owns to Atticus, where, after
recounting all the particularsof his own condudl,
[]Ad Att. 8. II.
S3 which
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262 The History of the Life
A. Urb 70^. which were the moft Hable to exception, he adds,
!^^^*
/ have neither dene nor omitted to do any things
C. i^LAUDius^^^'^-^ has not both a probable and prudent excufe
Marcellus. and in truth was willing to confider a little longer^L. Corn ELI- what was
right and fit for me to do \o\ Theus Lentu- chief ground of his deliberation was, that he flill
R0S.
j.j,Q^^gj:;j.^ peace pofTible, in which cafe Pom-
pey and Csfar would be one again, and he had
no mind to give defar any caufe to be an enemy to
him^ when he was become a friend to Pompey,
While thines were in this fituation, Cicfar
fent young Balbus after the Conful Lentulus, to
endeavour to perfuade him to flay in Italy^ and re-
turn to the City, by the offer of every thing that
could tempt him : he called upon Cicero on his
way, v/ho gives the following account of it to
Atticus :
"
YoungBalbus
cameto
me onthe
'
twenty-fourth in the evening, running in all
'hafte by private roads after Lentulus, with Let-
'ters and mftrudlions from Csefar, and the offer
' of any Government, if he will return to Rome:' but it will have no effed: unlefs they happen'to meet : he told me that C^far defired no-
'
thing fo much as to overtake Pompey \ which'I believe
;and to be friends with him again ;
' which I do not believe; and begin to fear,
^that all his clemency means nothing elfe at lafb
'but to
give that one cruel blow. The elder'Balbus writes me word, that C^far wilhes no-
*
thing
more than to live in
fafety,
andyield'
the firfl rank to Pompey. You take him I'
fuppofe to be in earned [/>]."
Cicero feems to think, that Lentulus might
[0] Nihil prcStern^ilTun: eft, mihi eflet, diutius cogitare
quod non habeat fapientem malui ib. 8. 12.
excufationem & plane quid [/] Ad Att. 8. 9.
redum, k quid faciendum
have
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LUS CrU:
of M. TULLIUS CICERO. 263
l?ave been perfuaded to flay if Balbus and he had met A. Urb. 704.
together *,for he had no opinion of the firmnefs
p*5^*
of thefe Confuls, but fays of them both on ano- q Claudius
ther occafion, that they were more eafily moved ^vMarcellus.every wind^ than a feather or a
leaf.He received L. Corneli-
another Letter foon after from Balbus, of which ^L^r^_^^-"'
he fent a copy to Atticus, that he might pity hinty
hefays, to
fee what a dupe they thought to make ofhim
[^J.
Balbus to Cicero Emperor^
*'I conjure you, Cicero, to think of fome
'' method of making Casfar and Pompey friends
*'
again, who by the perfidy of certain perfons" are now divided : it is a work highly worthy*' of your virtue ; take my word for it, C^far*'
will not onely be in your power, but think him-*'
felfinfinitely obliged to you if you would
*'
charge yourfelf with this affair. I (houid be''
glad if Pompey would do fo too ; but in the*'
prefent circumftances, it is what I wifh rather
*' than hope, that he may be brought to any"
terms:
but whenever he gives over flying and*'
fearing C^far, I fhall not defpair, that your''
authority may have its weight with him. Cas-"
far takes it kindly, that you were for Lentu-*'
lus's (laying inItaly,
and it was thegreatefl:
*'
obligation which you could confer upon me ;
*'for I love him as much as I doCsefar himfelf :
*' if he had fuffered me to talk to him as freely*'
as we ufed to do, and not f often fhunned''
the opportunitieswhich 1 fought of conferring
"with him, I fhould have been lefs unhappy
\jl\Nee me Confules mo- meam doleres, cum me deri-
vent, qui ipfi pluma aut folio deri videres. lb. S. 15.
facilius moventur ut vicem'
S 4"
than
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264 7he History of the Life
A. Urb. 704.< than I now am : for afllire yourfelf that no
^c'^^'^' man can be more afflided than I, to fee one,
C.Claudius*' ^^^ ^^ dearer to me than myfelf, adting his
Marcellus. *' part {o ill in his Confulfhip, that he feems toL.CoRNELi- *' be any thing rather than a Conful ; but fhoiild
us Lentu- ccY\t be difpofed to follow your advice, and take
'^
your v/ord for Cjcfar's good intentions, and^^
pafs the reft of his Confulfhip at Rome, I
^' fhould begin to hope, that by your authority^' and at his motion, Pompey and Caefar may** be made one again with the approbation even
^' of the Senate. Whenever this can be brought*^
about, I fhail think that I have lived long*'
enough : you willentirely approve, I am fure,
^' what C^far did at Corfinium : in an affair of
^' that fort, nothing could fall out better, than
**
that it fhould be tranfaded without blood. I*-'- am extremely glad, that my Nephew's vifit
^' was agreeable to you ; as to what he faid
^' on Csefar'spart,
and what Caefar himfelf
^ wrote to you, I know Csefar to be very fin-
^' cere in it, whatever turn his affairs may^^ take [r]."
C/ESAR at the fame time was extremely folli-
citous, not {o m.uch to gain Cicero, for that was
jipt to be expefed, as toprevail
with him tojiand
neuter. He wrote to him feveral times to that
Cifed:, and employed all their common friends to
prefs him with Letters on that head[j]
: who,
byhis
keepingfuch a diftance at this time from
Pompey, imagining that they had m.ade fome
impreffion, began to attempt a fecond point with
him, viz. ioferjuade him to come hack to RomCy
\r\Ad Att. 8. 15. quod quierim : oratque ut in
[i] Quod qn^ris quid Cse- eo perfeverem. Balbus mi-
far ad me Icripierit. Quod nor ha^c eadem mandata. lb.
i'aepe: gratifilmum iibi elfe 8.11.
and
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Lus Crus.
of M. rULLIUS CIC ERO. 265
and affifiin the councils of the Senate^ which Casfar A. Urb. 704.
defigned to fummon at his return from following q {^'
Pompey: with this view in the hurry of his march c. Claudius
towards Brundifium, Csefar fent him the follow- Marcellus,
ing Letter. L. Corneli-
us Lentu-
Csefar Emperor to Cicero Emperor.
*' When I had but juft time to fee our friend
*'Furnius, nor could conveniently fpeak with,
" or hear him, was in hafte, and on my march,*'
having fent the Legions before me, yet I could"
not pafs by without writing, and fending him*' to you with my thanks
; though I have often
*'
paid this duty before, and leem likely to pay'*
it oftner, you deferve it fo well of me. I de-
*'
fire of youin
a fpecial manner, that, as I hope*^ to be in the City fhortly, I may fee you there,*' and have the benefit of your advice, your in-
"tereft, your authority, your afliftance in all
*'things.
But to return to the point : you will
^'pardon
the hafle and brevity of my Letter, and
^ learn the reft from Furnius." To which Ci-
cero anfwered.
Cicero Emperor to Casfar Emperor.
^' Upon reading your Letter, delivered to me*'
by Furnius, in which you preifled me to come"
to the City, I did not fo much wonder at what*'
you there intimated of your defire to ufe my*' advice and authority, but was at a lofs to find
' out what you meant by my intereft, and aftift-
^' ance : yet I flattered myfelf into a perfua-^'
fion, that out of your admirable and Angular^' wifdom, you were defirous to enter into fome
f' nieafures for eftabliftiing the peace and con-"cord
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266 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 704. cord of the City ; and in that cafe I looked
Cic.^3.
cc
ypQj^ j^y temper and charadler as fit enough to
C.Claudius"^^ employed in fuch a deliberation. If the
Marcellus,"
cafe be fo,, and you have any concern for theL. CoRNELi- "
fafetyof our friend Pompey, and of recon-
us Lentu- cc
^ijij,gi^ip-^ ^.Q yourfelf, and to the Republic,"
you willcertainly find no man more proper for
*' fuch a work than I am, who from the very*'
lirft have always been the advifer of peace*' bcrh to him and the Senate ; and fince this
*^recourfe to arms have not meddled with any
*'
part of the war, but thought you to bereally
*'
injured by it, while your enemies and enviers*' were attempting to deprive you of thofe ho-*'
nors, which the Roman people had granted*'
you. But as at that time I was not onely a fa-
*'
vorer of your dignity, but an encourager alfo** of others to afTift you in it
; fo now the dig-*'
nity of Pompey greatly affeds me : for many**
years ago I made choice of you two, with" whom to cultivate a particular friendfhip, and" to be, as I now am, mofl
ftridlly united." Wherefore T defire of you, or rather beg and*
implore with all my prayers, that in the hurry*' of your cares you would indulge a moment to
^' this thought, how by your gencrofity Imay be*'
permitted to fhew myfelf an honeft, gratefull,*'
pious man, in remembering an adt of the"
greateft kindnefs to me. If this related onely*'
tomyfelf,
I
fhould hopeflill
to obtain it from**
you : but it concerns, I think, both your honor" and the Republic, that by your means I fhould*' be allowed to continue in a fituation the beft"
adapted to promote the peace of you two, as
*^ well as the general concord of all the Citizens.
'^ After I had fent my thanks to you before on
^* the account of Lentulus ; for giving fafety
"to
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 267**
to him who had given it to me ; yet uponA. Urb. 704.
*'
reading his Letter, in which he expreffes the^^q^^^'
*' moft gratefullSenfe of your liberaHty, I took C.Claudius
*'
myfelf to have received the fame grace from Marcellus,*'
you, which he had done: towards whom, if J-. Corneli-
*'
by this you perceive me to be gratefull, let it"^ Lentu-
*' be your care, I befeech you, that I may be fo
" too towards Pompey [/]."
Cicero was cenfured for fome pafTages of this
Letter, which Casfar took care to makepublic,
viz. the compliment on Cafar's admirable wifdom ;
and above all, the acknowlegement of hisbeing
injured by his adverfaries in the prefent war : in ex-
cufe of which, hefays,
"that he was not
forry*'
for the publication of it, for he himfelf had**
given feveral copies of it , andconfidering
*' what had fince
happened,was
pleafedto have
*'It known to the world how much he had al-
*' was been inclined to peace: and that in urg-
''
ing C^far to fave his Country, he thought it
"his bufinefs to ufe fuch exprelTions as were the
*' moil likely to gain authority with him, with-*' out fearing to be thought guilty of
flattery,*'
in urging him to an adl:, for which he would*'
gladly have thrown himfelf even at his
"feet []."He received another Letter on the fame fub-
jedl, and about the fame time, written jointly by
[/] Ad Att. 9.6. II. videbar ullo modo facilius
[u] Epiftolam meam quod moturus, quam fi id, quod
pervulgatam fcribis effe non eum hortarer, convenireejus
fero molefte. Quinetiamip- fapientias dicerem. Earn fi
ip multis dedi defcribendam. admirabilem dixi, cum eumEa enim & acciderunt jam & a,d falutem
patriae hortarer,
impendent, ut teftatum effe non fum veritus, ne viderer
velim de pace quid fenferim. affentiri, cui tali in re luben-
Cum aurem eum hortarer, ter me ad pedes abjeciffem,
cujn pnsfertim hominera, non &c. lb.8.
g.
Balbus
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268 The Hi story of the Life
A.Urb.704. Balbus and Oppins, two of C^far's chief con*
^j;^'5^- fidents.
Coff.
C.Claudius
Marcellus, Balbus and Oppiiis to M. Cicero.
L. Corneli-
us Lentu- < The advice, not onely of little men, fuchLus Rus. ^^
^^ ^^ ^^^^ j^^^^ ^^^^ ^|: ^^^greateft,
is gene-
rally weighed, not by the intention of the
giver, but the event ; yet relying on your hu-
manity,we will
give youwhat we take to be
*' the beft in the cafe about which you wrote to
us-, which, though it fhould not be found pru-
dent, yet certainly flows from the utmoft fide-
lityand affedion to you. If we did not know
*' from Casfar himfelf, that, as foon as he comes*'
to Rome, he will do what in our judgement
*' we think he ouerht to do, treat about a recon-"
ciliation between him and Pompey, we fhould*'
give over exhorting you to come and take
**
part in thofe deliberations ; that by your help,*' who have a flridl friendfhip with them both,*'
the whole affair may be fettled with eafe and"
dignity
: or, if on the contrary, we believed
*'that C^far would not do it, and knew that he
*^ was refolved upon a war with Pompey, we*' fhould never try to perfuade you, to take arms
*-*
againfta man to v^hom you have the greatefl
*'
obligations,in the fame manner as we have al-
*'
ways entreated you, not to fight againft Casfar.
'^
But fince at prefent we can onely guefs rather'^ than know what Csefar will do, we have no-"
thing to offer but this, that it does not feem''
agreeable to your dignity, or your fidelity,fo
" well known to all, when you are intimate with*' them both, to take arms againfl either : and*'
this we do not doubt but Crefar, according to
" his humanity, willhighly approve : yet
if you
"judge
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 269*'
judge proper,we will write to him, to let us A. Urb. 704.
" know what he will really do about it; and if
^^S^*
*' he returns us an anfwer, will prefently fend r f\^ /,
*'
younotice, what we think ot it, and
give Marcellus.*'
you our word, that we will advife onely, what L. Corneli*
*' we take to be mofl fuitable to your honor, not^^ Lentu-
" to Casfar's view^s ;and are perfuaded, that Cae-
^^^ ^^'^'
*^far, out of his indulgence to his friends, will
*' be pleafedwith it [^]." This joint Letter
was followed by afeparate
one from Balbus,
Balbus to Cicero Emperor.
" Immediately after I had fenc the com-" mon Letter from Oppius and myfelf, I re-
" ceived one from Casfar, of which I have fent
*'
you a copy -,whence you will perceive how
*' defirous he is of peace, and to be reconciled
*' with Pompey, and hov/ far removed from all
"thoughts of cruelty. It gives me an extreme
"joy,
as it certainly ought to do, to fee him in
"thefe fentiments. As to yourfelf, your fide-
*'
lity,and your piety,
I amintirely of the fame
*'
mind, mydear
Cicero,with
you,that
you*'cannot, confidently with your charadler and
"duty, bear arms againft a man to whom you
*'declare yourfelf
fo greatly obliged : that Csfar*'
will approve this refolution, I certainly know*' from his fingular humanity ; and that you*'
will perfe6lly fatisfy him, by taking no part
.** in the war againit him, nor joining yourfelf*' to his adverfaries : this he will think fufficient,
' not onely from you, a perfon of fuch dignity" and fplendor,
but has allowed it even to me,** not to be found in that camp, which is likely
[x} Ad Att.9, 3,
to
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270 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 704.*'
tobeformedagainflLentulus and Pompey, from
^c^^'*' whom I have received the greateft obligations :
C.CiAUDius" ^^ ^^^ enough, he faid, if I performed myMarcellus, " part to him in the City and the gown, whichL. CoRNELi- "
I might perform alfo to them if 1 thought fit:
usLentu- ccwherefore I now manage all Lentulus's affairs
"at Rome, and difcharge my duty, my fidelity,"my piety to them both: yet in truth I do not take
the hopes of an accommodation, though nowfo low, to be quite defperate, fince Casfar is in
" that mind in which we ought to wifh him
CC
one thing wouldpleafe me, if you think it
proper, that you would write to him, and de-
fire a guard from him, as you did from Pom-
pey, at the time of Milo's trial, with my ap-"probation : I will undertake for him, if I right-
*'
ly know Csefar, that he will fooner pay a re-
gard to your dignity, than to his own interefl.
How prudently I write thefethings, I know
not; but this I certainly know; that whatever
"I write, I write out of a
fingular love and af-"
fection to you : for (let me die, fo as C^far"may but live) if I have not fo great an efleem
*' for you, that few are equally dear to me." When you have taken any refolution in this*'
affair, I wifli that you would let me know it,*'
for I am exceedingly folhcitous that you fhould*'
difcharge your duty to them both, which in
*'truth I am confident you will
difcharge. Take*'
care ofyour
health[^]."The offer of a guard was
artfully infinuated ;
for while it carried an appearance of honor and
refpe6l to Cicero's perfon, it muflneceffarily
have
made him Casfar's prifoner, and deprived him of
the liberty ofretiring,
when he found it proper,
ly'] AdAtt. 9. 8.
out
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 271
out of Italy : but he was too wife to be caughtA. Urb. 704.
by it, or to be moved in any manner by the Let-^off
ters themfeJves, to entertain the leaft thought of c. Claudius
goingto
Rome,fince to aflifl in the
Senate, Marcellus,when Pompey and the Confuls were driven out ^-^^^^neli-
of it, was in reahty to take part againft them.^^
^ Pr^^'What gave him a more immediate uneafinefs,
was the daily expedation of an interview with
Casfar himfelf, who was now returning from
Brundifium by the road of Formise, where he
then refided : for though he would gladly haveavoided him, if he could have contrived to do it
decently, yet to leave the place juft when Csefar
was coming to it, could not fail of being inter-
pretedas a
particular affront : he refolved there-
fore io wait for him^ and to a^ on the occafion with
a firmnefs and gravity, which became his rank and
character.
They met as he expelled, and he fent At-
ticus the following account of what palTed be-
tween them :"My difcourfe with him, fays he,
*' was fuch, as would rather make him think*'
well of me than thank me. I ftood firm in"
refuling to go to Rome; but was deceived in
*'
expeding to find him eafy ; for I never faw**
any one lefs fo : he was condemned, he faid,**
by my judgement; and, if I did not come,** others would be the more backward : I told*' him that their cafe was very different from'' mine. After many things faid on both fides,
** he bad me come however, and try to make**
peace : fhall I do it, fays I, in my own way ?
do you imagine, replied he, that I will pre-
fcribe to you ? I will move the Senate, then,**
fays I, for a decree againft your going to Spain," or tranfporting your troops into Greece, and''
fay
a
greatdeal befides in
bewailingthe cafe of
*'
Pompey :
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272^^^ History of the
Life
A. Urb. 704."Pompey : I will not allow, replied he, fuch
Cic. 58.cc
things to be faid : fo I thought, fays I, andCoff. cc
f^j, that reafon will not come : becaufe I muftC. Claudius
, ., r i j 1 . 1 *
Marcellus, either lay them, and many more, which I
L. CoRNELi-" cannot help faying, if I am there, or not come
us Lentu- cc3J- all.. The refult was ; that to (hift off the
Lus Crus. ccdifcourfe, he wifhed me to confider of it ;
'' which I could not refufe to do, and fo we"
parted. 1 am perfuaded, that he is not pleafed*' with me; but I am pleafed with myfelfj which
" 1 have not been before of a long time. As" for the reft ; good Gods, what a crew he has" with him ! what a hellifh band, as you call
** them ! what a deplorable affair 1 what de-"
fperate troops ! what a lamentable thing, to fee
*'Servius's fon, and Titinius's, with many more
*' of their rank in that
camp,which
befieged''
Pompey ! he has fixlegions ; wakes at all
'' hours 5fears nothing \ I fee no end of this ca-
*'
lamity. His declaration at the laft, which I
" had almoft forgot, was odious\ that if he was
*' not permitted to ufe my advice, he would ufe" fuch as he could get from others, and purfue
" all meafures which were for his fervice [z]'*
From this conference, Cicero went diredly to
Arpinum, and there - inverted his fon, at the age
of fi:<teen^ with the manly gown : he refolved to
carry him along with him to Pompey's camp,and thought it proper to give him an air of man-
hood before he eniifted him into the war : and
fince he could riot perform that ceremony at
Rome, chofe to oblige his Countrymen, by ce-*
lebrating this Feftival in his native City \a\
\%\ Ad Att.9-
18. pini potiiTimum togam puram
[] Ego meo Ciceroni, dedi, idque municipibus no-
quoniam Roma caremus, Ar- ftris fiiit gratum ib. 19.
Whils
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO.273
While C^far was on the road towards Romej A. Urb.704.
young Quintus Cicero, the nephew, a fiery giddy^^^-
5 8.
youth, privately wrote to him to offer his fer- n n^''. .S
^ T c r ' r^- ^-L AUDI US
Vice, with a promile or lome inrormation con- Marcelluscerning his uncle ; upon which, being fent for !- Corne-
and admitted to an audience, he afTured C^far,^^us Lentu-
that his Uncle was utterly difaffecled to all his mea-^^^ ^rus.
fures^ and determined to leave Italy and go to Pofn-
pey. The boy was tempted to this rafhnefsl?y
the
hopes of a confiderahle prefent^ and gave much un-
eafinefs by it both to the Father and the Uncle,
who had reafon to fear fome illconfequence from
it[b] : but Cfar defiring (till to divert Cicero
from declaring againft him, and to quiet the ap-
prehenfions which he might entertain for what
Waspafl, took occafion to fignifyto him in a kind
Letter from
Rome,that he retained no
refentmentof his refufal to come to the City^ though Tullus and
Servius complained, that he had not fhewn the fami
indulgence to them ridiculous men, fays Cicero,
who, after fending their fons tobejiege Pompey at
Brundijtum, pretend to be fcrupulous about going to
the Senate[f].
Cicero's behaviour however, and refidence Z;^
thofe villa's of hijs, which were neareft to the fea,
[^] Litteras ejus ad Ca^fa-[c]
Casfar mihiignofcit per
rem miflas itagraviter
tuli- litteras, quod non Romammus, ut te quidem celaremus venerim, <e fequein optimam
tantum fcito pollHir- partem id accipere dicit. Fa-
tium conventum, arceiTitum, cilepatior, quod fcribit, fe-
ab Caefare; cum eo de meo cum Tullum& Servium quef-animo ab fuis confiliis alie- tos eiTe, quia non idem libi,
iii(Iimo,& confiliorelinquendi quod mihi remififTet. Homi-
Italiam ib. id. 4, 5,&c. nes ridicules, qui cum filios
Quintum puerum accepi mififlent ad Cn. Pompeiumvehementer. Avaritiam vi- cJrcumfidendum, ipfi
in fena-
deo fuiiTe, & fpem magni turn venire dabitarent. Ib.
congiarii. Magnum hoc ma- 10. 3.
lum cfl. ib. 10. 7.
Vol. JL T gave
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274 ^^ HisTdHY of the Life
A. Urb. 704. gave rife to ageneral report, that he was
waiting-
^r' ^^' onely for a wind to carry him over to Pompey ,
C Claud us "P^^ which Csefar fent him another prefling Let-
Marcellus. ter, to try, if pofTible, to difluade him from that
L. CoRNELi-flep.
us Lentu-
Lus Crus.Csefar Emperor, to Cicero Emperor.
"Though I never imagined that you would do
"any thing rallily
or imprudently, yet moved by*' common report, I thought proper to write to
*'
you, and beg of you by our mutual affedlion, .
*'that you would not run to a declining caufe,
" whither you did not think fit to go while it
'^ flood firm. For you will do the greatefl inju-"
ry to our friendfhip,and confult but ill for
''
yourfelf,if
you donot
follow, where fortune*'calls : for all things feem to have fucceded mofl
''
profperouflyfor us, mofl unfortunately for
' *' them : nor will you be thought to have follow-
*' ed the caufe, (fince that was the fame, when''
you chofe to withdraw yourfelf from their coun-
cils) but to have condemned fome adl of mine ;
than which you can do nothing that could
affedl me more fenfibly, and what I beg bythe rights of our friendfhip, that you would
not do. Laflly, what is more agreeable to
" the character of an honeft, quiet man, and''
good Citizen, than to retire from civil broils ?
from whichfome,
who wouldgladly
have
done it, have been deterred by an apprehen-'*
fion of danger : but you, after a full teftimony" of my life, and trial of my friendfhip, will
"find nothing more fafe or more reputable, than
*'to. keep yourfelf clear from all this contention <
' The 1 6th of April on the road [i]."
yi Ad Att. X. 8.
Antonv
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of M rULLIUS CICERO. 27;
Ai^roUY alfo, whom Csefar hk to guard A. Urb. 704.
Italy in his abfence, wrote to him to the fame Slfi^*
purpofe,and on the fame day. ^ Claudius
Marcellus.
Antonius Tribun of the people and Propraetor, to ^' Corneli-
Cicero Emperor.^'
^^^^^-Lus Crus.
"If I had not a great elleem for you, and
** much greater indeed than you imagine, I
*' fhould not be concerned at the report which
" is fpread of you, efpecially when I take it to
be but falfe. But out of the excefs of my af-
fed:ion, I cannot dilTemble, that even a report,
though falfe, makes fome impreffion on me.*'
I cannot believe that you are preparing to crofs
*' the fea, when you have fuch a value for Dola^**
bella, and your daughter Tullia,that excel-
*'lent woman, and are fo much valued by us all,
to whom in truth your dignity and honor are
almofl dearer than to yourfelf : yet I did not* think it the part of a friend not to be moved
*'
by the difcourfe even of ill-defigning men,*' and wrote this with the greater inclination, as
*' I take my part to be the more difficult on the" account of our late coldnefs, occafioned rather
by my jealoufy, than any injury from you.
For I defire you to afTure yourfelf,that nobo-
dy is dearer to me than you, excepting my*'
Caefar, and that I know alfo that C^efar
*' reckons M. Cicero in the firft clafs of his
^' friends. Wherefore I beg of you, my Ci-*'
cero, that you will keep yourfelf free and un-*'
determined, anddefpife the fidelity of that
*' man who firft did you aninjury, that he might
*'afterwards do you a kindnefs j nor
flyfrom
*'him, who, though he ihould not love you,
*'
which is impoffible, yet will always defire tofee you in fafety
and fplendor. I have fent
T 2"
Calpurnius
4C
^<
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276 TZ?^ History of theLife
A. Urb. 704."
Calpurnius to you with this, the moft inti-
C ff^*
"^^^^ ^^ ^y friends, that you might perceive
C. Claudius"
^^c great concern which I have for your life
Marcellus."
and dignity [^]."L.CoRNELi- Caelius alfo wrote to him on the fame Tub-us Lentu- '^ i^yj. findino; by fome hints in Cicero's an-LUS CrUS. -!- 1^1 ri n
iwer, that he was aCLually preparmg to run awayto Pompey, he fent him a fecond Letter, in a
moftpathetic, or, as Cicero calls it, lamentable
ftrain [/], in hopes to work upon him by alarm*
ing all his fears.
Caelius to Cicero.
*' Being in a confternation at your Letter,"by which you fhew that you are
meditating"
nothing but whatis
difmal, yet neither tell'' me diredly what it is, nor wholly hide it from*'
me, I prefentlywrote this to you. By all
*'your fortunes, Cicero, by your children, I
'^
beg and befeech you, not to take any ftep in-
*'
jurious to your fafety : for I call the gods and*'
men, and our friendfhip to witnefs, that what
*' I have told, and forewarned you of, was not*'
any vain conceit of my own, but after I had*' talked with Csefar, and underftood from him,'' how he refolved to a6t after his vidlory, I in*
*' formed you of what I had learnt. If you*'
imagine that his condufl: will always be the
"fame,
in
difmiiTmg
his enemies andoffering*'
conditions, you are miftaken : he thinks and" even talks of nothing but what is fierce and*'
fevere, and is gone away much out of humor*'
\vith the Senate, and thoroughly provoked by^ the oppofition which he has met with, nor will
[^] Ibid. fcriptam mif^rabiliter ib.
[/ ] M. Caeiii epiilolam x. 9."
there
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO. 277*^
there be any room for mercy. Wherefore, if youA. Urb. 704,
**
yourfelf, your onely fon, your houfe, your ^p'i^'
"remaining hopes be dear to you: if I, ifc. Claudius
*'
the worthy man, your fon-in-law, have any Marcellus."
weight with you, you fhould not defire to L. Corn el 1-
^' overturn our fortunes, and force us to hate or"^ Lentu-
* to rehnquifh that caufe in which our fafety*'
confifts, or to entertain an impious wifh againft"
yours. Laflly, refled on this, that you have*'
already given all the offence which you can
*'give, by flaying fo long behind ; and now to
*'declare againft a Conqueror, whom you would
** not offend, while his caufe was doubtful, and''
tofly
after thofe who run away, with whom*^
you would not join,while they were in con-
*'dition to refift, is the utmoft folly.
Take'
care,that while
youare afhamed not to
ap-*'
prove yourfelf, one of the beft Citizens, you"
be not too hafty in determining what is the
*'beft. But if I cannot wholly prevail
with
*'
you, yet wait at leaft till you know how we*' fuccede in Spain, v;hich, I now tell you, will
" be ours as foon as Casfar comes thither. What
*' hopes they may have when Spain is loft, I" know not
-,and what your view can be in ac-
"ceding to a defperate caufe, by my faith I
*' cannot find out. As to the thing, which you*' difcover to me by your filence about it, Csefar
" has been informed of it , and after the firft fa-
'
lutation, told me prefentlywhat he had heard
of you : I denied that I knew any thing of
*^ the matter, but begged of him to write to
*'
you in a manner the moft effedlual, to make"you ftay. He carries me with him into Spain j
"if he did not, I would run away to you where-
" ever you are, before I came to Rome, to dif-
"pute this point with you in perfon, and holdT 3
"you
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278A. Urb. 704.
Cic.58.
Coff.
C. Claudius
Marcellus.L. Corneli-
us Lentu-
i^us Crvs.
The History of the Life"you fail even by force. Coniider, Cicero,"again and again, that you do not
utterly ruin*' both you and yours ; that you do not know-"
ingly and willingly throw yourfelf into diffi-"
culties, whence you fee no way to extricate"
yourfelf. But if either the reproaches of the"
better fort touch you, or you cannot bear the"
infolence and haughtinefs of a certain fet of"men, I would advife you to chufe fome place" remote from the war, till thefe contefts be
'
over, which will foon be decided : if you do*'
this, I fhall think that you have donewifely,
*' and you will not offend Caefar[g'].
Caelius's advice, as well as hispractice, was
grounded upon a maxim, which he had before
advanced in a Letter to Cicero, that in a public
dijfenficn^as
long as it was carried on by civil me-thods^ one ought to take the honefter ftde ; hut whenit came to arms^ thefironger% and to judge that the
heft 'Which was thefafeft [h}. Cicero was not of
his opinion, but governed himfelf in this, as he
generally did, in all other cafes, by acontrary
rule ; that where our duty and ourfafety interfere^
we JJ-jQuld adhere always to what isrights whatever
danger we incur hy it.
Curio paid Cicero afriendly vifit of two days
about this time on his way towardsSicily, the
command of which C^far had committed to
him. Their converfation turned on the unhap-
pycondition of the
times,and the
impendingmiferies of the war, in which Curio was open,and without any referve, in
talking of Csfar'5
k] Ep. fam. 8. 16.^
cernetur, honefliorem fequi
lb\ lUud te non arbitror partem : ubi ad bellum &fugere ; quin homines in dif- caftra ventum fit, firmiorem :
fenfione domeftica debeant, & id melius ftatuere, quodqyamdia civiliter line armis tutius fit, Ep. fam. 8. 14.
views ;
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of M rULLIUS CICERO, f^y9
Views :'* He exhorted Cicero to chufe fome A. Urb. 7J04.
*'neutral place for his retreat ; alTured him, that
^p" i^*"C^far would be pleafed with it
-,offered him q Cl^audius"
all kind ofaccommodation and
fafepafTage marcellus."
through Sicily ; made not the leaft doubt, but L. Corneli-
"that Csefar would foon be mafter of Spain,
^^ Lentu.
*' and then follow Pompey with his whole force,^^'* **
" and that Pompey's death would be the end of*'
the war : but confelTed withal, that he faw*' no profpedt or glimmering of hope for the*'
Republic ; faid, that C^far was fo provoked*'
by the Tribun Metellus at Rome, that he^' had a mind to have killed him, as many of*'
his friends advifed ; that if he had done it,
*' a great flaughter would have enfued ; that*'
his clemency flowed, not from his natural*'
dilpofition, but becaufe he
thought
it
po-*'
pular ; and if he once loft the affedlions of" the people, he would be cruel : that he was" difturbed to fee the people fo difgufted by his
*'
feizing the public treafure , and though he** had refolved to fpeak to them before he left
*'Rome, yet he durft not venture upon it for
*'
fear of fome affront , and went away at lall*' much difcompofed [i]."
The leaving the public treafure at Rome a prey
to Cafar^ is cenfured more than once by Cicero,
as one of the blunders of his friends\k'\
: but it
is a common cafe in civil diffenfions, for the
honefter fide, through the fear of difcrediting
their caufe by any irregular adt, to ruin it by an
unfeafonable moderation. The public moneywas kept in the temple of Saturn ;
and the Con-
fuls contented themfelves with carrying away the
keys, fancying, that die fandlityof the place
[/]Ad Att. X. 4. [>J] lb.
7. 12, 15.
T 4 would
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28o 7he History of the Life
A. Urb. 704. would fecure it from violence ; efpecially whenCic, 58. fi^e greateft part
of it was 2ifund of afacred kind,
n i^^'
fet a-part h the laws for occajions onely of the laftV. Claudius^
,
r -^ '1 ^-^ c r- v - r r ;i
Marcellus. exigency, or the terror oj a LraUtc tnvajion [/J.
JUCoRNELi' Pompey was fenfibie of the niiftake, when it
us Lentu- ^>^s too late, and fent inftrudlions to the Con-^^
fills to go back and fetch away this facred trea-
fure : but Caefar was then fo far advanced, that
they durft not venture upon it,and Lentulus
coldly fent him word, that he himfelf JJoould firft
march againfi C^far into Picemim^ that they might
he able to doit^
with fafety [m]. Cagfar had none
of thefe fcruples -,but as foon as he came to
Rome, ordered'*
the door of the Temple to
*' be broken open, and the money to be feized
*'for his own ufe
-,and had like to have killed
"the Tribun Metellus," who trufting to the
authority of his office, wasfilly enough to at-
tempt to hinder him. He found there an im-
menfe treafure," both in coin and wedges of
*' foHd gold, referved from thefpoils
of con-*'
quered nations from the time even of the
*'Puniq war : for the Republic, as Pliny fays,
^^ had never been richer than it was at this
*'
day [;^]."
Cicero was now impatient to be gone, and
the more fo, on account of the inconvenient
pornp of his Laurel, and Li^ors and fiile of
Emperor \ which in a time of that jealoufy and
diflradionexpofed
him too much to theeyes
of
the public, as well as to the taunts and raillery
[/] Dio. p. 161. ipfe in Picenum - ad Att.7.
\ni'\C. CaiTius attulit 21.
mandata adConfules, ut Ro-[z;] Nee fuit aliis tempo-
mam venirent, pecuniam de ribiis Refpub. locupletior.
iandiore asrario auferrent Plin. Hift. 33. 3.
ponful refcripfit, ut prius
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 281
cf his enemies [0].He refolved to crofs the fea A. Urb. 704.
to Pompey; yet knowing all his motions to be^^'i^*
narrowly watched, took pains to conceal his in-c. Claudius
tention, efpecially from Antony, who refided at Marcellus,this time in his neighbourhood, and kept a ftri6t L.Corneli-
eye upon him. He fent him word therefore by^^ Lentu-
Letter, that he had " no defign againft Caefar ;
*' that he remembered hisfriendfhip, and his
^' fon-in-law Dolabella ; that if he had other*'
thoughts, he couldeafily
have been with
*'Pompey ;
that his chief reafon forretiring
^' was to avoid the uneafinefs of appearing in
"public with the formality of his Lidors
[/>].'*
But Antony wrote him afurly anfwer
^ which
Cicero calls a Laconic Mandate^ and fent a copyof it to Atticus, to let him
fee^he
fays, howiy"
rannicallyit was drawn,
" How fincere is your way of adling? for
*^he, who has a mind to ftand neuter. Hays at
" home ; he, who goes abroad feems topafs a
*'
judgment on the one fide or the other. But"
it does not belong to me to determine, whe-*'
ther a man may go abroad or not. C^far has
'' impofed this tafk upon me, not to fqffer any*' man to go out of
Italy. Wherefore itfigni-
"fies nothing for me to approve your refoluti-
*'on, if I have no power to indulge you in it.
"I would have you write to Casfar, and afk
*'that favor of him : I do not doubt but you
[0] Accedit etiam molefta fcripfiflem, nihil me contra
hsc pompa liflorum n^eo- Czefaris rationes cogitare ;
rum, nonienque imperii quo meminifie me generi mei,
appellor.fed incurrit hasc meminifie amicitiae, potuiile
noilra laurus non folum in o- fi aliter fentirem, efle cum
<2ulos, fed jam etiam in vocu- Pompeio, me autem, quia
Jas ma'evolorum Ep. cum lidoribus invitus curia-
fam 2.16. rem, abeffe velle ad Att.
[/] Cum ego fspiifime x. lo.
(Cwill
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282^ 7he History of the Life
A. Urb. 704.'will obtain it, efpecially
fince you promife to
^^ ff^*'
"retain a regard for our
friendlhip [^]."
C. Claudius After this Letter, Antony never came to fee
Marcellus, him, but fent an excufe, that he was ajhamed toL. Corn ELI- do it^ hecaufe he took him to he angry with him,us Lentu-
giving him to underfland at the fame time byRU5.
'pj-ebal-jug^ ^^^^ ^^ hadfpecial orders toohferve his
motions [r].
These Letters give us the mofl: fenfible
proof of the high efteem and credit in which
Cicero fiorifhed at this Time in Rome : when
in a conteft for Empire, which force alone was
to decide, we fee the Chiefs on both fides fo
follicitous to gain a man to their party, who
had no peculiar Ikill in arms or talents for war :
but his name and authority was theacquifition
which they fought ^ fmce whatever was the fateof their arms, the world, they knew, would
judge better of the caufe which Cicero efpoufed.
The fame Letters will confute iikewife in a great
meafure the common opinion of his want of
refolution in all cafes ofdifficulty, fince no man
could fhew agreater
than he did on the prefent
occafion, when againft the importunities of his
friends, and all the invitations of a fuccefsfuU
power, he chofe to follow that caufe which he'
thought the beft, though he knew it to be the
weakeft.
During Csefar's abfence inSpain, Antony,
who hadnobody
to controulhim
at
home,gave a free courfe to his natural difpofition^ and
indulged himfelf without referve in all the ex-
[q]AdAtt. X, 10. ravit. lb. x. 12.
[r] Nominatim de me fibl Antonius^ ad me mifit.fe
imperatum dicit Antonius, pudore deterritum ad me non
xiec me tamenipfe adhuc vi- venifle, quod me fibi fuccen-^
^erat, fed hoc Trebatio nar- fere putarct ib, x. 15.
cefs
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO.it^
cefs of lewdnefs and luxury. Cicero defcribingA. Urb. 704.
his ufual equipage in travellingabout Italy, fays, ^^^-
5^.
*' he carries with him in an open Chaife the c. Claudius
" famed A6lrefs Cytheris ; his v/ife follows in a Marcellus.**
fccond, with feven other clofe Litters, full of ^Corneli-^'
his whores and boys. See by what bafe hands^* Lentu-
" we fall; and doubt, if you can, whether Cs-lusCrus,
far, let him come vanquifhed or vi6torious,
will not make cruel work amongft us at his
return. For
mypart,
if I cannot get a
/hip,I will take a boat to tranfport myfelf out of
their reach ; but I fhall tell you more after I" have had a conference with Antony [i]." A-
mong Antony's other extravagances, he had the
infolence to appear fometimes in public, wilb his
mftrefs Cytheris in a Chariot drawn by Lions, Ci-
cero alluding to this, in a Letter to Atticus, tells
himjocofely, that he need not be afraid of Antonyms
Lions [/] ',for though the beafts were fo fierce,
the mafter himfelf was very tame.
Pliny fpeaks of this fad, as adejlgned infult
on the Roman people ; as if ^K the emblem of th&
LionSt Antony intended to give them tounderjiandj
that thefierceji fpirits of them would be forced to
fubmitto the
yoke [u] : Plutarch alfo memions it 5
but
[j] Hie tamen Cytherldem fcribam cum ilium convenero
fecum ledlica aperta portat, ib. x. 10.
alter^a uxorem:
feptem prze- [/] Tu Antonii leones per-tem conjunftas ledlicae funt timelcas, cave. Nihil ell ilia?
amicarum, an amicorum ? homine Jucundius. Ib. x,
vide quam turpi leto perea- 13.
mus : & dubita, fi potes, quin [] Jugo fubdidit eos,
jlle feu viftus, feu viftor re- primufque Romae ad currum
djerit, caedem fadurus fit. junxit Antonius ;& quidem
Ego vero vel lintriculo, fi civili bello cum dimicatum
navisnon erit, eripiam me
ex eflet in Pharfalicis
campis;
iftorumparricidio.
Sed plura non fine ollento quodam tem-
porum
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cc
284 Tf)e History of the Life
A. Urb. 704. but both of them place it after the hattle ofCic. 58.
Pharfalia^ though it is evident from this hint of
C Claudius^^ given by Cicero, that it happened long be-
Marcellus. lore.L. CoRNELi- Whilst Cicero continued at Formias, deli-
usLentu-berating on the meafures of his condudb, he
Lus LRUS,forn^ed feveral political thefes's^ adapted to the
circumftances of the times, for the amufement
of hisfolitary hours :
" Whether a man oughtto flay in his Country, when it was poflefled
by a Tyrant : whether one ought not by all
means to attempt the diffblution of the Ty-
ranny, though the City on that account was
expofed to the utmoft hazard : whether there
*' was not caufe to be afraid of the man who*'
fhould diflblve it, left he fhould advance him-"
felf into the other'splace
: whether we fhould
not help our country by the methods of peace,
rather than war : whether it be the part of a
Citizen to fit ftill in a neutral place, while
his country is opprefled,or to run all hazards
for the fake of the commonliberty : whe-
ther one ought to bring a war upon hiscity,
and befiege it, when in the hands of a Ty-rant : whether a man, not approving the dif-
folution of a Tyranny by war, ought not to
join himfeif however to the beft Citizens :
*^ whether one ought to ad with his benefactors
*' and friends, though they do not in his opi-*' nion take
right
meafures for the
public
inte-
'^reft: whether a man, who has done great
.*' fervices for his country, and for that reafon
porum, generofosfpiritusju- fupra monftra etiam illarum
gum fubire illo prodigio lig-calamitatum fuit, Plin.
nificante : nam quod ita vec- Hill. 8. 16.
tus eft cum mima Cyth^ride,
4'
*' has
cc
cc
cc
cc
<c
cc
cc
cc
cc
cc
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of M, rULLIUS CICERO. 285
has been envied and cruelly treated, is ftill A. Urb. 704.
bound to expofe himfelf to frefli dangers for ^^^- S^-
it, or may not be permitted at lail to take q q^'
care of himfelf and his family, and give up Marcellus,all political
matters to the men of power L. Corneli-
"by exercifing myfelf, fays he^ in thefe
queilions,^^ Lentu-
" and examining them on the one fide and the^"^ ^Rus.
**other, I relieve my mind from its prefent an-
"xiety, and draw out fomething which may be
" of ufe to me [x]"
From the time of his leaving the City, toge-
ther with Pompey and the Senate, there paffed
not a fingle day in which he did not write one or
more Letters to Atticus [^],the onely friend whom
he trufted with the fecret of his thoughts. From
thefe letters it appears,that the fumm of At-
Rcus's advice to himagreed intirely
with his
own fentiments, that if Pompey remained in Italy^
he ought to join with him ; if not^ fhouldjiay behind^
and expert what frefb accidents might -produce [2].
This was what Cicero had hitherto followed ;
and as to his future condu6b, though he feems
fometimes to be a little wavering and irrefolute,
yet the refult of his deliberations conftantly turn-
ed in favor of Pompey. His perfonal affection
for the man, preference of his caufe, the re-
[x] In his ego me conful- Alteram tibi eodem die
tationibus exercens, diflerens hanc epiftolam didlavi, &in utramque partem, turn pridie dederam mea manu
grascetum latine, abduco pa- longiorem ib. x. 3.
rumper animum a moleftiis [z] Ego quidem tibi non
&7-u^^i^yi
ri delibero. Ad fim audlor, fi Porapeius Ita-
Att. 9. 4.liam relinquit, te quoque
[j] Hujus autem epiftolae profugere, fummo enim peri-
non lolum ea cauia eft, ut ne culo facies, nee Reipub pro-
quis a me dies intermittetur, deris ; cui quidem poftcrius
quin dem ad te liueras, led poteris prodeiTe, fi manferis
ib. 8. iz.ib.
9.10.
proaches
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^^^6 7k HisTOHY of the Life
^. Urb. 704. pr6aches of the better fort, who began to cenfure
^^'^^'hi$ tardinefs, and above all, his gratitude for fa-
Q Q^^y^ixjs'^orsreceivedJ which had ever the greateft weight
I^ARCELLus, with him, made him refolve at all adventures toh. Corn ELI- run after him ; and though he was difpleafed withus Lentu-
j^is management of the war, and without any hopes,tus Rus.
^jr^^^
jiiccefs [a] J though he knew him before to
he no politician^ and now perceived him^ hefays,
to be no general -, yet with all his faults, he could
not endure the thought of deferting him, nor
hardly forgive himfelf for flaying fo long behind
him j
*' For as in love, fays he, any thing dirty*' and indecent in a miftrefs will ftifle it for the
prefent,fo the deformity of Pompey's con*
dudl put me out of humor with him ; but
now that he is gone, my love revives, and
I cannot bear his abfence, i^c, [i^]."
What held him ftill a while longer was the
tears of his family^ and the remonflrances of his
daughter Tullia ; who entreated him to wait onely
theijfue of the Spanifh war^ and urged it as the
advice of Atticiis \c\ He waspaflionately fond
of this daughter ; and with great reafon-, for fhe
was a woman of fingular accomplifhments, with
\ti\ Ingrati anlmi cripien indecorse : fie me illiusfugge
horreo ib. 9. 2, 5, 7. negligentiaeque deformitas a^
Nee mehercule hoc facio vertit ab amorc nunc e-
Heipub. caufa, quam fundi- mergit amor, nunc deiide-
tus deletam puto, fed nequis rium ferre non pofTum. Ib.
me putet ingratum in eum, 9. 10.
qui me levavit lis incommo-[c\
Sed cum ad me mea
dis, quibus ipfeafFecerat Tullia fcribat, orans, ut quid
ib. Q. 19.in Hifpaniageraturexpedem,
Fortunas funtcoiTtmittenda & femper adfcribat idem vi-
t>mnia. Sine fpe conamur deri tibi ib. x. 8.
nlla. Si melius quid accident Lacrymae meorum me in-
mirabimur ib. x. 2. terdum molliunt,precantium,
^J}\Sicut \v Toii i^eJ]i){.o7i, utde Hifpaniis expedemus
alicnant immundsc, inlWse, ib. x. 9.
the
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. '287
the utmoft affedion and piety to him : fpeakingA. Urb. 704.
of her to Atticus," how admirable, fays he, is
^p'i^'^' her virtue ? how does fhe bear the public ca- q Claudiui"
lamity ? how her domeftic difgufts ? what a Marcellus,'
greatnefsof mind did fhe Ihew at my parting
L. Corneli-
*' from them? in fpieht of the tendernefs of her^^ Lentu.
"love, fhe wifhes me to do nothing but what
**is right, and for my honor [d]." But as to
the affair of Spain, he anfwered,"
that what-*' ever was the fate of it, it could not alter the
*' cafe with regard to himfelf : for if Casfar fhould*'
be driven out of it, his journey to Pompey** would be lefs welcome and reputable, fmce*'
Curio himfelf would run over to him : or if the'* war was drawn into length, there would be no** end of waiting : or
laflly,if Pompey's army
"fhould be
beaten,inflead of
fitting flill,as
they**advifed, he thoughtjuit the contrary, and fhould
*' chufe the rather to run away from the violence" of fuch a vidtory. He refolved therefore, hs
"/y-fj to adl nothing craftily : but whatever be*
" came of Spain, to find out Pompey as foon as
" he could, in conformity to Solon's law, who'
made it capital for a Citizen not to take part*'
in a civil diiTenfion [^]."
[<^3 Cujus quidem virtus trahitur bcllum, quid expec-irifica. Quomodo ilia fert tern, aut quamdiu ? relin-in
publicam cladem ? quomodo quitur, ut fi vincimur in Hif-
domellicas tricas ? qaantus pania, quiefcamus. Id egoautem animus in difceiTu no- contra puto : iftum enim vic-
ftro ? fit ^opyr^ fit fumma torem relinquendum magis
(Tvi^n^i? ; tamen nos rede fa- puto, quam vilum ibid.
cere & bene audire vult. lb. Aftute nihil fum adturus ;
X. 8. fiatin Hifpaniaquidiibet. lb;
[e]Si pelletafj quam gra- x. 6.
tusaut quam honeftus turn erit Ego vero Solonis -legejn
fidPompeiumnofteradventus, negiigam, qui capite fanxit,
cum ipfum Curionem ad ip-fi quiin feditione non alter-
fum tranfitarum putem ? ii utrius partis fuiifet ib. x. i .
Befoi^]^
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188 ^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 704. Before his going off, Servius Sulpicius fent
Cic. 58. Jiitn word from Rome, that he had a great defire
r> r- . to have a conference with him^ to confult in com-C.Claudius
-j. j i 'ir^'
Marcellus, ^^^ what meajures they ought to take. Cicero con-L. CoRNELi- fented to it, in hopes to find Servius in the famevsLentu- ixiind with himfelf, and to have his company tolusCrus*
Pompey's camp: for in anfwer to his mefTage, he
intimated his own intention of leaving Italy ; and
if Servius was not in the fame refokition, advifed
him to fave himfelf the trouble of the journey^ though
if he had any thing of moment to communicate^ he
would wait for his coming [/]. But at their
meeting he found him fo timorous and defpond-
ing, and fo full of fcruples upon every thingwhich was propofed, that inftead of
prefling him
to the fame condu6t with himfelf, he found it
neceffaryto conceal his own
defignfrom him :
' of all the men, fays he, whom I have met*'
withj he is alone a greater Coward than C.*'
Marcellus^ who laments his having been'' Conful , and urges Antony to hinder my"
going, that he himfelf may flay with a better
"grace [^]."
Cato, whom Pompey had fent to pofTefs
himfelf ofSicily, thought fit to quit that
pofV,
[f] Sin autem tibi homi- tes, in quo non lit conjuAc-ni prudentifiimo videtur utile turn conftlium tuum cum meo^
efle, nos coUoqui, quanquam fuperfedeas hoc labore itine-
longius etiam cogitabam ab ris* ib. 4. 2.
urbe difcedere, cujus jam e- [^] Servii eonfilio. nihil
tiam nomen invitus audio, expeditur. Omnes captiones
tamen propius accedam- - in omni fententia occurrunt.
Ep. fam. 4. 1. Unum C. Marcello cognoviRellat ut difcedendum pu- timidiorem, quern Conlulem
tern ; in quo reliqua videtur fuiile poenitet qui etiam
e^Q deliberatio, quod confili- Antonium confirmafTe dici-
um in difceflu, qus loca fe- tur, ut me impediret, quo
quamur fi habes jam itatu-ipfe, credo, honeftius.-< Ad
tum, quid tibi agendum pu- Att. x. 15.
md
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO. 289
and yield up the IJland to Curio^who carine J ike- ^-
^rb. 704'
wife to feize it on C^far's part with a fuperior ^'^-5 8.
force. Cicero was much fcandalized at Cato's p r, ?'
condu6t, being perfuaded that he might have Marcellus,held his
pofleffionwithout
difficulty,and that ^- Corne-
all honeft men would have flocked to him, efpe-^^^s Lentu-
ciallywhen Pcmpefs fleet
was fo near to fupport^^'*
hi?n : for if that had but once appeared on the
coafl, and begun to ad, Curio himfelf as he
GonfefTed, would have run away the Jirft, I wijh^
fays Cicero, that Cotta may hold out Sardi?iia as it
is faid he will : for if fo^how hafe will Cato's a5l
appear \h\In thefe Circumftances, while he was pre-
paring all thingsfor his voyage, and
waiting
onely for a fair wind, he removed from his C- ,
man to his
PompeianVilla
beyond Naples^ which,not being fo commodious for an embarkment,
would help toleffen
the fufpicion of his intended
flight [t].Here he received a private mefTage
from the Officers of three Cohorts, which were
in garrifon at Pompeii, to beg leave to wait uponhim the day following,
in order to deliver up
their troops and the town into his hands j but
inftead of liflening to the overture, hefiipt away
the next morning before day to avoid feeing them j
fince fuch a force or a greatercould be of no fer-
[/^]Curio mecum vixit utinam, quod aiunt, Cotta
Siciliae diffidens, fi Pompeius Sardiniam teneat. Ell enlm
navigare coepillet ib. x. 7. rumor. O, fi id fuerit, tur-
Curio PompeiiclaiTem ti- pem Catonem ! ib. x. 16.
mebat: quas fi eflet, fe de Si- [z] Ego ut minuerim fuf-
cilia aXbiturum. Ib. x. 4. picionem profedionis,~-pror
Cato qui Siciliam tenere fedus fum in Pompeianumnullo negotio potuit,
& fi te- a. d. 1 1 1 1 Id. Ut ibi erfcj-n,
nuifTet, omnes boni ad eum dum qussad navigandum o-
fe contulifTent, Syracufis pro- pus client, pararentur. Ib.
feaus eft a. d. 8. Kal. Mali
Vol. II. . U vice
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apo The History of the Life
A. Urb. 704. vice there ; and he was apprehenfive that It wasCic. 58.
defigned onely as atrap tor him
[/^].
C Claudius Thus purfuing at laft the refult of all his de-
Marcelt-us. liberations, and preferring the confideration ofL.CoR^ELI- duty to that of his
fafety, he embarked to fol-
us LEK-ra- ]Q^y Pompey ; and though from the nature oflusCrus.
the war, heplainly
faw and declared,"
that it
*' was a contention onely for rule ; yet he*'
thought Pompey the raodefter^ honefier and
"jiijler King of the tijoo ; and if he did not con-
*'quer, that the very name of the Roman peo-
*'
piewould be extinguifhed ; or if he did, that
"it would fbill be after the manner and pattern
" of Sylla,with much
cruelty and blood[/J."
With thefe melancholy rciiedions he fet fail on
the eleventh of June [m']^*'
ruiliing,as he tells
us
C
[/t]Cum ad villain venif-
fem, ventiim eft ad me, Cen-
turiones trium Cohortium,
quai Pompeiis fant, me velle
poftridie; hcec mecum Nin-
nius noiter, velle eos mihi fe,
^ oppidum tradere. At egotibi
poitridiea villa ante lu-
cem, ut me omnino illl non
viderunt. Quid enim erat
in tribus cohortibus ? quid 11
plures, quo apparatu r Sc fi-
inul eri poterar, ut tentare-
mun Omnemigitur fufpi-
cionem fuftuli ibid.
[/]Dominatio qusfita ab
utroque eft. lb. 8. 1 1.
Regnandi contentio eft; in
qua pulfus eft modeftior Rex
& probior &integrior; cc
is, qui nifivincit, nomen po-
puli Romani deleatur neceffe
lift : Hn autcm vincit, Svlla-
no more, exemploque vincet
' ib. X. 7.
[;/;]a. d. III. Id. Jun. Ep,
fam. 14. 7. It is remark-
able, that among the realons,
which detained Cicero in Ita-
ly longer than he intended,
he mentions thetempejiuoics
^ixjcather of theEqui?iox, and
the calms thatfucceded it-y yet
this was about the end of
May [ad Att. x. 17. 18.]which (hews what a
ftrangeconfufion there was at
thistime in the Roman Kalendar;and what necelhty for that
reformation of it, which Cae-
far foon after eifeded, in or-
der to reduce the computationof their months to the regularcourfe of the feafons from
which they had fo widely va-
ried , Some of the commen-
tators.
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 291**
us, knowingly and willingly into voluntaryA. Urb. 704;
*'deftrudlion, and doing juft what cattel do
^^.^'^^'*^ when driven by any force, running after
thofe^ Claudius*' of his own kind ; for as the ox, fays he, fol- Marcellus.*' lows the herd, fo I follow the honeft, orL. Corneli-
'* thofe at leafl, who are called fo, though it be "^ Lentu-
*'to certain ruin [n]." As to his brother Quin-
^^^ v^R^s.
tus, he was fo far from defiring his company in
thisflight,
that beprejfed him to ftay in
Italy on
account of his
perfonal obligations
to C^efar, and
the relation he had born to him : yet Quintus
would not be left behind , but declared, that he
ijoould follow his Brother, whitherfoever he fjotdd
lead, and think that party right which he fhould
chufe for him\j)\.
What gave Cicero a more particular abhor-
rence of the war, into which he was entering, was,to fee Pompey on all occafions
afi^eclingto imi-
tate Sylla,and to hear him often fay with a fu-
perior air, could Syllado fuch a
thing, and cannot
I do it? as if determined to makeSylla's viflory
the patternof his own. He was now in much
the fame circumftances in which that Conqueror
tators, for want of attending rlum. [pro M. Marcel. 5.]
to this caufe, are ftrangely quid ergo aturus es ? idem,
puzzled to account for the quod pecudes, quse difpulfse
difficulty ; and one of them fui generis fequuntar greges.
ridiculoufly imagines, that Ut bos armenta, fic ego bo-
by the Equinox^ Cicero co- nos viros, auteos, qaicunque
vertlymeans
Antony,who dicentur
boni, fequar,etiam
ufed to make his days and fi ruent ad Att. 7. 7.
nights equal, by fleeping as[<?]
Fratrem ^focium hu-
much as he waked. jus fortunse ^'Ro. non erat ae-
\n\ Ego prudens ac fciens quum : cui magis etiam Cse-
ad peftem ante oculos poll- far irafcetur. Sed impetraretarn turn profedus. [Ep. fam. non pofTum, ut maneat. [ib.
6. 6.] 9. I.] frater, quicquid mihl
Prudens & fciens tanquam placeret, id redum fe putare
ad interitum ruerem volunta- aiebat. Ib. 9.6.
U 2 had
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292 7hc History of theLife
A.Urb. 704. had once been-, fuftaining the caule of the Se-
^"^^S-nate by his arms, and treated as an enemy by
C Cl^audius^^^^^ who poiTeffed Italy; and as he flattered
Marcellus. himfelf with the fame good fortune, fo he wasL.CoRNELi-
meditating the fame kind of return, and threaten-us Lentu-
jj^gY\x\n and profcription to all his enemies. This
Lus Rus.
fj^equently fhocked Cicero, as we find from manyof his Letters, to confider with what
cruelty and
effufion of civil blood the fuccefs even of his ownfriends would certainly be attended [f].
We have no account of the manner and cir-
cumflances of his voyage, or by what courfe he
fleered towards Dyrrachium ; for after his leav-
ing Italy,all his correfpondence with it was in
great meafure cut off, fo that from June, in
"which he failed, we find an intermifTion of about
nine months in the feries of his Letters, and notmore than four of them written to Atticus durino-
the continuance of the war[q]. He arrived
however fafelyin Pompey's camp with his fon^
his brother^ and nephew^ committing the for-
tunes of the whole family to the ifTue of that
caufe : and that he might make fome amends for
coming fo late, and gain the greater authoritywith his party, he furnijhed Pompey^ who was
in great want of moneys with alarge fumm out of
his own flock for the public fervice [r].
W Qyai" crebro illud, [r] Etfi egeo rebus omni-
Sjlla potiiity ego Tiofi potero? bus, quod is quoque in an-
Ita Syllaturit animus ejus, guftiis eft, quicum fumus, cui
& profcripturit diu. [Att. 9. magnam dedimus pecuniam
y..']Cn:e.\xs TioiQi:
Syllani regni mutuam, opinantes nobis,fimilitudinem concupivit, si- conftitutis rebus, earn rem e-
t^cci aoi Kiyc:). [ib. 7.] utnon tiam honore fore.[ib. xi.
3.]
nominatim fed generatim fi quas habuimus facultates,'
'
profcriplloeffet informata. eas Pompeio turn, cum id vi-
Ib. xi. 9* debamur fapienter facere,
[^] Vid. Ad A.tt. xi, i, 2, detulimus. Ib. 13.
But
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of M TULLIUS CICERO. 295
But as he entered into the war with rekic- A. Urb. 704;
tance, fo he found nothino; in it but what in- ^^^- 5^.
creafed his difsjuft : he difliked every thing which n n'
7 111 1 r 1 ,7 r 7^ 7^- Claudius
t^ey had done, or dejigned to ^do \ jaw nothing good Marcellus.
amongji them hut their caufe -,and that their own L. Corneli-
counlels would ruin them : for all the chiefs of ^^ Lentu-
the party trufting to the fuperior fame and au-^^' '^*
thority of Pompey, and dazzled with thefplen-
dor of thetroops,
which the Princes of the Eaft
had fent to their afTiftance, aflured themfelves of
vidlory ; and, without refledlingon the different
charaifter of the two armies, would hear of no-
thing butfighting. It was Cicero's bufmefs there-
fore todifcourage this wild
fpirit,and to repre-
fent the hazard of the war, the force of Casfar,
and the probability of his beating them, if ever
they ventured a battel with him:
but all his re-monftrances were
flighted,and he himfelfreproach-
ed as timorous and cowardly by the other Leaders:
though nothing afterwards happened to them, hit
what he had often foretold \s\ This foon made
him repent of embarking in a caufe fo imprudently
(:ondu5ied\ and it added to his difcontent, to find'
himfelf even blamed by Cato for coming to them at
all;and deferting that neutral
poft, which mighthave given him the better opportunity of bring-
ing about an accommodation[/].
In this difagreeable fituation he declined all
employment, and finding his counfils wholly
[j] Quippe mihl nee quae hil adverfi accidit non praedi-
accidunt, nee quae aguntur, cente me. lb. 6.
ullo modo probantur. [ib. [/^
i
Cujus memeifalipoe-xi. 4. ] nihil boni praeter nitiiit, non tarn propter peri-
caufam. [Ep. fam. 7. 3.]ita- culum meum, quam propter
que ego, quern turn fortes illi vitia multa, qu^ ibi offendi,
viri, Domitii& Lentuli, timi- quo veneram. Ib. 7. 3.
dum efTe diccbant, &c. [ib.6. Plutai . in Cic.
2 1.J quo quidem in bello, ni-
U 3 (lighted*
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294* ^^^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 704. flighted, refumed his ufual way of raillery, andCic. 58. what he could not difiuade by his authority, en-
r nr ./r^TTTc deavoured to make ridiculous by his jefts. This
Marcellus. gave occanon arterwards to Antony, in a IpeechL. Corn ELI to the Senate, to cenfure the levity of his beha-us Lentu- viour in the calamity of a civil war, and to refle6t
tus VRus.^^^ onely ^upon
his fears, but the unfeafonablenefs
alfo of his jokes : to v/hich Cicero anfwered,^' that
though their camp indeed was full of care
and anxiety, yet in circumfhances the mod*'
turbulent, there were certain moments of re-
laxation, which all men, who had any huma-
nity in them, were glad to lay hold on : but
while Antony reproached him both with de-
jediipn and joking at the fame time, it was a
fure proof that he had obferved a proper tem-
per and moderation in them both [].
cc
[;^] Ipfe fugi adhuc omnc ly arived fromItaly, and
inunus eo magis, quod ita ni- informing them of a ftrong
hil ppteratagi,utmihi c^ meis reportat Rome, that'^Pompey
rebus aptum efiet. [Att. xi. acj blocked up hyCafar ; and
4.] Quod autem idem mcefti- yoa failedhither
therefore^
tiam
mam reprehencitidem faid
he,that
you might feeit
jocum; magno argumento iisith your cwn eyes. And e-
ell, me in utroque fuifle ven afer their defeat, when
nioderatum. Phil. 2. 16. Nonnius was exhorting them
Some of Cicero's fayings to courage, becaufe there
on this occafion are pre- werefe^ven eagles fill left in
ferved by different writers Fompcys ca?>ip ; you encourage
When Pcmpey put him in acr//, faid he, if njce njoere to
mind of hiscoining fo late to
fight ivithjfackda^^vs. By
them how can / cojue late, the frequency of thefefple-
faid he, <^lhe7^ I find nothing netic jokes, he is faid to have
in readincf among you ? - and provoked Pompey fo far as tQ
upon Pcmpey's aiking him tell him, /<r^vifo
that youfare, ilically, ^vhcre hisfon-in nvould go o'ver to the other
fide,
lan.K Dolabella nx:as; he is that you may begin
to fear us
rwith your Fath^r-in-laiv, re- Vid. Macrob. Saturn. 2. 3.
pliedhe. fo ^ perfon new- Plufar. in Cicer.
Young
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of M,TULLIUS CICERO. ig^
Young Brutus was alfo in Pompey's camp,A. Urb. 704-
"where he dillinguillied himfclf by a peculiar ^l^'^^'
zeal: which Cicero mentions as the more re-^ Pt ,\-r.,
markable, becaufe he had always profeiTed an ir- Marcellus.reconcileable hatred to Pompe)\ as to the murderer of L.Qo^^'ei.i-
his Father[x'].
But he followed the caufe, not the ^^ Lentu-
man ; facrificingall his refentments to the fervice
^^^ ^^^'
of his country, and looking now upon Pompeyas the General of the Republic^ and the defender of
their commonliberty.
During the courle of this war Cicero never
fpeaks of Pompey's condudl but as a perpetual ftic-
cejfion of blunders. His firftflep of leaving Italy
was condemned indeed by all, but particularly by
Atticus \ yet to us at this diftance, it feems not
onely to have been prudent, but necelTary [jy].
'
What fhockedpeople
fo much at it was the dif-
covery that it made of his weaknefs and want of
preparation ,and after the
fecurityv/hich he had
all along affected, and the defiance fo oft declared
againft his adverfary, it made him appear con-
temptible to run away at lad on the firft approachof C^far :
" Did you ever fee, fays C^lius, a
" more filly creature than this Pompey ofyours;''
who, after raifmg all this bullle, is found to
" be fuch a trifler ? or did you ever read or hear" of a man more vigourous in a6lion, more tern-
*'
perate in vidory, than our Caefar [2] ?"
U 4 PoMPEY
[;^] Brutus amicus in caufa Att. 7. 13.
X'erfatur acriter. Ad Att. xi. Si ifte Italiam relinquet,
4* faciet omnino male, & ut egoVId. Plutar. in Brut. & exiftimo
iKoy\^u)<;^&c. ib. 9.
Pomp. 10.
b'J, Quorum dux quam \%\ Ecquando tu hominem
d9f>ccjnyii]o^^ tu quoque ani- ineptiorem quam tuum Cn.
madvertis, cui ne Picenaqui- Pompeium vidifti ? qui tan-
dem nota funt : quam autem tas turbas, qui tarn nugax ef-
fme concilio, res teitis. Ad fct commorit ? ecquem au-
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29$ The History of the Life
A. Urb. 704. PoMPEY had \dt Italy about a year before
Cic. 58. Csfar found it convenient to go after him ; dur-
n rV'
ine: which time he had o-athered a vaft fleet fromC Claudius t>. . ^ 7 ^. . 7 7 ?
Marcellus. all the maritime btates and Cities dependent on the
Xi.CoRNELi- Empire^ without making any ufe of it to diftrefs
U5 Lentugj-j enemy who had no fleet at all : he fuffered Si-
j-ys i.^v^'^j]y ^^^ Sardinia to fall into C^efar's hands, with-
out a blow ;and the important town of Mar-
feilles, after having endured a long feigefor its
affed:ion to his caufe : but his capitalerror was
the giving up Spain, and neglecting to put him-
felf at the head of the befl: army that he had, in
a country devoted to his interefl:s, and commodi-
ous for the operations ot his naval force : when
Cicero firfl: heard of this refolution, he thought
it monjlrous [a] ; and in truth, the committing
that war to his Lieutenants againfl: the fuperior
genius and afcendant of Csefar, was the ruin of
his befl: troops and hopes at once.
Some have been apt to wonder, why Cs'far,
after forcing Pompey out ofItaly, infl:ead of
crofling the fea after him, when he was in no
condition to refifl:, fliould leave him for the fpace
of a year to gather armies and fleets at his leifure,
and ftrengthen himfelf, with all the forces of the
Eafl:. But Casfar had good reafons for what he
did: he knew that all the troops, which could
be drawn together from thofe countries, were no
match for his-,that if he had purfued him di-
reftly to Greece, and driven him out of it, as he
tern Caefare noflro acriorem cia, Rhodo, &c. ad inter-
in rebus agendis, eodem in cludendos Italiae commeatus
vidloria temperatiorem, aut coinparatur ad Att.9. 9.
legiiliaut audifti ? pp. fam. Nunciat ^^gyptum cogi-
8. 1^. tare; Hifpanium abjeciile.
[a] Omnis ha^c claHis A- Monflra narrant ad 4^^-
lexandria, Colchis, Tyro, Si-9.
1 1.
dpne, Cypro,Pamphylia,Ly-
2 h^d
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO, 297
had done out of Italy, he fhould have driven
him probablyinto Spain, where of all places he
defired the leaft to meet him ; and where in all
events Pompey had a fure refource, as long as it
was poflefTed by a firm and veteran army , which
it was Casfar's bufinefs therefore to deftroy in the
firft place,or he could exped: no fuccefs from the
war*,and there was no opportunity of
deftroying
it fo favorably, as when Pompey himfelf was at
fuch a diftance from it. This was the reafon of
his marching back with fo much expedition to
find, as he faid, an army without a General^ and
return to a General without ayi army \h\ The
event fhewed, that he judged right ; for within
forty days from the firllfight
of his enemy in
Spain,he made himfelf mailer of the whole
Province \c\
After the redu6lion of Spain, he was ere- A. Urb. 705.
ated Dilator by M. Lepidtis^ then Prater at Rome^Cic.
59.
and by his Di^atorial power declared himfelfp ^^^'
Conful, with P. Servilius Ifauricus; but he was c^saVii
no fooner invefted with this office, than he P. Servilius
marched to Brundifium, and embarked on the Vatia Isau-
fourth of January, in order to find out Pompey.''^^"s*
The carrying about in his perfon the fupreme
dignity of the Empire, added no fmallauthority
to his caufe, by making the Cities and States
abroad the more cautious of ading againfl him,or
givingthem a better
pretenceat
leaft/^r open-
ingtheir gates
to the Conful of Rome [d], Ci-
cero all this whiledefpairing of any good from
[]>]Ire fe ad exercltum [dl Illi fe daturos negare,
fine duce, & inde reveriurum neque portas Coniuliprscclu-
ad ducem fine exercitu. Su- furos. Ca^C Comm. 1.3.
cton.J.
Caef. 34. 590,
fr] Csf. Commeiit. \. z.
the
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298 T^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 705. the war, had been ufing all his endeavours to
^^^59* difpofehis friends to peace, till Pompey forbad
C. TuLi'us ^^y farther mention of it in council, declaring,
CiESAR II. that he valued neither life nor country^ for whichP. Servilius he mufl be indebted to defar^ as the world mujl take
VatiaIsau-^^^ r^y^ to be, fldould he accept any conditions in his'^^^'
prefent circwnflances [<?].He was fenfible that he
had hitherto been a&ing a contemptible part, and
done nothing equal to the great name which he
had acquired in the world ; and was determined
therefore, to retrieve his honour before he laid
down his arms, by the deflrudion of his adver-
fary, or toperifli
in the attempt.
During the blockade of Dyrrhachium, it
was a current notion in C^far's army, that Pom-
pey would draw off his troops into his fhips^ and
remove the war to fome dijiant place. Upon this
Dolabella, who was with Casfar, fent a Letter to
Cicero into Pompey's Camp, exhorting him,'^
that if Pompey fhould be driven from thefe
*^
quarters,tofeek fome other country, he would
''fit down quietly at Athens, or any City remote
*' from the war : that it was time to think of his
own fafety, and be a friend to himfelf, rather
than to others : that he had now fully fatisfied
his duty, his friendfhip,and his engagements to
''that party, which he had efpoufed in the Re-
*'
public : that there was nothing left, but to be,*' where the Republic itfelf now was, rather than
[e] Defperans vidloriam, ingrefTam in fermonem Pom-
primum cccpi fuadere pacem, peius interpellavit, Sc loqui
cujus fueram Temper audlor ; plura prohibuit. Quid mihi,
deinde cum ab ea fententia inquit, aut vita aut civitate
Pompeius valde abhorreret. opus eft, quam beneficio Cs-
Ep. fam. 7. 3. faris habere videbor ? Cccf.
Vibullius de Ca^raris Comm. 3. 596.
niandatis
agereinftituit ; eum
''
by
cc
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\
of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 299
*'
by following that ancient one to be in none at A. Urb. 705.
<call and that C^far would readily approve ^^^ P'
*'this condud [/] :" but the war took a quite c. Julius
different turn; and inllead o^ Pompefs runni?tg CjesarU.{iway from Dyrrhachmn^ Casfar, by an unexpedl-
P-Servilius
ed defeat before it, was forced to retire the firft,
^^'^'^ Isau-
and leave to Pompey the credit of purfuing him,
as in a kind offlight
towards Macedonia.
While the two armies were thus employed,
Caelius, now Prstor at Rome, trufting to his
power, and the fuccefs of hisparty, began to
publifh feveral violent and odious laws, efpecially
on^ for the cancelling of all debts [^]. This raifed
a great iiame in the City,till he was over-ruled
and depofed from his magiftracy by the Conful
Servilius, and the Senate : but being made defpe-rate
bythis
affront, herecalled
Milo from hisexil at Marfeilles, whom C^efar had refufed to
reflore-,and in concert with him, refolved to
raife fome public commotion in favor of Pompey,In this
difpofition he wrote his laft Letter to Ci-
cero ; in which, after an account of his conver-
fion, and the fervice which he wasprpjedling,
*' You are afleep, fays he, and do not know how*'
open and weak we are here : what are you do-*'
ing ? are you waiting for a battel, which is
*'fure to be againfl you ? I am not acquainted
' with your troops; but ours have been longufed"
tofight hard; and to bear cold and hunger with
[y] Illud autem a te peto, ei Reipub.quam tu probabas.
ut, fi jam ille evitaverit hoc Reliquum eft, ubi nunc eft
periculum, &c fe abdiderit in Refpub. ibi fimus potius,
claflem, tu tuis rebus confu- quam dum veterem illam fe-
las : & aliquando tibi potius quamur, fimus in nulla. Ep.
quam cuivis, fis amicus. Sa- fam.g, 9.
tis fadlum eft jam a te vel [^J Cjef. Comment. 3.
officio, vel familiaritati ; fa- 600.
tisfadum etiam partibas^ &
i, eafe.
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500 The HisroKY of the Life
A. Urb.705.
"eafe [^]." But this difturbance, which began
^c ff
^ to alarm all Italy,was foon ended by the death
C. Julius^^ ^^^ Authors of it, Milo and Cselius ; who
C^sarII. perilhed in their rafh attempt, being deftroyedP. Servilius by the foldiers, whom they were endeavouringVatia Isau- to debauch. They had both attached themfelvesRicus.
^^j.y ^^j.|y^^ ^j^^ interefts and the
authority of
Cicero, and were qualified by their parts and for-
tunes to have made aprincipal figure in the Re-
public,
if
they
had continued in thofe
fentiments,and adhered to his advice ; but theirpalTions,
pleafures,and ambition got the afcendant
; and
through a factious and turbulent life hurried them
on to this wretched fate.
All thoughts of peace being now laid afide,
Cicero's next advice to Pompey was, to draw the
war into length, nor ever to give Cicfar the op-
portunity of a battel. Pompey approved this
counfil, and purfued it for fome time, till he
gained the advantage above-mentioned before
Dyrrhachium ; which gave him fuch a confidence
in his owntroops, and fuch a contempt of Cs-
far's,"
that from this moment,fays
Cicero,*'
this great man ceafed to be a General , op-^'
pofed a raw, new-raifed army, to the mofl ro-^' buft and veteran Legions ; was fliamefully" beaten ; and, with the lofs of his Camp, forced''
tofiy away alone [i]."
ih] Vos dormitis, nee haec Pompeius valde abhorreret,adhuc mihi videmini intelli- fuadere inftitui, utbellum du-
gere, quam nos pateamus, & ceret : hoc interdum probabat
quam fimus imbecilli quid Sz in ea fententia videbatur
illic facitis r pra^lium expec- fore, &fui{^etfortal^e,niflqua-
tatis, quod firmilTimum eft? dam ex pugna coepifletmiliti-
veftrascopiasnon novi. Noi- busfuis confidere. Exeotem-tri valde depugnare, & facile pore vir ille fiimmus nuUus
algere Sc efurire confueverint.
Imperator
fait : villus
turpif-Ep. fam. 8. 17, fime, amiffis etiam caftris, fo-
[/] Cum ab ea fententia lusfugit. Ep. fam. 7. 3.
Had
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of M. rVLLIUS CICERO.301
Had Cicero's advice been followed, Caefar A. Urb.705.
mufi: inevitably have been ruined : for Pompey's ^if i^*
fleet would have cut ofi^allfupplies
from hirtiby q i^^jy^
fea ', and it was not pofTible for him to fubfift long C/esar II.
at land ; while an enemy, fuperior in number of P. Servilius
troops,was perpetually haralling him, and waft- VatiaIsau-
ing the country : and the report every where^^^^^'
fpreadof his flying from Dyrrhachium before a
vi6lorious army, which was purfuing him, made
his march every way the more difficult, and the
people of the country more fhy ofafllfting him :
till the defpicable figure,that he feemed to make,
raifed fuch an impatience for fighting, and aflfu-
rance of vidory in the Pompeian chiefs, as drew
them to the fatal refolution of giving him battel
at Pharfalia. There was another motive likewife
fuggeftedto us
by Cicero,which
feemsto
havehad no fmall influence in determining Pompeyto this unhappy ftep ; his
fuperftitious regard to
omens^ and the admonitions of Diviners ; to which
his nature was ftrongly addicted. The Harufpiceswere all on his fide, and flattered him with eve-
ry thing that was profperous : and befides thofe
in his own camp, the whole fraternity of themat Rome were fending him perpetual accounts of
the fortunateand
aufpiciousJignfficatiofts which they
had ohferved in the entrails of their vidims{]{].
But after all, it muft needs be owned, that
Pompey had a very difficult part to adl, and much
lefs
liberty
of
executingwhat he himfelf
ap-proved, than in all the other wars, in which he
had been engaged. In his wars againft foreign
[/^]Hoc civili bello, Dii difta Pompeio ? etenini
immortales ! qu^ nobis ille admodum extis & often-
in GfcEciam Roma refponfa tis movebatur. De Div. 2.
Haiufpicam xniiTa funt r qu:E 24, ,
enemies
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201 Tbe History of the Life
A. Urb. 705. enemies, his power was abfolute, and all his mo-Cic. 59. |.jQj^3 depended on his own will
; but in this, be-
C Julius^^^^^ feveral Kings and Princes of the Eafl, who
C^sAR II. attended him in perfon, he had with him in his
P. Servilius Camp almofl all the chief Magiflrates and Sena-Vatia Isau-
i-qi-s of Rome; men of equal dignity with himfelf,'^'^"**
who had commanded armies, and obtained tri-
umphs, and expedled a Ihare in all his counfils,
and that in their common danger, no ftep ihould
be taken, but
by
their common advice : and as
they were under no engagement to his caule, but
what was voluntary, fo they wereneceflarily to
be humored, left through difguft they Ihould de-
fert it. Now thefe were all uneafy in their pre-
fent fituation, and longed to be at home in the
enjoyment of their eftates and honors ; and hav-
ing a confidence of victory from the number oftheir troops,
and the reputation of their Leader,
were perpetually teizing Pompey to the refolution
of a battel , charging him with a defign to pro-
tradt the war, for the fake of perpetuating his au-
thority ;and calling him another Agamemnon,
who was proud of holding fo many Kings and Gene-
rals under his command [/] ; till, being unable to
withftand their reproaches any longer, he was
driven by a kind of fhame, and againft his judge-
ment, to the experiment of a decifive adlion.
C^SAR was fenfible of Pompey's difficulty,
and perfuaded,that he could not fupport the in-
dignity of Ihewing himfelf afraid of fighting ; and
[llYioAi'Tr] TMS'icLvrh^if.- Milites otium, focli mo-
cihiAKo.} AycLiMy.vovAKcthii'' ram, Principes ambitum du-
rav, onKdxZtv'i^
'Sa/.^nKiuv cis increpabant. Flor. 1. 4.
J'id rov'^oh.ifj.oyyip^^iv ii^iTt) 2. Dio.
p. 185. Plut. in
Tuv htmiccv Koyt^ixcoVy y^kvi" Pomp.
J^wxs^ ctuTOJf.
App.p. 470.
from
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of M. fULLIUS CICERO. 303
from that aflurance expofed himfelf often more A. Urb.705.
rallilythan prudence would otherwife jullify : for
^coff^'
his befieging Pompey at Dyrrhachium, who was c. Julius
mafter of the fea, which fupplied every thing to C^sar II.
him that was wanted, while his own army was P- Servilius
ftarving at land-,and the attempt to block up ^j^^s^
^*^"*
entrenchments fo widely extended, with much
fmaller numbers than were employed to defend
them, muft needs be thought rafh and extrava-
gant, were it not for the expedation of drawing
Pompey by it to a general engagement : for whenhe could not gain that end, his perfeverance in
the fiegehad like to have ruined him, and would
inevitably have done fo, if he had not quitted it,
as he himfelf afterwards owned [m].
It muft be obferved likewife, that, while Pom-
peyhad
anywalls or entrenchments between him
and C^far, not all C^far's vigor, nor the courageof his veterans, could gain the leaft advantage
againft him : but on the contrary, that C^far was
baffled and difappointed in every attempt. Thus
at Brundifium he could make no imprefiion uponthe Town, till Pompey at full leifure had fecur-
ed his retreat, and embarked his troops : and at
Dyrrhachium, the onely confiderable adion, which
happened between them, was not onely difadvan-
tageous, but almoft fatal to him. Thus farPompeycertainly fhewed himfelf the greater Captain, in
not fuffering a force, which he could not refift in
[///]Caefar pro natura fe- patente mari omnibus coplls
rox, & conficiendse rei cupi- abundarentr) nuncexpugna-dus, oftentare aciem, pro\'o- tione Dyrrhachii irrita. Sec.
care, laceiTere ; nunc cbfidi- Flor. 1. 4. c. 2.
one caftrorum, quze fedecim coy.o^^oyu t [j.(\cLytvu(TyAiv
millium valloobduxerat; (fed 'srpsf Av^onyjco ^psiJoTriJ'iu-
^uid his obeffct obfidio, qui 3-0,?) &c. App. p. 468.
1
the
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'304- ^l''^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 705. the field, to do him any hurt, orcarry any point
Cic. 59.againft him ; fince that depended on the fkill of
C Julius^"^ General. By the help of entrenchments he
cksAR II. knev/ how to make his new raifed foldiers a
P. Servilius match for C^efar's Veterans; but when he wasVatiaIsau- (jrawn to encounter him on the open plain, heRicus.
fought againft infuperable odds, by deferting his
proper arms^ as Cicero fays,of caution, counfil,
and authority, in which he wasfuperior, and commit-
ting
his
fate
to
/words and/pears,
andbodilyfirength^
in which his enemies far excelled him \n\.
Cicero was not prefent at the battel of Phar-
falia, but was left behind at Dyrrhachium much
out of humor, as well as out of order : his dif-
content to fee all things going wrong on that fide,
and contrary to his advice, had brought upon him
an ill habit of body, and weak Hate of health ;
which made him decline all public command; but
he promifed Pompey to follow, and continue with
him as foon as his health permitted [o] ; and as
a pledge of his fmcerity, fent his fon in the mean
while along with him, who, though very young,behaved himfelf gallantly,
and acquired great ap-
plaufe by his dexterity of ridingand throwing theja^
"velin, and performing every other part of milita-
ry difciplineat the head of one of the wings of
\n\ Non lis rebus pugna- [<?] Ipfe fugi adhuc omne
bamus, quibus vaiere potera- munus, eo magis, quod ni-
jnus, confilio, auftorltate, hil ita poterat agi, ut mihi &.
caufa, quae erant in nobis fu- meis rebus aptum eiTet me
periora ; fed lacertis Sj yiri- conficit follicitudo, ex qua.
bus, quibus pares non fuimus. etiam fumma infirmitas cor-
Ep. fain. 4. 7. poris; qua levata, ero cum
Dolebamquc pilis&
gla- eo, qui negotium gerit,ell-
diis, non confiliis neque auc- que in magna i"^^ad Att^
toritatibusnoftrisde jure pub- xi, 4.
licodirceptari' Kp. fam. 6,1.
Horfcy
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO.305-
Horfe^ of which Pompey had given him the com- A.Urb. 705.
mand[/>].
Cato ilaid behind alio in the Camp ^^P'
at Dyrrhachium,which he commanded with^- q Juli^s
teen Cohorts^ when Labienus brought them the c^sar. JI.
news of Pompey's defeat , upon which Cato of- i*. Servilius
fered the command to Cicero as the fuperior in^atia Isau-
dignity; and upon his refufal of it, as Plutarch
tells us, young Pompey was io enraged, that he
drew his fword, and would have killed him upon the
fpot^ if Cato had not prevented it. This fad: is
not mentioned by Cicero, yet feems to be refer-
red to in hisfpeech
for Marcellus, where he fays,
that in the very war^ he had been a perpetual affer-
tor of peace^ to the hazard even of his life [^],
But the wretched news from Pharfalia threw them
all into fuch a confternation, that they prefently
took{hipping,
anddifperfed
themfelvesfeverally,
as their hopes or inclinations led them into the dif-
ferent provinces of the Empire \r\ The great-
eftpart
who were determined to renew the war,
went diredilyinto Afric, the general rendezvous
of their fcattered forces \ whilft others, who
were difpofed to exped the farther ilTue of things,
and take fuch meafures as fortune offered, retir-
ed to Achaia : but Cicero was refolved to make
this the end of the war to himfelf%and recom-
mended the fame condud to his friends : declar-
[/>] Quo tamen in bello [q]Multa de pace dixi, &
cum te Pompeius alae alteri In ipfo bello, eadem etiam
praefeciflet, magnam laudem cum capitis meipericulofenfi.
& a fummo viro & ab exer- Pro Marcell.5.
citu confequebare, equitando, [r] Paucis fanepoll
die-
jaculando, omni militari la- bus ex Pharfalica fuga venifTe
bore tolerando : atque ea Labienum : qui cum interi-
quidem tua lauspariter
cum tum exercitus nunciaviflet
Kepub. cecidit. De Offic. 2. naves fubito perterriticon-
13.fcendiftis. De Divin. i. 32.
Vol. 11. X ing,
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3jO(> The History of theLife
/ . Urb. 705. ing, that as they had been no match for Cafar^ when
^r '<r^*^'^^^^^5 ^^^ r^/i not hope to beat him^ whenjhat-
C. TuLiiis^^^^^ ^^^ broken
[j]: and fo after a miferablc
CiESAR II. campaign of about eighteen months, he commit-P. Servilius ted himfelf without hefitation to the mercy ofVatia Isau- the Conqueror, and landed again at Brundifium**^^^*
about the end of Odober.
[j]Hunc ego belli mihi fraftos fuperiores fore. Ep.
finemfeci; nee putavi, cum fam.7. 3.
integri pares non fuifTemus,
SECT.
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ofM, TULLIUS CICERO.307
SECT. VIII.
CICEROno fooner returned to
Italy, than A. Urb. 706.
he began to refled, that he had been too^^^
^^'
hally in coming home, before the war was de- q i^j^^^
termined, and without any invitation from the Caesar Die-
Conqueror ;and in a time of that general licence, tator II.
had reafon to apprehend fome infult from the fol-^* Anto-
diers, if he ventured to appear in public with bis ^^t ^^'
Fafces and Laurels and yet to drop them, would
be a diminution of that honor, which he had re-
ceived from the Roman people, and the acknow-
ledgement of a power fuperior to the laws : he
condemned hmfelf therefore for notcoiitinuing
a-
broad, in fome convenient -place of retirement^ till
he had been fent for^ or things were better fet-
tled[/].
What gave him the greater reafon to
repent of this Hep was, ameffage that he received
fro'tn Antony^ who governed all in Caefar's ab-
fence, and with the fame churlifhfpirit, with
which he would have held him before inItaly
againft his will, feemed now difpofed to drivehim out of it : for he fent him the copy of a Letter
from Ccefar^ in which Csefarfignified,
*'that he
" had heard, that Cato and Metellus were at
*'Rome, and appeared openly there, which
"might occafion fome difturbance : wherefore
[/] Ego vero & incaute, iifTem : minus accepifTem do-ut fcribis, & celerius quam loris : ipfum hoc non me an-
cportuit, feci, &c. Ad Ate.geret. Brundifii jacere in
xi. 9. omnes partes eft moleftum,
Qaare voluntatis me meae Propius accedere, ut fuades,
nunquam poenitebit,confilii quomodo fine liftoribub, quos
pcenitct. In oppido aliquo populus dedit, pouum ? quimallem refediffe, quoad ar- mihi incolumi adimi non
cefTerer. Minus fermonis fub- pcfTunt. Ad Att.xi.
6.
X 2 *' he
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5o8 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 706." he flridlly injoined,that none fhould be fuf-
Cic. 60. <cfered to come to Italy without a
fpecial licence
C Tu^^'us
" ^^^^ himfelf. Antony therefore defired Ci-
cksAR Die-"
cero to exeufe him, frnce he could not helptatorll.
"obeying Csefar's commands: but Cicero fent
M. Anto- ic_L^ Lamia to afifure him, that Csefar had order -
^lusMag. tc ^^ Dolabella to write to him to come to Italy
^ ^ '
*'as foon as he pleafed ; and that he came upon
" the authority of Dolabella's Letter :" fo that
Antony in the Edi6l, which he publifhed to ex-
clude the Pompeians from Italy ^ excepted Cicero by
name : which added ftill to his mortification ;
fince all his defire was to be connived at onely,
or tacitly permitted, without being perfonally dijlin-
guijhed from the reft of his party [u].
But- he had feveral other grievances of a do-
meftic kind,which concurred alfo to
make himunhappy : his Brother Quintus,with his Son, after
their efcape from Pharfalia, followed Csefar into
Afia, to obtain their pardon from himinperfon.
Quintus had particularreafon to be afraid of his
refentment, on account of the relation which he
had born to him, as one of his Lieutenants
in Gaul, where he had been treated by him with
great generofity -,fo that Cicero himfelf would
have diffuaded him from going over to Pompey^ but
could net prevail : yet in this commoncalamity,
Quintus, in order to make his own peace the
more eafily, refolved to throw all the blame
uponhis Brother, and for that
purpofemade it
\_ii]Sed quid ego de lido- palam, &c. Turn ille edi-
ribus, qui paene ex Italia de- xit ita, ut me exciperet & Lae-
cedere iim jufius ? nam ad me Hum nominatim. Quod fane
mifit Antonius exemplum nollem. Poterat enim fine
Caefaris ad fe literamm;
in nomine, reipfa excipi.
Oquibus erat, fe audiiTe, Ca- multas
graves oftenfiones ! *
tonem Sc L. Metellum in Ita- ib.
7.Ji^jn veniiTe, Romce ut eilent
the
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 307the fubjedl of all his Letters and Speeches to Cafar*s
A. Urb. 7 >6.
friends^ to rail at him in a manner the mofi inhu-^p*^^'
inan, or,*.JULIU3
Cicero was informed of this from all quarters, c^sar D.c-
and that young Qiiintus, who was fent before to- tator II.
wards C^far, had read an oration to his friends^^^-
'^^T'^"
which he had prepared to fpeak to hi?n againft hisEQ^,'^^'
'^^'
Uncle. Nothings as Cicero fays, ever happenedmore Jhoeking to him ; and though he had no fmall
diffidence of Csfar's inclination, and many ene-
mies labouring to do him ill offices, yet his great-eft concern was, left his Brother and Nephewlliould hurt themfelves rather than him, by their
perfidy [:v]: for under all the fenfe of this pro-
vocation his behaviour wasjuft
the reverie of
theirs : and having been informed, that C^far in
a certainconverfation^
hadcharged
his Brother with
being the author of their going away to Pompey^ he
took occafion to write to him in the followingterms :
" As for my Brother, I am not lefs felicitous
*'for his
fafety, than my own ; but in my pre-**
fent fituation dare not venture to recommend
him to you : all that I can pretend to, is, to
beg that you will not believe him to have ever
done any thing towards obftrucling my goodoffices and affedion to you ; but rather, that
W Qiiintus mifit filium ^pfi enim illi putavi per-non iolum fui deprecatorem, niciofum fore, fi
ejus hoc
fed etiam accufatorem mei - tantum fcelus percrebuiiTet
neque vero defiflet, ubicun- ib.9.
que eft omnia in me male- Quintum filium volumen
dicla conferre. Nihil mihi fibi oftendiiTe orationis, quamunquam tarn incredibile ac- apud Caefarem contra me ef-
cidit, nihil in his malis tarn fet habiturus multa poftea
acerbum. ibid. 8. Patris, confimiii fcelere Pa-
Epiftolas mihilegeruntple- trem efTet locutum. ib. 10.
r.as omnium in meprobrorumX 3
" he
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310 The History of the Life
A.Urb, 706. he was always the advifer of our union, and
^c'q^^'
"the companion, not the leader of my voyage :
C Julius
" wherefore in all other refpeds, I leave it to
C^sAR Dic^"
you to treat him, as your own humanity, andtator n. "
hisfriendfliip
with you require 5but I entreat
^ ^M^'"
y^^' ^" ^^^ ^^^^preffing manner, that I may
Equit
^^ " ^^^ be the caufe of hurting him with you on any" account whatfoever [y]"He found himfelf likewife at this time in fome
diftrefs for want of mioney, which in that feafoa
of public di(lra6lion, it was very difficult to pro-
cure, either by borrowing orfelling : the fumm,
which he advanced to Pompey had drained him :
and his wife, by her indulgence to ftewards, and
favorite fervants, had made great v/afte of what
was left at home : and inftead of faving any
thing from their rents, had plunged him deeplyinto debt
; fo that Atticus's purfe was the chief
Fund which he had to trufl to for his prefent fup-
port [2;].
The condu61:of Dolabella was a farther mor-
tification to him ; who by the fidion of an adop-tion into a plebeian family, had obtained the tri-
bunate this year, and was railing great tumults
and diforders in Rome, by a law, which he pub-
lifhed, to expunge all debts. Laws of that kind
had been often attempted by defperate or ambi-
tious magiftrates, but were always detefted by the
better fort, and particularly by Cicero, who treats
themas
perniciousto the
peace and profperity of
[^']Cum mihi litterse a fit unde nobis fuppeditentur
Ealbo minorc mifTce eilent, fimitiis neceffarii. Si quasCsefarem exiftimare, Quin- habuimasfacultates, easPom-
tarn Fratrem lituum nica fro- peio, turn, cum id videba-
feStionhf aiiie, fic enim
fcrip-mur Tapicnter facere, deculi-
ixy -ad Att. xi. 12. mus. lb, 13, 2, 22, &c.
[%\ Velim corilidcrei? ut
Jiates^
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6-
of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 311
fiates^ andfapping the very foundations of civil So- A. Urb. 706
ciety^ hy dejiroyingallfaith and credit among men [a], ^if*^^*
No wonder therefore that we find him taking this q Ju^lius
affair fo much to heart, and complaining fo hea- c^sar Di>
vily, in many of his Letters to Atticus, of the tator II.
famed a5ls of his Son-in-law, as an additional fource'
,T*N lU ? IVl 1
'
of affliction anddifgrace to him
[]?]. Dolabella was
j^
greatly embarralTed in his fortunes, and while he
was with Caefar abroad, feems to have left his
wife deftitute of necefTaries at home, and forced
to recur to her Father for her fubfiilence. Cicero
likewife, either through the difficultyof the times,
or for want of a fufficient fettlement on Doiabel-
la's part, had not yet paid all her/ortune ; which
it was ufual to do at three different payments^ with-
in a time limited by law : he had difcharged the
twofirft^
and wasnow preparing
to
makethe
thirdpayment^ which he frequently and preffingly re-
commends to the care of Atticus [f].But Dola-
bella's whole life and charadiier were foentirely
contrary to the manners and temper both of Ci-
cero and TuUia, that a divorce enfued between
them not long after, though the account of it is
delivered fo darkly, that it is hard to fay at what
time, or from what fide it firfl; arofe.
[^a] Nec enim ulla res ve- horreo, praerertim. hoc generohementlus Rempub. continet, ib. 14, 15,
&c.
quam fides ; quae efTe nulla [c] De dote, quod fcribis,
poteft, nifi erit necelTaria fo- per omnes Deos te obteftor,
lutio rerum creditarum, &c. ut totam rem fufcipias,& il-
de Offic. 2. 24. lam miferam mea culpa
[b'\ Quod me audis fra6li- tueare meis opibus, fi quse
orem efle animo ; quid putas, funt ; tuis, quibus tibi non
cum videas acceflifle ad fupe- moleftum crit facultatibus.
riores asgritudines prasclaras Ib. xi, 2.
generi adiones ? ad Att. xi. De penfibne altera, oro te,
12. omni cara confidera quid fa-
Etfl omnium confpedum ciendum fit. ib. xi. 4.
X 4 i^.
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312 7he History of theLife
A. Urb. 706. In thefe circumftances TuUia paid her Father
Cic. 60. a vifit at Brundiftum on the thirteenth of June :
5-"- but his great love for her made their meetins
C^ffiSAR Die- onely the more affliding to him in that abjedttator II. flate of their fortunes ,
"I was fo far, fays he,
M. Anto- " from taking that pleafure which I ought toNius Mag. cc have done from the virtue, humanity, and pi-^^^^' "
ety of an excellent daughter, that I was ex-
ceedingly grieved to fee fo deferving a Crea-
ture in fuch an unhappy condition, not by her
" own, but wholly by my fault : I faw no rea-
*' fon therefore for keeping her longer here, in
"this our common affli&ion : but was willing to
"fend her back to her mother as foon as fhe
'' would confent to it [^J."
At Brundifium he received the news of Pom-
pey'sdeath, which did not
fuprifehim, as we
find from the Ihort reflection that he makes uponit :
" As to Pompey's end, fays he, I never had
any doubt about it : for the loft and defperate
ftate of his affairs had fopoffefled the minds
*' of all the Kings and ftates abroad, that whi-" therfoever he went, I took it for granted that
^* this would be his fate : I cannot however help'^
grieving at it ; for I knew him to be an honeft,*'
grave, and. worthy man[^]."
- This was the fhort and true charadcr of the
[/] Tullia mea ad me ve- [^]De Pompeii exitu mihi
Flit prid Id. Jun. Ego au- dubium nunquam fuit : tanta
tern ex ipfius virtute, hama- eiiim defperatio rerum ejus,
nirate, pietate non modo eam omnium Regum Sc populo-
voluptatem non cepi, quam rum animos occuparat, ut
capereexfmgularifiliadebui, quocunque veniffet, hocpii-
fed etiam ineredibili ium do- tarem futurum. Non poflunv
lere afFeftas, tale ingenium ejus cafum non dolere : ho-
in tarn mifera fortuna veriari. minem enim integrum & caf-
ib. xi. 17. Ep. fam. 14.tum & gravem cognovi. Ad
J I, , Att. xi. 6.
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO, 313
man from onewho perfedlly knew him , not heigh-A. Urb. 706.
tened, as we fometimes find it, by the fhining co-^^^* p'
lors of his eloquence ; nor deprelfed by the darker q j^lius
llrokes of his refentment. Pompey had early ac- c^sar Die*
quiredibe furname ofthe Greats by that fort of me- tator II.
rit, which, from the conflitution of the Republic,^-
^^^^'
neceffarilymade him Great ; a fame and fuccefs
Equit,
^^*
irv war, fuperior to what Rome had ever known
in the molt celebrated of her Generals. He had
triumphed
at three feveral times over the three
different partsof the known world, Europe,
Aiia, Africa ; and by his vi6tories had almoft
doubled the extent, as well as the revenues of
the Rorran dominion ;for as he declared to the
people 01 his return from the Mithridatic war,
he had fmnd thelejfer Afia the boundary^ hut
left
it the middle of their Empire. He was about Jix
years older ihan C^far; and while C^far immerfed
inpleafures, opprefled
with debts, and fufpedled
by all honeft men, was hardly able to fhew his
head ; Pompey was florilhing in the height of
power andglory, and by the confent of all par-
ties placed at the head of the Republic. This
was the poft that his ambition feemed to aim at,
to be the firft man in Rome,the Leader, not the
Tyrant of his Country : for he more than once had
it in his power to have made himfelf the mafter
of it without any rifk ;if his virtue, or his phlegm
at leaft had not reftrained him : but he lived in a
perpetual expe(5lation
ofreceiving
from thegiftof the
people, what he did not care to feize byforce; aid by fomenting the diforders of the
City, hoped to drive them to the neceflity of
creating hi.n Di6tator. It is an obfervation of all
thehiftoriar.s, that while C^efar made no dif-
ference of power, whether it was conferred or
ufurped : whether ever thofe who loved, or thofe whofeared
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314 "^ke History of the Life
_^'^^^'^7^^'
feared him-, Pompey feemed to value none but
Co(r*^^^^ ^^^
offered'^ nor to have any defire togovern^
C, Julius^^^' "^^^^ ^^^ Z^^^ ^^^^ ^/ the governed. What lei-
C^sAR Die- fure he found from his wars, he employed in thetator II.
ftudy ofpolite Letters, and
efpecially of elo-
muf Maff ^"^"C^? ^"^.
"^^^^^^ ^^ "^ould haveacquired great
Equit.fame^ if his
genius had not drawn him to the mort
dazzling glory of arms : yet he pleaded feveril
caufes withapplaufe, in the defence of his frie;ids
and clients; and fome ofthem in conjundion with
Cicero. His language was copious and elerated;his fentiments juft ; his voice fweet
; hir adlion
noble, and full ofdignity. But his tale.its were
better formed for arms, than the gown: for
though in both he obferved the famedifcipline,
a perpetual modefty, temperance, and gravity of
outward behaviour; yet
inthe licence of camps,
the example was more rare andflriking. His
perfon was extremely gracefull, andimprinting
refped ; yet with an air of referve and haughti-
nefs, which became the General better than the
Citizen. Hisparts were
plaufible, rather than
great ; fpecious rather than penetratirg ; and his
view of politics but narrow ; for his chief inftru^
ment ofgoverning was, diffmulation ,- yet he had
not always the art to conceal his real fentiments.
As he was a better foldier than a flatefman, fo
what he gained in the Camp he ufually loft in the
City ; and though adored, when abroad, was of-
ten affronted and mortified at home\
till the im-
prudent oppofition of the Senate drove him to
that alliance with CrafTus and C^far, whch prov-ed fatal both to himfelf and the Republic. Hetook in thefe two, not as the
partners,but the
miniflers rather of his power 5 that by givingthem fome fhare with him, he might make his
own authority uncontroulable : he had no reafon
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 31^
to apprehend,that they could ever prove his Ri- A. Urb. 706,
vals ;fince neither of them had any credit or
^p*^*chara6ter of that kind, which alone could raife q Ju^l/us
them above thelaws
j a fuperior fame and expe- c^sar Dic-rience in war, with the militia of the empire at tator II.
their devotion : all this was purely his own ; till^- An To-
by cherifhing Casfar, and throwing into his hands^ ^|
^^'
the onely thing which he wanted, arms and mili-
tary command ; he made him at lad too flrong
for himfelf, and never began to fear him, till it
was too late : Cicero warmly difTuaded. both his
union, and his breach with C^far ; and after the
rupture, as warmly flill, the thought of giving
him battel : if any of thefe counfils had been fol-
lowed, Ponipey had preferved his life and honor,
and the Republic itsliberty. But he was urged
to his fate
by
a natural
fuperflition,
and attenti-
on to thofe vain auguries, with which he was
flattered by all the Harufpices ;he had feen the
fame temper in Marius and Sylla, and obferved
the happy effefts of it : but they afllimed it one-
ly out of policy,he out of
principle. Theyufed it to animate their foldiers, v/hen they had
found a probable opportunity of nghting ; buthe againil
all prudence andprobability, was en-
couraged by it to fight to his own ruin. He faw
all his miflakes at lalt, when it was out of his
power to corre6l them ; and in his wretched
llightfrom Pharfalia was forced to confefs, that
he had trufted too much to his hopes ; and that Ci-
cero hadjudged better^ and feen farther intothings
than he. The refolution offeeking refuge in
Egypt, finifhed the fadCataflrophe of this great
man : the Father of thereigning Prince had been
highly obliged to him for his protection at Rome,and refloration to his kingdom : and the Son had
fent a confiderable fieet tohis alTiflance in the
prefenc
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3i6 The History of the LipA. Urb. 706. prefeat war : but in this ruin of his fortuned?
Cofr*what gratitude was there to be expeded from a
C. Julius Court, governed by Eunuchs andmercenary Greeks?
C^sAR Die- all whofe politics turned, not on the honor ofutorll. the King, but the eftablifhment of their own
Niu^Ma' power; which waslikely to be
eclipfed by the
Equit.
^'admiflion of Pompey. How happy had it been
for him to have died in that ficknefs, when all
Italy was putting up vows and prayers for hisfafe^
iy? or if he had fallen by the chance of war on
the plainsof Pharfalia, in the defence of his
Country's liberty,he had died Hill
glorious,
though unfortunate : but, as if he had been re-
ferved for an example of theinflability of human
Greatnefs, he, who a few days before command-
ed Kings and Confuls^and all the nohleft of Rome,
was fentenced to die by a council of flaves \ mur-thered by a hafe defertor ; caft out naked and hcad-
lefs on the Egyptian flrand ; and when the whole
earthy as Velleius fays, had fcarce beenfufficient
for his victories^ could not find a fpot upon it atlafb
for a grave. His Body was burnt on the fhoar
by one of his freedmen, with the planks of an
old fifhing-boat \ and his afhes being conveyed to
Rome, were depofited privately hy his wife Cor-
Tielia in a Vault of his Alhan Villa. The Egyp-tians however raifed a monument to him on the
place, and adorned it with figures of hrafs^ which
being defaced afterwards by time, and buried al-
moftin
fandand
rubhifh^
wasfought
out and re-
ftored by the Emperor Hadrian [/].
[/] Hnjus viri faftigiam dem faceret monumenta vic-
tantis au6tibus fortuna extu- torise, [Veil. P. 2. 40.] Ut
lit, ut primum ex Africa, ite-ipfe
in condone dixit, All-
ium ex Europa, tertio ex A- am ultimam provinciarum
fia triumpharet ;& quot par- accepifTe, mediam patriae
red-
tes terrarum Orbis funt, toti- didilTe. Plin. H. 7.26. Flor.
3- S-]
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3i8^^^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 706. and M. Antony his Majler of the Horfe^ who by vir-
Cic. 60. tue of that pofl governed all things abfolutely in
Coff.
Italy.Cicero continued all the while at Brundi-
'cl^sAR^Dic- fium, in a fituation wholly difagreeable, and worfe
tator II. to him^ he fays,than any punijhment : for the air
M. Anto-of the place began to affe^ his healthy and to the
Nius Mag.uneafinefs of mind added an ill flate of body [^] :
^^^'yet to move nearer towards Rome without leave
from his new Mafters, was not thought advife-
able ; nor did
Antony encourage
it ;
being pleafedrather, we may beheve, to fee him well mortified :
fo that he had no hopes of any eafe or comfort,
. but in the expedlationof Casfar's return ; which
made his Hay in that placethe more
necefTary for
the opportunity of paying his early complimentsto him at landing.
But what gave him the greatefl uneafmefs was,
to be held flill in fufpence, in what touched him*
the moft nearly, the cafe of his ownfafety,
and of Casfar's difpofitiontowards him : for
though all Casfar's friends afllired him, notcnely
of pardon^ but of all kind of favor -, yet he had
received no intimation of kindnefs from C^far
himfelf, who was fo embarrafTed in Egypt, that
he had no leifure to think of Italy,and did not
lb much as write a Letter thither from December
to June : for as he had rafhly,and out of
gaiety,
in tantum in illo viro a fe Vicerunt. Igitur fortunaip-
difcordante fortuna, ut cui Jius & Urbis
modo ad viftoriam terra de- Servatum vidlo caput abilulit.
fuerat deeffet ad fepulturam. Juv, x. 283.
Veil. Pat. 2. 54. vid. Dio.p. [gl Quodvis enim fuppli-
186. it. Appian. 2. 481. cium levius eft hac permanfi-one. Ad Att. xi. 18.
Provida Pompeio dederat Jam enim corpore vix fuf-
Campania febres tineo gravitatem hujus coeli,
Optandas. Sed multas urbes, qui mihi laborem afftrt, in
& publica vota dolore ibid. 22.
as
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cf M.TULLIUS CICERO. ppas It were, Involved himfelf there in a mofl de- A. Urb. 706.
fperate war, to the hazard of all his fortunes ;be ^^^- ^^
was ajhamed^as Cicero fays \h\ to write any thing q tJ' ^
about it, till he had extricated himfelf out of that cIesar Die-
difficulty,tator II.
His enemies in the mean time had greatly^- ^'"^ to-
flrengthened themfelves in Africa, where P. Varus, ^^^S-
who firfl feized it on the part of the Republic,
was fupported by all the force of King Juba,
Pompey's faft friend, and had reduced the whole
Province to his obedience ; for Curio, after he
had driven Cato out of Sicily, being ambitious to
jH
drive Varus alfoout of Afric, and having tranf-"
ported thither the beft part offour legions, which
Csefar had committed to him, was, after fome lit-
tle fuccefs upon his landing, intirely defeated and
deftroyedwith his whole
armyin an
engagementwith Sabura, King Juba^s General.
Curio was a young nobleman of fhining parts ;
admirably formed by nature to adorn that cha-
ra6ter, in which his Father and Grandfather had
florifhed before him, of one of the principal
Orators of Rome, Upon his entrance into the Fo-
rum, he was committed to the care of Cicero :
but a natural propenfion to pleaiure, ftimulated
by the example and counfils of his perpetual com-
panion Antony, hurried him into all the extra-
vagance of expence and debauchery : for Antony,who always wanted money, with which Curio
abounded, was ever obfequious to his will, and
miniftring to his Lufts, for the opportunity of
gratifying his own : fo that, noboy purchafedfor
the ufe of lewdnefs, was more in a Majler's power,
[/] Ille enim ita videtur Nee poftidiis Decemb. ab
Alexandriam tenere, ut eum illo datas ullas litteras. lb.
feribcre etiam pudeat de illis 17,
rebus. lb. xi. 15.
than
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320 ^e History of the Life
A. Urb. 706, than Antony in Curio's, He was equally prodigalCic. 60. of his money, and his modelly ; and not
onely
C Ujlius^^ ^^^ ^^"' ^^ ^^^^^ people's: fo that Ci-
C^sAR Die- c^^o alluding to the infamous effeminacy of his
tator II. life, calls him in one of his Letters, Mifs Curio.
M. Anto" But when the Father, by Cicero's advice, hadNius Mag.
obliged him by his paternal authority toquit the
familiarity of Antony \ he reformed his condudl,
and adhering to the infbrudions and maxims of
Cicero, became the favorite of the City; the
Leader of the young nobility : and a warm af-
fertor of the authority of the Senate, againft the
power of the Triumvirate. After his Father's
death, upon his firft tafte of public honors, and
admiffion into the Senate, his ambition and thirft
of popularity engaged him in fo immenfe a pro-
digality, that to fupplythe
magnificence of his
fhews^ and plays^with which he entertained the
City, he was foon driven to thenecefiity of fell-
ing himfelf to Casfar ; having no revenue left^ as
Pliny fays,hut from the difcord of his Citizens.
For this he is confidered commonly by the old
writers, as the chief injlrument, and the Trumpet^
as it were., of the civil war ; in which he juftly
fell the firft vidlim ; yet after all his luxury and
debauch, fought and died with a courage truly
Roman ; which would have merited a better fate,
if it had been employed in a better caufe : for up-
on the lofs of the battel, and his beft troops,
beingadmonifhed
byhis friends to fave himfelf
by flight,he anfv/ered, that after lofing
an army,
which had heen committed to him by C^far^ he could
never ffoew his face to him again ;and fo conti-
nued fighting,till he was killed among the laft
of his foldiers [i\
CURIO S
[z] Haud all urn ta?ita clvem tulit indole P^otna. Lncan 4.
814. ,
Una
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2^ Tof MTULLIUS CICERO.
Curio's death happened before the battel of ^-
U'"^^7
Pharfalia, while C^far was engaged in Spain [k]:
coiT
^
by which means Afric fell intirelyinto the hands q Juliu;
of thePompeians ;
and became thegeneral
ren- Caesar o
dezvous of all that party : hither Scipio, Cato,tator II.
and Labienus, conveyed the remains of their^^^^
^T^'^
fcattered troops from Greece, as Afranius andEquit.
"^
Petreius likewife did from Spain ,till on the
whole they had brought together again a more
numerous SLYmy than Caefar's, and Vv^ere in fuch
high fpirits, as to talk of coming over with it in-
to Italy, before Csfar could return from Alexan-
dria [/].This was confidently given out, and
expected at Rome-,and in that cafe, Cicero was
Una familia Curionem, in
qua tres continua ferie Ora-
tores extiterunt. Plin. H. 7.
AI.
Naturaiti habult admira-
bilem ad dicendum. Brut.
406.Nemo unquam puer, emp-
tus libidinis caufa, tarn fuit
in domini poteflate, quam tu
in Curionis.
[Philip.
2.
18].duce filiola Curionis. [ad Att.
I.14.]
Vir nobilis, eloquens, au-
dax, fuas alienaeque & fortu-
ns Sc pudiciti^ piodigus
cujus animo, voluptatibus vel
libidinibus, neque opes ullae
neque cupiditates fufficere
poffent. [Veil. P. 248.]
Niii meis puer olim fide-
liffimis atque amantifTimis
confiliis paruiiTes. [Ep. fam,
2- I]
Bello autem civili non
alius majorem quain C. Cilrio
fubjecit facem [Veil.P. 2.
^ad nunc Rojlra tibi profunt
turhata-, forumqiie
Vnde 'Tribunitia plebeius Jtgni-
fer arce
Anna dabas populis,^c.
Lucan. 4. 800.
At Curio, nunquam amif-
fo exercitu,quern
a Caefare
fidei fuae commiffum acce-
perat, fe in ejus confpeftum
reverfurum, confirmat ; at-
que itapraelians
interficitur.
Caef. Comm. de Bell. Civ. 2.
[/^] Jntejaces, quam dlra du-
ces Pharfalia confert^
Spe^Mtdutnque tibi bellum clti'
le negatum ej}.
Lucan. ib.
[/] li autem ex Africa
jam afrutun videntur. Ad
Att. xi.15.
Vol. II. fure
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:t,i2 .The History of theLife
A. Urb. 706. fure to be treated as a defertor-,
for while C^farCic. 60.
locked upon all men as friends^ who did not aB
C. Julius CLgainft him^ and pardoned even enemies, who
CiESAR Die- fiibmitted to his power , it was declared law ontator II. the other fide, to confider all as enemies^ whoM. Anto-
rjQ^y^ ^Qf aMually in their Camp [m] : fo that Cicero
Equk^^ ^^^ nothing now to wifh, either for himfelf, or
the Republic, but in the firft place, peace, of
which he hadftill fome hopes [n] ; or elfe, that
Csefar
might conquer; whofe
vidtory
was like to
prove the more ten.iperateof the two : which
makes him often lament the unhappy fituation
to which he w^as reduced, wherenothing could he
of an^ fervice to him, hut what he had always ab-
horred[(?]
Under this anxiety of mind, it was an addi-
tional vexation to him to hear, that his reputation
was attacked at Rome, for fubmitting fohaflily to
the Conqueror, or putdng himfelf rather at all
into his power. Some condemned him for not
following Pompey ;fome more
feverely for not
going to Afric, as thegreateft part had done ;
others, for fiot retiring with many cf his party to
Achaia ; till they could fee the farther progrefs
of the war : as he was always extremely fenfible
of what was faid of him by honed men, fo he
begs of Atticus to be his advocate ; and gives
[;] Te enim dicere audie-fignificas, cogis me fperare
bamus, nos omnes adverfa- quod optandam vix ell ad
rios putare, nifi qui nc birciim Att. xi. 19. it. 12.
efTenc ; te omnes, qui contra[0]
Mihi cum omnia funt
te non elTent, tuos. Pro Li- intolerabliia ad dolorem, turn
gar. xi. it. ad Att. xi. 6. maxime, quod in eam cau-
[] Eft autem, unum, fam veniiTe me video, ut ea
quod mihi fit oprandum, fi Tola uti'ia mihi eiTevideantur,
quid agi de pace point : quod quae femper nolui. Ad Att.
nulla equidem habeo in fpe : xi. 13.
fed quia tu leviter interdum
him
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of M, TULLIUS CICERO. 323
iilm fome hints, which might be urged in his A. Urb. yoS
defence. As to the firfl charge, for not follow- ^^^^^
ing Pompey^ he fays,"
that Pompey's fate q ju^i^g*'
would extenuate the omiffion of that ftep:
Caesar Dic-*' of the fecond, that though he knew many atorir.
" brave men to be in Afric, yet it was his opinion,^* Anto-
''that the Republic neither could, nor ought to
^^^^^
^"^^*
*'be defended by the help of fo barbarous and
'treacherous a nation : as to the third, he wifhes
" indeed that he had joined himfelf to thofe in
" Achaia, and owns them to be in a better con-"
dition than himfelf, becaufe they were many** of them together ; and whenever they return-
" ed to Italy, would be reflored to their own''
at once :" whereas he was confined like apri-
foner of war to Brundifium^ without theliberty
ofilirring
from it till Csefar arrived[^].While he continued in this uneafy flate,
fome of his friends at Rome contrived to fend
him a Letter in Ctcfar's name^ dated the ninth of
February from Ale:Kandria^ encouraging him to lay
afide all gloomy apprehenfions^and expeB every
thing that was kind and friendly from him : but it
was drawn in terms fo flight and general^ that in-
Itead of giving him any fatisfadion, it made him
onely fulped, what he perceived afterwards to
be true, that it was forged by Balbus or OppiuSy
on purpofe to raife hisfpirits,
and adminifter
[/] Dicebar debuIiTe cum extremum eft eorum, qui in
Pompeio proficifci. Exitus Achaia funt. li tamen ipii
illius minuit ejus officii pras-le hoc melius habenr, quam
termiffi reprehenfionem.- nos, quod & multi funt uno
Sed ex omnibus nihil magis in loco, & cum in Italian*
defideratur, quam quod in venerit, domum flatim vc-
Africam nonierim. judkio nerint. Haec tu perge,ut
hoc fum ufjs, non &kz bar- facis, mitigare& probar*
barisauxiliisfallacifiimsegen- quam plurimis. Ad Att. xi.
tis
Rempub. defendendam 7.
y 2 fome
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3 24 77v History cf the Life
A. Urb. 706. fome little comfort to him[^].
All his accounts
Cic. 60. however confirmed to him the report of Caefar's
Coff.clemency and moderation, and his granting par-
.
Julius ^^^ without exception to all who afked it; andC'ESAR Die-1 r ir ^ r r r^ - . %
tator 11.with regard to himlelr, L^far Jent ^intus s vi-
M. An TO- rulent Letters to Balbus^ with orders to Jhew them
Nius Mag. fQ lifn^ as a proof of his kindnefs and diflike of
Equit.Quintus's perfidy. But Cicero's prefent defpon-
dency, which interpreted every thing by his fears,
made himfufpe3l C<far
the more^ forrefujtng
grace to none ;as if fuch a clemency muft needs
be affedted, and his revenge deferred onely to a
feafonmore convenient : and as to Ms Brother's
Letters^ he fancied, that C^far did not fend them
to Italy ^ becaufehe condemned them^ but to make his
prefent miferyand
abje5icondition the more notorious
and defpicable to every body [r].
But after a long feries of perpetual mortifica-
tions, he was refrefhed at lafh by a very obliging
Letter from C^far, who confirmed to him the
full enjoyment of his former fiate and dignity^and
had him refume his Fafees and flile of Emperor as
'before [.f].Caefar's mind was too great to lillen
to
Iq]Ut me ilia epiftola
ni- lum reddidit Balbi tabellariui
hil confoletur; nam & exi- quod ne Caefar quidem ad
gue fcripta eft et magnas fuf- iftos videtur mifiiTe, quafi
piciones habet, non efie ab quo ilHus improbitate offen-
illo ad Att. xi. 16. deretur, fed credo, uti no-
Exquo intelligis,
illud de tiora noftra mala effent, ib,
litteris a. d. v. Id. Feb. daris 22.
(quod inane effet, etiam fi[^]
Redditae 'mihi tandem
verum eflet) non verum effe. funt a Csfare litterae fatis li-
Ib. 17.berales. Ep. Fam. 14. 23.
[r]Omnino dicitur nemi- Qui ad me ex ^gypto lit-
ni negare : quod ipfum eft teras miltt, ut eflem idem,
fufpedum, notionem ejus dif- qui fuilTem : qui cum ipfe
ferri. Ib. 20. Imperator in toto imperio
Dib'genter mihi fafcicu- populi Komani unus efleti
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 325-
to the tales of tbe Brother and Nephew ;and in- A. Urb. 706.
(lead of approving their treachery, ieems to have^p ^^'
granted them their pardon on Cicero's account, c j^lius
rather than their own;fo
thatQuintus, uponthe
c^sar Die-trial of Caefar's inclination, began prefently
to tator II.
change his note, and to eongralulate with bisBro-^^-^^^^'
ther (? Caefar's affeclion and efteem for him[/]. ^[^^
^^'
Cicero was now preparingto fend his Son to
wait upon C^far^ who was fuppofed to be upon his
journey- towards home ; but the uncertain accounts
of his coming diverted him a while from that
thought [u] , till Casfar himfelf prevented ir,
and relieved him very agreeablyfrom his tedious
refidence at Brundifium, by his {"jdden and un-
cxpedted arrival in Italy;where he landed at
Tarentum in the month of September ; and on
the firft notice of his
coming
forward towards
Rome, Cicerofet
out on foot to meet him.
We may eafily imagine, what we find indeed
from his Letters, that he was not a little difcom-
pofed at the thoughts of this interview, and the
indignity of offering himfelf to a Conqueror,
againft whom he had been in arms, in the midft
of a licentious and infolent rabble: for though
he had reafon to exped a kind reception from
C^far, yet he hardly thought hislife^
he fays,
worth begging ; fince what was given by a Mafier^
might always he taken away again atpleafure [,v].
3 But
efTe me alterum pafTuseft : a cogitabam.
lb. 17.
quo concefibs fafces laurea- De iliius Alexandria dif-
tos tenui, quoad tenendos pu- ceflu nihil adhuc rumoris,
tavi. Pro I.igar. 3. contraque opinio itaque nee
[/] Sed mihi valde Quin- mitto, ut conftitueram, Ci-
tus gratulatur.Ad Att. xi. ceronem- ib. 18.
23. [a-]Sed non adducor,
[] Ego cum Salluftio Ci- quemquam bonum ullam fa-
^eronem ad Ccefarem mittere lutem mihi Unti fuifTe pu-tare
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325 ^The HisroKY of the Life
A. Urb. 706. But at their meeting, he had no occafion to fayCic. 60.
Qj. ^Q ^j^y thing that was below his dignity : for
C TuLius C^r no foonerfaw him^ than healighted and ran to
Ci??,sAR Die- embrace him-, and walked with him alone^ converf-tator II.
ing 'very familiarly for feveral furlongs [jy ].
^"'^M
^' From this interview, Cicero followed Csefar
tquit^^* towards Rome : he propofed to be at Tufadum on
the feventh or eighth of October , and wrote to his
wife to provide for his reception there, with a
large company of frieyids^ whodeftgned
to make fome
Jlay with him [z]. From Tufculum he came after?
wards to the City, with a refolution to fpend his
time in ftudy and retreat, till the Republic Ihould
be reftored to fome tolerable Hate :"
having*' made his peace again, as he writes to Varro,^^ with his old friends, his books, who had been*'
out of humour with him for not obeying their"precepts ; but inftead of living quietly with
*'them, as Varro had done, committing himfelf
*^ to the turbulent counfils and hazards of war,*' with faithlefs companions [^]."
On C^far's return to Rome, he appointed P.
Vatinius and ^, Fufius Calenus^ Confuls for th^
three lajl months of the year : this was a very un-
popular ufe of his new power, v/hich he conti-
nued hov/ever to pra6tife through the reft of his
teign ; creating thefe firft Magiftrates of the State,
without any regard to the ancient forms, or re-
courfe to the people, and at any tirne of the
tare, ut earn peterem ab illo quam in urbem venerim, re-
rad Att. xi. 16. diiTe cum veteribus amicis,Sed ab hoc ipfo quae id elt, cum libris noftris in
dantur, ut a Domino, rurfus gratiam ignofcunt mihi, re-
in ejufdem funt potcHate. lb. vocant in confuetudinempri-
20. ftinam, teque, quod in ea
[j;]Plutar. in Cic. permanferis , fapientiorem,
[z] Ep. fam. 14. 2Q. quam me dicunt fuiffe, &c.
[a] Scito enim me pollea- Ep.fam.
9.
^'
'
y^arj
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IC-
of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 327
year; which gave a fenfible difgufl to the City,A, Urb. 706
and an early fpecimen of the arbitrary manner, ^'J-^-
in which he defigned to govern them. q t^^iu
About the end of the year, Casfar embark- c^sar Ded for Afric, to purfue the war againil Scipio,
tator II.
and the other Pompeian Generals, who, afTifbed^- Anto-
by King Juba, held the pofleffionof that Pro-
^ '^'^
^'^'
vince with a vail army. As he wasfacrificing
p for the fuccefs of this voyage, the vi^im hap-
pened to breakloofe
and run away from the Altar ;
which being looked upon as an unlucky Omen,
,
the Arufpex admonijhed him not to fail before the
winterfolfiice
r but he took Ihip dire6lly in con-
tempt of the admonition j and by that means, as
Cicero fays, came upon his enemies unprepared \
and before they had drawn together all their
forces \b\ Uponhis
leavingthe
City,he de-
Y 4 clared
M QHitl ip^<2 Csefar, over before the Solftice, or
cum a Summo harufpice mo- the Ihorteft day. But this
neretur, ne in Africam ante feeming contradidlion is in-
bramam tranfmitteret, nonnetirely owing to a caufe al-
tranfmirit ? quod ni fecifTet, ready intimated, the great
uno in lobo omnes adverfari- confuilon that was introducedorum copiae ConvejiiiTent at this time into the Romande Divin. 2. 24. Kalendar, by which the
Cum immolanti aufuglflet months were all tranfpofed
hoilia profedionem adver- from their ftated feafons\ fo
fas Scipionem & Jubam non that the z-jth ofDecember^ on
diftulit Sueton.J. Csef, which, according to their
59. computation, Caefar embark-
Hirtius, in his account of ed, was in reality coincident,
this war, fays, that Casfar or the fame with our %th ofembarked at Lilyb^um for Odober, and confequently a-
Afric on the Cith of the Kalends bove two months before the
rf Jan. [de Bell. Afric.inic.J Solftice, or Ihorteft day. All
That is, on the 2,jth of our which is clearly and accurate^
December : whereas Cicero, inly explaned in a learned dif-
the paffage juft cited, de- fertation, publiflied by a per^
(flares him to have pafled fon of emicent merit in the
Uiiiverlity
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22S ^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 737.clared himfelf Conful, together with M. LepidusCic. 6i. for the year enfuing-,
and gave the government of^^*
the Hither Gaul io M. Brutus ; of Greece^ to Servius
C SAR^III Sulpicius ;
the firft of
whomhad been in
armsVi. ^MiLius againft
him at Pharfaha-,and the fecond was a
liPiDus. favorer likewife of the Pompeian caufe^ and a great
friend of Cicero, yet feems to have taken no part
in the w'ar \c\
The African war now held the v^hole Empirein fufpenfe , Scipio's name was thought ominous
and invincible on that ground : but w^hile the ge-
neral attention was employed on the expeclation
of fome decifive blow, Cicero, defpairing of any
good from either fide, chofe to live retired, and
out of fight ;and whether in the City or the
*
Country, fhut himfelt up with his books; which,
as he oftenfays,
had hitherto been the
diverjioncnely^ hut were no^u). become the fupport of his
life [i]. In this humor of fludy he entered into
a clofe friendfliipand correfpondence of Letters
with M. Terentius Varro-,a
friendfhip equally
valued on both fides, and at Varro's defire, im-
mortalized by the mutual dedication of theiF
learned works to each other , cf Cicero's Academic
^.eflionsto Varro ; of Varro's treatife on the Lativ^
Tongue^ to Cicero. Varro wks a Senator of the
firfl diilin6lion, both for birth and merit; efleem-
ed the niofilearned man of Rome \ and though now
?.bove fourfcore years old, yet continuedflill writ-
ing and ptiblifmng books to hiseighty-eighth year [^].
Univeruty of Cambridge, [^] A quibus antea de-
who chufes to conceal his Icftationem modopeiebamus,name. See Bibliothec. Li- nunc vero etiarn faiatem. Ep.terar. N^. Vlli.Lond. 1724. fam. 9.
2.
4to. [^]Nifi M. Vaironem fci-
[rjBrutum Gallic prsefe- rem odogefimo odlavo vitas
clt ; Sulpicium Gra^cise. Ep. anno prodidilTe, &c. Plin.
is^m. 6, 6, Hill. 6. 6.
He
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of M.7ULLIUS CICERO. 329
He was Pompey's Lieutenant in Spain, in the be- A. Urb. 7Q7.
ginning of the war; but after the defeat of A-^^^'t^'
franius and Petreius quitted his arms, and retired q Junius
to his ftudies ; fo that his prefent circumflances C^sar IIL
were not very different from thofe of Cicero ;M. ^milius
who in all his Letters to him, bev/ails with great^^^^^**
freedom the utter ruin of the flate-,and propofes,
^' that they fhould live togetherin a flridl com-
^' munication of ftudies, and avoid at leaft the
"fight,
if not the tongues of men ; yet fo, that
''if their new Mafters fhould call for their help
*' towards fettlingthe RepubHc, they fhould run
*' with pleafure,and aflift, not onely as archi-
*'tedls, but even as mafons to build it up again j
*' or if nobody would employ them, fhould'^ write and read the beft forms of government ;
*'
and, as the learned ancients had done before*'
them, ferve their Country, if not in the Se-*' nate and Forum, yet by their books and*'
ftudies, and by compofmg treatifes of morals*' and laws [/]."
In this retreat he wrote his bock of Oratcrial
Partitions ,or the art of ordering and
diftributing
the parts of an Oration fo, as to adapt them in
the beft manner to their proper end, of movingand perfuading an audience. It was written for
the inftrud:ion of his fon, now about eighteen
years old, but feems to have been the rude
draught only of what he intended, or not to have
been finifhed at leaft to his fatisfadlion;
fince
we
[/] Non deefle ii quis ad- 'rr-.h^i'iA?; & fi minus in cu-
hibere volet, non modo ut ria atque in foro, at in lit-
Architeclos, verum etiam ut teris & libris, ut dodliflimi
fabros, ad sedificandamRem- veteres feccrunt, navare
pub. & potius libenter accur- Rempub. & de moribus &rere ii nemo utetur opera, legibus qua>rere. Mihi haec
tamen & fcribere &legers
videntur.
Ep,fam.
9.2.
fiad
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330 T'he Hi STORY of the Life
A. Urb. 707, find no mention of it in any of his Letters, as of
^"^^'- all his other pieces which were prepared for the
C. Julius pi^DJlC.
Cjesar III. Another fruit of this leifare was his Dia-M. ^MiLius logue on famous Orators^ called Brutus ; in whichXiEpjDus' j^e gives a fhort charadter of all, who had ever flo-
rifhed either in Greece or Rome^ with any reputa-
tion of eloquence, down to his own times : and as
he generally touches the principal points of each
man's life, fo an attentive reader may find in it
an Epitome^ as it were, of the Roman Hiftory,
The conference is fuppofed to be held with Bru-
tus and Atttcus in Cicero's garden at Rome^ under
the Statue of Plato [g'\ -,whom he always ad-
mired, and ufually imitated in the manner of his
Dialogues j and in this feems to have copied
from himthe
veryform of his
doubletitle
, Bru-tus^ or cf famous Orators
'^taken from the fpeak*
er and the fubje6l, as in Plato'spiece, called
Ph^edon^ or of the ScuL This work was intend-
ed as a fupplement^ or a fourth book to the three^
which he had before publilhed on the complete
Orator, But though it was prepared and finifh-r
ed at this time, while Cato was livings as it is in-
timated in fome partsof it, yet, as it appears
from the preface,it was not made public till the
year following, after the death of his daughter
Tullia.
As at the opening of the war we found D*
cero in debt to
C^far^
fo we now meet with fe-
veral hints in his Letters of Casfar's being indebt-
ed to him. It arofe probably from a mortgage,
that Cicero had upon the confifcated eftate of
fome Pompeian, which Casfar had feized : but
[^] Cum idemplacuiflet
Platonis Stataam confedimus
jlUs,turn in
pratulo, propter^rr-^rut. 2^.
I of
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 331
oF what kind foever it was, Cicero was in painA. Urb. 707.
for his money :
" he faw but three ways, hefays, ^p'^**
^' of gettingit ; by purchafing the eilate at Cas- q Juli'us
" far's audion ; or taking an aiTignment on the c^sar III.
**
purchafer ; or compounding for half with the M. ^Emilius
*' Brokers or Money-jobbers of thofe times 5
Lepidus.
" who would advance the money on thofe terms,
*' The firft he declares to be bafe, and that he*' would rather lofe his debt, than touch any*^
thing
confifcated : the fecond he
thought
ha-
*' zardous-,and that nobody would pay any thing
*'in fuch uncertain times : the third he liked the
"beft, but defires Atticus's advice upon it
[i']."
He now at laft parted with his wife Terentia^
whofe humor and condudb had long been uneafy
to him : this drew upon him fome cenfure; for
putting away a wife, who had lived with himabove thirtyyears^ the faithfull partner of his bed
and fortunes , and the mother of two Children^
extremely dear to him. But fhe was a woman
of an imperious and turbulentfpirit ; expenfive
and negligent in her private affairs ; bufy and in-
triguingin the public ; and, in the height of her
hufband's power, feems to have had the chiefhand
in the diflribution of all his favors. He had eafi-
ly born her perverfenefsin the vigor of health,
and the florifhingflate of his fortunes
;but in a
declining life, foured by a continual fuccefTion of
mortifications from abroad, the want of eafe and
quietat home was no
longertolerable to
him:
thedivorce however was not likely to cure the diffi-
culties, in which her management had involved
[/^]Nomen illud, quod a die: (quis erit, cui cred?:m ?)
Caefare, tres habet conditio- aut Vedteni condicionem,
nes ; aut emtionem ab hafta; femifle. aKi-sldiig\i\iv.
Ad
perderemale:
)aut dele- Att. 12. 3.
gationem a mancipe, annua
him :
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332 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 707. him : for fhe had brought him a great fortune*
Cic. 61. which was all to be reftored to her atparting:
Coff.^j^'g niade a fecond marriage neceflary, in order
cks^R^ III ^^ repair the ill ftate of his affairs , and his friends
M. ^MiLius of both fexes were bufy in providing a ik match
X.EPIDUS. for him : feveralparties
were propofed to him,
and among others, a daughter of Pompey the
Great : for whom he feems to have had an incli-
nation : but a prudential regard to the times, and
the
envy
and ruin under which that
family
then
lay, induced him probably to drop it[t]. What
gave his enemies the greater handle to rally him
was, his marrying a handfom young woman,named Publilia, of an age difproportionate to his
own, to whom he was Guardian : but fhe was
well allied, and rich; circumftances very con-
venient to him at this time ; as he intimates in aLetter to a friend, who congratulated with him
on his marriage.*' As to your giving me joy, fays he, for what
'*I have done, 1 know you wifh it : but I Ihould
*' not have taken any nev/ flepin fuch wretched
*'times, if at my return I had not found my pri-
'' vate affairs in no better condition than thofe of
*' the Republic. For when through the wick-
*' ednefs of thofe, who, for my infinite kindnefs
*^ to them, ought to have had the greateft con-
*' cern for my welfare, I found no fafety or eafe
^' from their intriguesand perfidy within my
*'
own walls, I thoughtit
necelTary to fecure my-*'felf by the fidelity
of new alliances againil the
*'treachery of the old [].''
[/]De Pompeii Magni fi- fcribis, puto nofti. Nihil
lia ubi refcripfi, nihil me vidi fcedius. ib. 12. li.
hoc tempore cogitare. Al- [/-] Ep. fam. 4. 14.
teram vero illam, quam tu In cafes of divorce, when
there
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO.^
333
Ci^SAR returned vidorious from Afric about A. Urb. 707.
the end of July, by the way of Sardinia, where^p'^'*
he fpent fome days : upon which Cicero fays q Julius
plcafantly in a Letter to Varro, he had never feen Cjesar III.
that farm of hisbefore^ which though one of the^- ^milius
worft that he has, he does not yet defpife [/].The ^^pidus,
uncertain event of the African War had kept the
Senate under fome referve;but they now began
to pufh theirflattery beyond all the bounds of
decency, and decreed more extravagant honors
to Csefar, than were ever given before to man ;
which Cicero oft rallies with great fpirit ; and be-
ing determined to bear no partin that fervile adu-
lation, was treating about the purchafe of a Houfeat Naples^ for a pretence of
retiring flill farther
and oftener from Rome. But his friends who
knew his impatience under their prefent fub-jedlion, and the free way of
fpeaking, which he
was apt toindulge, were in ibme pain, left he
Ihould forfeit die good graces of Cxfar and his
there where children, it wasluj}, and MeJ/'alafor her thirds
the cuftom for eachparty
to Dio Caffius
givesher a
make a fettlement by will on fourth, Vibius Rufus ; whotheir common offspring, pro- was Conful in the reign of
portionable to their feveral Tiberius, and valued himfelf
ellates : which is the mean- for thepofrefTion
of two
ng of Cicero'spreffing At- things, which had belonged
ticus fo often in his Letters to the twogreateft
menof the
to put Terentia in mind of age before him, Cicero'sixife,
snaking her will, and depo- and Co-far s chair, in n^jhicb
fiting it in fafe hands. Ad he ixias killed. Dio. p. 612,
Att. xi. 21, 22, 24: xii. Hieron. Op. To. 4. par. 2.
18.p. 190-
Terentia is faid to have li-\t\
Illud enim adhuc prce-red to the ageofa// huyidredand dium fuum non infpexit
: nee
threeyears [V'al. M. 8. 13. ullum habet deterius, fed ta-
Plin. H. 7, 48.] and took as men non contemnit. Ep.St. Jerom fays, for her fecond fam.
9. 7.
hulband, Cicero'! emmy, S:d-
favorltes,
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334^^^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 707. favorites, and provoke them too far by theCic. 61. keennefs of his raillery [m]. They prefTed him to
^ . accommodate himfelf to the times; and to ufe more
C^sAR III. caution m his dilcourle -, and to reiide more at
M. ^Emilius Rome, efpecialwhen Csefar was there, who would
Lepidus.interpret
the diftance and retreat which he affed*
ed, as a proof of his averfion to him.
But his anfwers on this occafion will Ihew
the real ftate of his fentiments and condudt to-
wards Casfar, as well as of Csefar's towardshimj:
writing on this fubje(5tto Papirius Pastus, he
fays ;
*' You are of opinion, Iperceive, that it will
*' not be allowed to m.e, as I thought it might*'
be, to quit thcfe affairs of the City : you tell
'^ me of Catulus, and thofe times ; but what" fimilitude have they to thefe ? I myfelf was
[/] Some of hisjefls
on even with ftrangers and bar-
Caefar's adminiftration are barians. At another time,
ftill preferved ; which fhew, being defired by a friend, in
that his friends had reafon e- a public company, to pro-
nough to admonifh him to curt iox \ns {on the rank of a
be more upon his guard. Senator, in one of the Cor-
Casfar had advanced Labe- porate towns of Italy, he
rius, a celebrated mimic ador^ Jhall ha^ve it, fays he, ifyouto the order of K?iights
: butpleafe,
at Rome, but it njoill
when heftept
from the Stage bedifficult
at Pompeii. An.
into the Theater, to take his acquaintance likewife from
place on the Equejlrianben- Laodicea, coming to pay his
ches, none of the Knights refpedts to him, andbeing
would admit him to a feat afked, what bufmefs had
among them. As he was brought him to Rome, faid,
marching off therefore with that he was fenc upon an em-
difgrace, happening to pafs baffy to Ca^far, to intercede
near Cicero, / njoould make ivith him for theliberty of his
roomforyou here, fays Cicero country ; upon which Cicero
on our bench, if njoe ^Mere not replied, if you fuccede, you
already too much cro'vcded ; al- JJ^alL he an Embajfador alfofor
lading to Caefar's filling up us, Macrob. Saturn. 2. 3.
the Senate alfo with the Sueton. c.
76.fcumm of his creatures, and*'
unwilling
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of M. rULLIVS CICERO. 335**
unwilling at that time, to flir from the guard A.Urb. 707.
** of the ftate ;for I then fat at the helm, and
^p'^***'
held the rudder , but am now fcarce thought q julius**
worthy to work at the pump: would the Se- c^esar III.
*'nate think you pifs fewer decrees, if 1 Ihould M. ^Emilius
^'live at Naples ? while I am ilill at Rome, and I^ep'^us.
*'attend the Forum, their decrees are all drawn
*'at our friend's houfe ; and whenever it comes
**into his head, my name is {qz dov/n, as if
pre-''
fent at drav/ing them -,fo that I hear from Ar-
*' m.enia and Syria of decrees, iaid to be made at
''
my motion, of which I never heard afyl-
*'lable at home. Do not take me to be in jefl ;
*'for I alTure you, that I have received Letters
*' from kings, from the rem.oteft parts of the*'
earth to thank me for giving them' the title
*'
of King ; when, fo far from knowing, that*'
any fuch title had been decreed to them, I
*' knew not even, that there were any fuch men*'
in being. What is then to be done ^ why as
*'
long as our majler cf manners continues here,*'
I will follow your advice ; but as foon as he is
**
gone, will run away to your mufhrooms, ^c.
In another Letter," Since you exprefs, fays
|r
*'he, fuch a concern for me in your lafl, be af-
**fured, my dear P^tus, that w^hatever can be
** done by art, (for it is not enough to a6l with*'
prudence, fome artifice alfo mull now be em-*'
ployed) yetwhatever. I
fay,can be done
by**art, towards acquiring their good graces, I
*' have already done it with the greateft care 5
*' nor as I believe without f.iccefs;
for I am*'
fo much courted by all, who are in any de-
[] Ep. fain.9. 15.
Prre- the new Titles^ which the
fe^us morum, cr mafxer cf the Senate had decreed to Ci^-
puhlic man7ierSy was one of sar."gree
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y^o The History of the Life
A. Urb. 707,"
gree of favor with C^far, that I begin to fah^
^C P'"
^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ' ^^^ though real love h
C. Julius
"^^^ eafily diftinguifhed from falfe, except in
C^sAR III.
"the cafe of danger, by which the fincerity of
M. ^MiLius "it may be tried, as of gold by fire
-,for all
Lepidus. ccother marks are common to both
-, yet I have" one argument to perfuade me, that
they real-*'
ly love me ; becaufe both my condition and*'
theirs is fuch, as puts them under no tempta-*'
tion to diflemble : and as for him, who has
'' all power, I fee no reafon to fear any thing;*^
unlefs that all things become of courfe uncer-*'
tain, when juftice and right are once deferted :
''nor can we be fure of any thing, that depends
'' on the will, not to fay the paflion of another.*' Yet I have not in any inftance particularly of-
"fended him, but behaved myfelf all along with'^the greatefl moderation
-,for as once I took it
*'to be my duty, to fpeak my mind
freelyin
*'that City, which owed its freedom to me ; fo
"now, fince that is loft, to fpeak nothing that
*'
may offend him, or his principal friends : but*'
if I would avoid all offence, of things faid fa-
" cetioufly or by way of raillery,I muft give
"up all
reputation of wit ; which I would not*'
refufe to do, if I could. But as to C^efar''
himfelf, he has a very piercing judgment ^
'' and as your brother Servius, whom 1 take to
*' have been an excellent Critic, would readily*'
fay,this
verfeis
not Flautus^s^that
verfeis
;*'
having formed his ears by great ufe, to di-
*'
ftinguifh the peculiar ftile and manner of dif-
^'ferent Poets ; fo Ca^far, I hear, who has al-
*
ready coUeded Ibme volumes of Apophthegms,"
if any thing be brought to him for mine,*' which is not fo, prefently rejefts it : which he
*^ now does the more eafily, becaufe his friends.
"live
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO.337
"Vivt almoil continually with me ; and in the A. Urb.
707;"
variety of difcourfe, when any thing drops^^^- ^^
*'from me, which they take to have fome hu- q J^
"mor or fpirit in it, they carry it always to him, QjI^akIU"with the other news of the Town, for fuch M. ^Emiliu*
"are his orders : fo that if he hears any thing
^^1*^0^2.
"befides of mine from other perfons, he does not,
"regard it; I have no occafion therefore for your"example of iEnomaus, though aptly applied
''from Accius : for w^hat is the envy, whick
" you fpeak of? or what is tliere in me to be"
envied now ? but fuppofe there was every''
thing : it Ins been the confcant opinion of Phi-''
lolbphers, the onely men in my judgement," who have a right notion of .virtue, thai a
Wije_
*^'man has nothing more to anfiver fci\ than to
keep,"
himjdf free from guilt ;
ofwhich
I
take my-*'felf to be clear, on a double account
; be-*'
caufe I both purfued thole mieafures, which" were the jufleft; and when I faw, that I had
'Vnot llrength enough to carry them, did not"
think it my bufmefs to contend by force with"
thofe, v/ho v/ere too flrono; for me. It IS
" certain therefore, that I cannot be blamed, in^^ what concerns the part of a 2;ood Citizen : all
"that is now left, is not to fay or do any thing
*'
foolifhly and rafhly againir the men in power j
" which I take alfo to be the part of a wife man." As for the refc, what people may report to be"
faid by me, or how he
maytake it, or with
*'^ whatfmcerity thofe live v/ith me, who now fo
"afTiduoufly court me, it is not in my power to
anfwer. I comfort myfelf therefore with the
confcioufnefs of my former condud:, and the
'.'moderation of my prefent ; and fliall apply"your fimilitude from Accius, not onely to the
*'
cafe of envy, but of fortune ^ which I confiderVol. II. Z "
as
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33^ The HIST OT^Y of the Life
A. Urb. 707. as liQ-ht and weak, and what ought to he re-
r (?"'
"pelled by a firm and great mind, as waves by
C Tuuus" ^ rock. For fince the Greek Hiftory is full
Ca:sar III. " of examples, how th6 wifeft men have en-
M. ^M I Lius" dured Tyrannies at Athens orSyfacufe-, and
LiPiDus. a when their Cities were enflaved, have lived
*'themfelves in fome meafure free ; why may
"not 1 think it
poffible to maintain my rank fo,**
as neither to offend the mind of any, nor hurt*'
myown
dignity
? ^c.[0]*'
PyETus having heard, that Casfar was ^^/^to divide fome lands in his neighbourhood to the fol-
diets^ began to be afraid for his own eftate, and
writes to Cicero, to know how far that diftribu-
tion would extend : to which Cicero anfwers ;
*' Are not you a pleafant fellow, who when*'
Balbus has juft been with you, afk me what"
will become of thofe towns and their lands ?
*'as if cither I knew any thing, that Balbus
*'does not ; or if at any time I chance to know
*'
any thing, I do not know it from him ; nay,*'
it is your part rather, if you love me, to let
" me know what will become of me : for you** had it in your power to have learnt it from*'
him, either fober, or at lead when drunk.*' But as for me, my dear Partus, I have done"
enquiring about thofe things : firft, becaufe** we have already lived near four years, by*'
clear gain, as it were : if that can be called
*'
gain, or this, life, to outlive the Republic :
'
fecondly, becaufe I myfelf feem to know what*'
will happen ; for it will be, whatever pleafes"
the ftrongeft ; which mufl always be decided''
by arms : it is our part therefore, to be con-*'
tent with what is allowed to us : he who cannot
[0] Ep. fam. 9. 16.
1"" fubmit
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of M,TVLLIVS CICERO. ^19^* fubmit to this, ought to have chofen death, A. Urb. 707."They are now meafuring the fields of Veias
^p*^^'*'
and Capen^ : this is not far from Tufculum : q Julius
" yet I fear nothing : I enjoy it whilft I may , c^sar III.*'
wifli that I always may , but if it fhould hap-M. ^milius
^*
pen otherwife, yet fince, with all my courageLepidus.
"and
philofophy, I have thought it beft to live,*'
I cannot but have an affeclion for him, by*'
whofe benefit I hold that life : who, if he**
has an inclination to reflore the
Republic^
as
** he himfflf perhaps may defire, and we all
"ought to wifh, yet he has linked himfelf fo
'**with others, that he has net the power to do
*' what he would. But I procede too far ; for"
I am waiting to you : be afTured however of*'
this, that not onely I, who have no part in their"
councils, but even the Chief himfelf does not" know what will happen. We are flaves to*'
him, he to the times : fo neither can he'
know, what the times willrequire, nor we,
* what he may intend, ^c. [p]"The Chiefs of the defarian part)\ who
courted Cicero fo much at this time, were Bal-
bus, Oppius, Matius, Panfa, Hirtius, Dolabel-
la : they were all in the firft confidence with
Caefar, yet profeffed the utmoft afFedion for Ci*
cero; were every mbrning at his levee, and per-
petually engaging him to fup with them \ and
the two lail employed themfelves in a daily ex-
ercife
of declamingat kis
houfe^for the benefit
of his inftrudion; of which he gives the fol*
lowing account in his familiar way to Pastus :
"Hirtius and Dolabella are my fcholars in fpeak-"ing ; my mafters in
eating : for you have"
heard, Iguefs, hov/ they declame with me,
[/] Ep. fam. 9. 17.
Z z'
I fup
/
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540 The History of theLife
A.Urb. 707. I fup with them." In another Letter he tells
^r n-^' ^^"'''" ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ Dionyfius, when driven
C I lus
"^^^^ ^^ Syracufe, turned fchool-mafler at Co-
cksAR III. '' rinth, fo he, having loft his kingdom of the
M. u^MiLius"Forum, had now opened a School to which
Lei^idus. " he merrily invites Psetus, with the offer of a"
feat and cufhion next to himfelf, as his Ufli-"
er[^]."
But to Varro moreferioufly,
*'I
"acquainted you, fays he^ before, that I am in-
*'timate with them all, and afiift at their coun-
" fils : I fee no reafon why I fliould not for
"it is not the fame thing, to bear what mufi he
"honi^ and to approve what ought not to he ap'
*''
prcved.^^ And again ,
'*I do not forbear to fup
"with thofe who now rule: what can I do?*' we muft comply with the times [r]."
The onely ufe which he made of all this favor
was, to fkreen himfelf from any particular cala-
mity in the general mifery of the times; and
to fcrve thofe unhappy men, who were driven
from their country and their families, for their
adherence to that caufe, which he himfelf had
efpoufed.Ca^far was defirous indeed to engage
him in his meafures, and attach himinfenfibly
[a] Hirtium ego & Dola- vinus fequetur. lb. i8.
bellam dicendi difcipulosha-
\r'] Oftentavit tibi, me iflis
beo, ccenandi magiftros :pii- efTe familiarem, & confiliis
to enim te audifib illos a- eorum intereffe. Quod ego
pud
me declamitare,
meapud
cur nolira nihil video. Noncos cc^nitare. lb. 16. enim aft idem, ferre li quid
Ut Dionyfius Tyrannus, ferendum eft, &probare, fi
cum Syracufis pulfus efTet, quid probandum non eft.
Corinthi dicitur ludum ape- lb. 6.
Tuifle, fic ego amifTo reg-Non delino apud iftos, qui
no forenfi, ludum quaft ha- nunc dominantur, coenitare.
bere cceperim fella tibi eric (<uid faciam ? tempori fer-
in ludo, tanquam Hypodi- viendum eft, lb. 7,
dafculo, proxiiha: earn pul-
to
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 341
to his interefls : but he would bear no part in an A. Urb, 707.
adminiflration, eftablilhed on the ruins of his^l^'^^'
country; nor ever cared to be acquainted with q t^uus
their affairs, or to inquire what they were doing: c^sar lir.
fo that whenever he entered into their counfils, M. ^miuus
as hefignifies above to Varro, it was onely when ^^pidus.
the cafe of fome exiled friend required it;for
w^hofe fervice he fcrupled no pains offolliciting,'
and attending even C^far himfelf; though he-
W was fometimes fhocked, as he complains, by the
difficulty of accefs^ and theindignity of waiting in
*an Antichamher ,
not indeed through Csfar's
fault, who was always ready to give him audi-
a ence-,but from the multiplicity of his affairs, by,
whofe hands all the favors of the Empire were-
difpenfed [s~\.Thus in a Letter to Ampius,
whofepardon
he hadprocured,
"I have {oU
"licited your caufe, fays he^ more eagerly than
'-' my prelent fituation would v/elljuftify : for
"my defu'e to fee you, and my conllant love
*'for you, mod afliduoufly cultivated on your
**
part,over-ruled all regard to the
prefent weak"
condition of my power and intereft. Every*'
thing that relates to your return and fafety is
"promifed, confirmed, fixed, and ratified: I
''faw, knew, was prefent at every ftep
: for"
by good luck, 1 have all Ccrfar's friends en-*'
gaged to me by an old acquaintance and*'
friendfhip : fo that next to him they pay the"
firft regard to me: Panfa, Hirtius, Balbus,
" Oppius, Matius, Poftum.ius, take all occafions''
to give me proof of theirfingular affedion.
"If this had been fought and procured by me,
[ / ] Quod ft tard^us fit nia petunrur, aditus ad eum
quam volumus, magnis oc- difficiliorcs iuerunt. Ep,
cupationibus ejus,a quo om- fam. 6. 13.
Z 3 "I fiiould
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542 7J^ History of the Life
A. Vfk. 707. I fhould have no reafon, as things now Hand,Cic. 61. t(
|.Q repentof my pains : but I have done no-
C T s
*'thing with the view of ferving the times ; I
cJsAK III.
"had an intimacy of long {landing with them
M. ^MiLiys<^ all ; and never gave over
foUiciting them on
Xj^pipv5 <
your behalf: I found Panfa however the
*' readied of them ail to ferve you, and oblige*' me , who has not onely an intereft, but au-'
thority with Casfar, ^c. [/].'*
But while he was thus carefTed by Caefar*s
friends, he was not lefs followed, we may ima-
gine, by the friends of the Republic : thefe had
always looked upon him as the chief Patron of
their liberty -,whofe counfils, if they had been
followed, would have prefervedit
;and whofe
authority gave them the only hopes that were
left,of
recoveringit : fo that his houfe was as
much frequented,and his levee as much croud-
ed, as ever ;fincc people now
flocked^he fays,
to
feea good Citizen^ as a fort of rarity [a]. la
another Letter, giving a fhort account of his
way of life, he fays,"Early in the morning, I
*'receive the compliments of many honeft men,
** but melancholy ones ; as well as of thefe gay*'
Conquerors *,who fhew indeed a very offici-
** ous and affedlionate regard to me. When*' thefe vifits are over, I Ihut myfelf up
in my^*
Library, either to write or read : Here fome*' alfo come to hear me, as a man of learning -,
'becaufe I am fomewhat more learned than
*'they : the reft of my time I give to the care
^^ of my body : for I have now bewailed my
[/] lb. 6. 12. folebat, quod quafi ^vem al-
\u\ Cum falutationi ros bam, videntur bene fentien-
dedimus amicorum ; quae fit tern civem videre, abdo me
Ijoc ^tiaflii frequentius, quam in BibJipthecam. lb. 7.28.
<i'
country
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 3+3^*
country longer,and more lieavily,
than anyA. Urb. 707.
" mother ever bewailed her onely Son M-" c (r
*
It is certain, that there was not a man in the q Julius
Republicfo
particularly engaged,
both
by prin-c^sar III.
cipleand interefl, to wilh well to it's liberty,
or M. iMinu5
who had fo much to lofe by the fubverfion of ^^^^^^^
it as he : for as long as it was governed by civil
methods, and flood upon the foundation of it's
laws, he was undoubtedly the firfl Citizen in it ;
had the chief influence in the Senate ; the chief
authority with the people:
and as all his hopesand fortunes were grounded on the peace of his
country, fo all his labors and ftudies were per-
petually appliedto the promotion of it : it is no
wonder therefore, in the prefentfituation of the
City, opprefTed by arms, and a tyrannical pow-
er, to find him fo particularly impatient under
the common mifery, and exprefling fo keen a
fenfe of the diminution of his dignity, and the
difgrace of ferving, where he had been ufed to
govern.
C^.SAR, on the other hand, though he
knew his temper and principles to be irreconcile-
able to his ufurped dominion, yet out offriend*^
Ihip to the man, and a reverence for his charac-
ter, was determined to treat him with the great-
eft humanity : and by all the marks of perfonal
favor, to make his life not onely tolerable, but
[x] HsECigitur
eft nunc unt etiam qui me audiunt,
vita noftra. Mane faluta- quail do6tum hominem, quiamus dorai &bonos viros mul- pauilo I'um, quam ipli,
doc-
tos, fed tfiftes, & hos Ia:tos tior. Inde corpori omne
vidores ; qui me quidem tempus datur. Patriam e-
perofRciofeiSc peramantcr ob- luxi jam gravius & diutius
fervant. Ubi falutatio de- quam uUa mater unicum fili-
fluxit, litteris me involvo, um. Ep. fam.9.
20./
aut fcribo aut lego.Veni-
Z 4 cafy
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34+ 7'/??^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 707. eafy to him: yet all that he could do, had no
^c'ff
*'other effecfl on Cicero, than to make him think
C. Julius^^^^ fpeak fometimes
favorably of the natural
C^sAR III. clemency of their mafler , and to entertain fomeM. ^MiLius
hopes from it, that he would one day be per-Lepidus. fuaded to reflore the public liberty : but exclu-
five of that hope, he never mentions his go-
vernment, but as a real 'Tyy-anny ; or his perfonin any other ilile, than as the
oppreiTor of his
Country.
But he gave a remarkable proof at this time
of his' being no temporifer, by writing a book in
praife of Cato\ which he publifhed v/ithin a few
months after Cato's death. He feems to have
been left a Guardian to Cato's Son ;as he was
alfo to young LucuUuSy Caters Nephew [jy ]: and
this teftimony of Cato's friendlhip and judge-ment of him, might induce him the more readi-
ly to pay this honor to his memory. It was a
matter however of no fmall deliberation, in what
manner he ought to treat the fubje6l : his friend?
. advifed him, not to be too explicit and particu-
Mar in the detail of Cato'spraifes -,
but to con-
tent himfelf with a general encomium, for fear
ofirritating Casfar, by pufhing the Argument too
far. In a Letter to Atticus, he calls this,"
an
^' Archimedean problem -,but I cannot hit upon
'^any thing, fays he^ that thofe friends of yours
"will read with pleafure, or even with pa-
"tience
; befides,if I fnouid
drop the account^^ of Cato's Votes and Speeches in the Senate,
>* and of hispolitical
condud in the State, and^'
give aflight commendation onely of his con-
"flancy and gravity, even this may be more,
^' than they will care to hear : but the man can-
[j'] Ad Att. 13. 6. DeFinib. 3.2.
^' not
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 34^*' not be praifed,
as he deferves, unlefs it be A. Urb. 707.
"particularly explaned, how he foretold all that ^^^^'" has happened to us ; how he took arms to q t
Julius*
prevent its happening; and parted with life c^sar III.
'' rather than fee it happen [2;]."Thefe were M. ^milius
the topics jwhich he refolved to difplay with all
Lepidus.
his force ;and from the accounts given of the
work by antiquity,it appears, that he had fpared
no painsto adorn it, but extolled Catd's virtue
and chara5ler to. the files [a].
The book was foon fpread into all hands \
and Csfar, inftead of expreffing any refentment,
affeded to be much pleafed with it ; yet declar-
ed, that he would anfwer it : and Hirtius in the
mean while, drew up a little piece in the form
-ef a Letter to Cicero^ filled with objecStions to
Cato's chara^ler, kit with high compliments to Ci-cero himfelf ',
which Cicero took care to make
public, and calls it a fpecimen of what C^far^s
work was like to be [^].Brutus alfo compofed
and publifhed a piece on the famefubjedl ; as
well as another friend of Cicero, Fabius Gal-
[2;] Sed de Catone ^9o~ contenderit, k fafta ne vlde-
CAiifxa. a.^-^^iiJ.\)Siioveii. Non ret, vicam
reliquerit. Ad
afTequor ut fcribam, quod Att. 12 4.
tui convivae non modo li-[ ] M. Ciceronis libro,
bcnter, fed etiam aequo ani- quo Catonem ccelo jequavit,
irio legere poffint. Quin e- Lc. Tacit. Ann. 4. 34.
tiam ii a fententiis ejus die- [^] Qualis futura fit C^-
tis, fi ab omni voluntate, faris vituperatio contra lau-
ccnfiliifque qu de Repub. dationcm meam perfpexi exhabuit, recedam ; '^iKc^ic^we
eo libro, quern Hirtius ad
velim gravitatem conftanti- me mifit, in quo colligitvi-
amque ejus laudare, hoc ip-tia Catonis, fed cum maxi-
fuma..y.\i'7fj-<i
fit. Sed vere mis laudibus meis. Itaque-la.idari ille vir non
poteft,mifi librum ad Mufcam, ut
nifi haec ornata fint, quod tuis librariis daret. Volo
ille ea, quae nunc funt, Sc eumdivulgari, &c. Ad Att.
futura vidcrit, & ne fierent 12.
40.
it.
41.
lus 2
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34<S7^^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 707. lus [c] : but thefe were but little confidercd in
Cic. 61.comparifon of Cicero's : and Brutus had made
C T^^Tus^^^^ miftakes in his account of the tranfadions,
cIesar'iii. i" which Cato had been concerned | efpecially
M. ^MiLius in the debates on Catiline's plot \ in which he had
Lepidus.given him the Jirft part and merits in
derogationeven of Cicero himfelf [d],
Cesar's anfwer was not publilhed till the
next year, upon his return from Spain -, after
the defeat of
Pompey's
Sons, It was a labored
inveftive ; anfwering Cicero's book paragraph
by paragraph, and accufing Cato with all the art
and force of his Rhetoric^ asif in a public trial
before Judges [<?] ; yet with expreflions of great
refpeft towards Cicero ; whom, for his virtues
and abilities, he compared to Pericles and 'Thera-
menes of Athens [/] : and in a Letter upon it to
Balbus, which was fhewn by his order to Ci-
cero, he faid, that by thefrequent reading of Cice-
ro's CatOy he was grown more copious:, but af-
ter he had read Brutus's^ thought himfelf even
eloquent [^].
[c] Catonem tuum mihi to copy even his miflakes,
xnitte. Cupio enim legere. rather than do juftice to Ci-
Ep. fam. 7 24. cero on that occafion.
[^/]Catonem primum fen- [^] Ciceronis libro quid
tentiam putat de animadver- aliud Didator Caefar, quamfione dixiiTe, quam omnes refcripta oratione, velut apudante dijcerant praeter
Caefa- Judices refpondit ? Tacit.
rem, &c. AdAtt. 12. Ann. 4. 34. it. Quintil. 3.
21. 7.
From this and other par- [/] Plutar. in Cic.
ticulars, which are mention-[g] Legi epiftolam : mul-
ed in the fame Letter, we ta de meo Catone, quo fae-
, may obferve, that Salluft had pifiime legendo fe dicit copi-
probably taken his account ofiorem fadlum; Bruti Ca-
of the debates upon Cati- tone lelo, fe fibi vifum di-
lines Accomplices, from Bru- fertum. Ad Att. 13. 46.
pMs life of Cato, and chofen
Thes^
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of M. rtlLLIUS CICERO. 347
These two rival pieceswere much celebrated A. Urb.
70^.
}n Rome; and had their feveral admirers, as^q'^^^'
different partiesand interefts difpofed men, toc.juiius
favor the fubjedl or the author of each : and it C^sak ill.
is certain,, that they were the principalcaufe of I^- ^milius
cflablifhing and propagating that veneration,^*'^ous.
which pofterityhas fince paid to the memory of
Cato. For his name being thrown into contro-
verfy, in that critical period of the fate of Rome,
bythe Patron of
liberty
on the one fide, and
the oppreiTorof it on the other, became of
courfe a kind of Political tefito all fucceding
ages ; and a perpetual argument of difputebe-
tween the friends of liberty,and the flatterers of
power. But if we confider his charader without
prejudice, he was certainly a great and worthy
man ; a friend to truth, virtue, liberty : yet
falfely meafuring all duty by the abfurd rigor of
the Stoical rule, he was generally difappointed of
the end, which he fought by it, the happinefs
both of hisprivate
and public life. In hispri-
vate condudt, he was fevere, morofe, inexora-
ble ; bani{hing all the fofter affections, as natu-
ral enemies to juflice,and as
fuggefting falfe
motives of ailing, from favor, clemency, and
compaffion : in public affairs he was the fame ;
had but one rule of policy \ to adhere to what was
right ; without regard to times or circumftances,
or even to a force that could controul him : for
inftead of managing the power of the Great, foas to mitigate the ill, or extrad: any good from
it, he was urging it always to afts of violence
by aperpetual defiance; fo that, with the heft
intentions in the worlds he often did great harm to
theReptihlic. This was his general behaviour 5
yet from fome particular fads explaned above, it
appears, that his ftren^th of mind v/as not al-
ways
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^48 7he History of the Life
A. Urb. 707. ways impregnable, but had its weak places of
^^c P pride, ambition, andparty zeal; which when
C. Julius nianaged and flattered to a certain point, would
C^sAR III. betray him fometimes into meafures contrary toM. ^MiLius his ordinary rule of right and truth. The laft
Lepidus. 2k. of his life wasagreeable to his nature and
philofophy : when he could no longer he^ what he
had been ; or when the ills of life overbalanced the
good', which, by theprinciples of his fedb, was
ajiifi caufe for dyinglf]', he put an end to his
life, with a fpirit and refolution, which wouldmake one imagine, that he was glad to have
found an occafion of dying in his proper character.
On the whole, his life was rather admirable,
than amiable \ fit to bepraifed, rather than imi-
tated \i\
As foon as Cicero hadpublifhed
hisCato^
he
wrote hispiece called the Orator^ at the requeft
of Brutus \ containing the plan or delineation of
what he himfelf efleemed the moftperfedl:
elo-
quence or manner of fpeaking. He calls it the
fifth part or book^ defigned to complete the ar-
gument of his Brutus^ and the other three^ on the
fame fubje^. It was received with great appro-bation , and in a Letter to Lepta, who had com-
plimented him upon it, he declares, that what-
[^] In quo enlni plura ut caufam moriundl naftum
funt, qusE fecundum naturam fe tKe.gauderet. cum vero
funt, hujus officium eft in vi- caufam juftam Deusipfe de-
ta
manere: in
quo autem derit, ut tunc Socrati, nuncaut funt plura contraria, aut Catoni,&c.Turc.Quft.i.30.fore videncur, hujus officium Catoni.--moriundumpotius,eft e vita excedere. De Fin. quam Tyranni vultus adfpi-
3.18. ciendusfuit. DeOiRc. 1.31.Vetus eft enim
; ubi non Non immaturus deceffit :
fis, qui fueris, non efle cur vixit enim, quantum debuit
velis vivere. Ep. fam. 7. 3. vivere. Senec. Confol. ad
[/] Cato fic abiit e vita, Marc. 20.
ever
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 349
ever judgemejJihe had in fpeaking^
he had thrown A. Urb. 707.
it all into that worky and was content torijk his
^^'^^'
reputationon the merit of it [k]. C. Julius
He now likewife fpoke that famous fpeech of c^sar. III.
thanks to Csefar, for the pardon of M. Marcellus ;M. ^milius
which was granted upon the interceflion of the Lepidus.
Senate. Cicero had a particular friendfhip with
all the family of the Marcelli ; butefpecially
with this Marcus ; who from the defeat of Pom-
pey at Pharfalia, retired to Mitylene in Lefbos,
where he lived with fo much eafe and fatisfadion
to himfelf in a philofophical retreat, that Ci-
cero, as it appears from his Letters, was forced
to ufe all his art and authority to perfuade him
to return, and take the benefit of that grace,
which they had been laboring to obtain for him[/].
But how the affair was tranfadied, we may learnfrom Cicero's account of it to Serv. Sulpicius,
who was then Proconful of Greece ^ " Your*'
condition, fays he, is better than ours in this
"particular,
that you dare venture to write your''
grievances ; we cannot even do that with fafe-
"ty : not through any fault of the Conqueror,
" than whom nothing can be more moderate,"
but of victory itfelf, which in civil wars is al-
*'
ways infolent : we have had the advantage of*'
you however in one thing ; in being acquaint-*' ed a little Iboner than you, with the pardon" of your collegue Marcellus : or rather indeed*'
in
feeing
how the whole affair
palled; for I
" would have you believe, that from the begin-
[>^]Ita tres erunt de Ora- fuadeo, me quicquld habu-
tore : quartus, Brutus : quin- erimjr.dicii in dicendo, in
tus, Orator. De Div. 2. i. iilum librum contuliffe. Ep.Oratorem meum tantopere farn. 6. 18.
a te probari, vehementer gau- [/] Ep. fam. 4. 7, 8, 9-
deo; mihi, qiiidem fic per-
ccnina:
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3 fo The History of f/je Life
A. Urb. 707."
ning of thefe miferies, or ever fince the public
^C if*'
**
right has been decided by arms, there has
C. JuLius"
nodiing been done befides this with any dig-
C^sAR \U.**
nity. For Csefar himielf, after having com-M. JEmilivs
plained of the morofenefs of Marcellus, forIepidus. (c
^q i^g called it, andpraifed in the
ftrongell*' terms the equity and prudence of your con-*'
du6t, prefently declared beyond all our hopes,*'
that whatever offence he had received from*' the man, he could refufe nothing to the inter-
*' cefiion of the Senate. What the Senate did*' was this : upon the menticn of Marcellus by*'
Pilo, his Brother Caius having thrown him-"
felf at Caefar's feet, they all role up, and went'' forward in a fupplicating manner towards Cas-*'
far : in fhort, this day's work appeared to me"
fo decent, that I could not help fancying that'*
I faw the image of the oldrepublic reviving :
** when all therefore, who were afked theiropi-
*' nions before me, had returned thanks to Cje-"
far, excepting Volcatius^ (for he declared,*'
that he Would not have done it, though he*' had been in Marcellus's place,) I, as foon as
*' I was called upon, changed my mind ; for I
*' had reiolved with myfelf to obferve an eternal
*'filence, not through any lazinefs, but the lofs
'' of my former dignity -,but Casfar*s greatnefs
^' of mind, and the laudable zeal of the Senate,*'
got the better of my refolution. I gave thanks*'
therefore to Casfar in a long fpeech, and have*'
deprived myfelf by it, 1 fear, on other occa-*^
fions, of that honed quiet, which was my*'
onely comtort in tliele unhappy times : but** fmce I have hitherco avoided giving him of-
**fence, and if I had always continued filent,
^*he would have
interpreted it perhaps, as a
**proot of my taking the Republic to be ruined,
"I Ihall
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cf M.TULLIUS CICERO. 3^1**
I fliall fpeak for the future not often, or rather A. Urb. 707.
"very feldom; fo as to manage at the fame^^^' p'
** time both his favor, and my own leifure for q TujJg"
ftudy [my c'jESAK III.
C^SAR, though he faw the Senate unanimous M. ^Emilius
in their petitionfor Marcelhis, yet took the pains
^^p'dus.
to call for the particular opinion of every Senator
upon it : a method never pradifed, except in
cafes of debate, and where the houfe was divided :
but he wanted the ufual tribute offlattery upon
this adl of grace , and had a mind probably to
make an experiment of Cicero's temper, and to
draw from him efpeciallyfome incenfe on the oc-
cafion ; nor was he difappointed of his aim ; for
Cicero, touched by his generofity, andgreatly
pleafed with the ad itfelf, on the account of his
friend,returned thanks to him in a
fpeech, which,though made upon the fpot, yet for elegance of
didion, vivacity of fentiment, and politenefs of
compliment, is fuperior to any thing extant of
the kind in all antiquity.The many fine
things,
which are faid in it of Casfar, have given fome
handle indeed for a charge ofinfincerity againft
Cicero : but it mud be remembered, that he was
delivering a fpeech of thanks, not onely for him-
felf, but in the name and at the defire of the Se-
nate, where his fubje6t naturally required the em-
bellifhments of Oratory, and that all his compli-ments are grounded on a fuppofitlon, that C^efar
intended to rejlorethe Republic : of which he enter-
tained no fmall hopes at this time, ashefignifies in
letter to one of Cafar^s principalfriends [n]. This
therefore he recommends, enforces, and requires
from him in his fpeech,with the
fpiritof an old.
[m] Ep. fam. 4. 4.curas & effe, ut habeamus a-
[;?] Sperare tamen videor, liquam Rempublicam. Ep*
Caefari, qolkgae noftro, fore fam. 13.68,
Roman ;
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iiji, The History of the Life
A. Urb. 707. Roman \ and no reafonable man will think it
Cic. 61.ftrange^ that fo free an addrefs to a Conqueror,
C TuLius^^ ^^^ height of all his power, iliould want to be
C\t.sar III. tempered v/ith fome few ilrokes of flattery. ButM. ^MiLius the following pafTage from the oration itfelf will
Lepidus.juftify the truth of what I am
faying.
"If this, fays he, Casfar, was to be the end
"of your immortal ads, that afterconquering
*'all your enemies, you fhould leave the Repub-
*'lie in the condition, in which it now is ; con-
" fider, I befeech you, whether your divine vir-
"tue would not excite rather an admiration of
"you, than any real glory : for glory is the il-
''luflrious fame of many and great fervices either
*' to our friends, our country, or to the v/hoie
*"'race of mankind. This part therefore flill re-
''
mains , there is one adt more to be performed*'
by you ,to eftablifli the Republic again, that
''
you may reap the benefit of it yourfelf in peace** and profperity.
When you have paid this
*' debt to your country, and fulfilled the ends of"your nature by a
fatietyof
living, you may'' then tell us, if you pleafe, that you have lived
" long enough : yet what is it after all, that we" can really call long, of which there is an end ^
*'for when that end is once come, all paft plea-
"fure is to be reckoned as nothing, fmce no
** more of it is to be expeded. Though your"
mind, I know, was never content with thefe
*'
narrowbounds of
life,which nature has af-
*'
figned to us, but inflamed ahvays widi an ar-
** dent love of immortality : nor is this in-
" deed to be confidered as your life, which is
^'comprized in this body and breath ; but that,
"that, 1
fay,is your life, which is to florifh in
" the memory of all ages : whichpofl:erity
will
* chcrilh, and eternity itfelf propagate. It is to"
this
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of M, TULLIUS CICERO.3^3
"this that you mufb attend ,
to this that you A. Urb.707.
*' muft form yourfelf : which has many things^^^' 61.
*'already to admire, yet wants fomethino- flijj, ^
Ccff.
,, , -r T^ ix n 1*-- Julius
" that It may praile m you. roltenty will be c^sar iir" amazed to hear and read of your commands, M. ^milius*'
provinces ; the Rhine, the Ocean, the Nile ;^^epidus.
*'
your innumerable battles, incredible vidlories,*'
infinite monuments, fplendid triumphs : but*'
unlefs this City be ellablilhed again by your" wifdom and counfils, your nam^e indeed will
" wander far and wide, yet will have no certain
feat or placeat lail, where to fix itfelf There
will be alio amongil thofe, v/ho are yet un-"
born, the fame controverfy, that has been"amongil us %
v/hen fome will extoll your ac-
"tions to the fkies ; others perhaps will find
"fomething
defective in them;
and that one"
thing above all, if you fhould notextinguifli
"this flame of civil war, by reftoring liberty to
*'
your country : for the one may be looked up-'' on as the eiTecSl of fate, but the other is the
*'certain a6t of wifdom. Pay a reverence there-
*'fore to thofe Judges, who v/ill
pafs judgement
*' upon you in ages to comie ^ and with lefs par-"
tiality perhapsthan we ,
fince they will neither
be biaifed by affection or party, nor prejudiced
by hatred or envy to you : and though this, as
fome falfely imagine, fhould then have no re-
' lation to you, yet it concerns you certainly at
' the
prefent,
to a6l in fuch a manner, that no
oblivion may ever obfcure the lufter of your
praifes.Various were the incHnations of the
**Citizens, and their opinions wholly divided :
*' nor did we difFe-r onely in fentiments and wifhes,'' but in arms alfo and camps : the merits of the
'' caufe were dubious \and the contention be-
"tween two celebrated Leaders
:
m.any doubtedVol. II. A a
*' what
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3*5'4^^-'^ History of the Life
A.Urb. 707. what was the befl ; many what was-conveni-C1C.61. cc
gj^|..n^iany
what was decent j fome alfo what
C. JuLus'" was lawful, &c. [^]"
C.^sAR III. But though Csfar took no ilep towards re-
M. iEMiLius ftoring the Republic, he employed himfelf this
iEPiDus. fummer in another work of general benefit to
mankind % the reformation of the Kalendar , by ac-
commodating the courfe of the year^ to the exa5l courfe
of the Sun \ from which it had varied fo widely,
as to occafion a
llrange
confufion in all their ac-
counts of time.
The Roman year, from the whole inflitution
ofNuma, was lunar , borrowed from the Greeks;
amongfl: whom it confided of three hundred and
fifty four days : Numa added one more to them
to make the whole number odd, which was
thought the miore fortunate , and to fill up the
deficiency of his year to the meafure of the folar
courfe, inferted likewife or intercalated^ after the
manner of the Greeks, an extraordinary month
cf twenty two days^ every fecond year, and twenty
three every fourth, between the twenty third and
twenty fourth day cf February [p ]; he committed
the care ofintercalating
this month and the fuper-
numerary day, to the College of Priefls ;who in
procefsof time partly by a negligent, partly
a
fuperflitious, but chiefly by an arbitrary abufe of
their truil, ufed either to drop or infert them,
as it was found mod convenient to themfelves or
their friends, to iPiake the current year longer
{/] Pro M. Marcell. 8, 9, cept that Feflus fpeaks of
10. fome days under the title of
[/)]This was ufually called Mercedonias, becaufe the
Intercalaris, though Plutarch Merccs or wages of work-
givesit the name of Merce- men were commonly paid
donius, which none of the upon them.
Roman writers mention, ex-
or
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of MTULLIUS CICERO.355^
or fhorter[{],
Thus Cicero, when harafled byA. Urb. 707:
a perpetual courfe ofpleading, prayed, that there
^3?'^^'
might be'no intercalation to lengthen hisfatigue ; q Julius
and when Proconful of Cilicia, prefled Atticus C^sar in.
to exert all his interefl, to prevent any intercala- M. ^milius
tion within the year \ that it might not protrad hisl^^^^^us.
government, and retard his return to Rome[r].
Curio, on the contrary, v/hen he could not per-fuade the Priefts to prolong the year of his Tri-
bunate by an Intercalation^ made that a pretencefor abandoning the Senate, and going over to
Caefar \s\
This licence ofintercalating introduced the
confufion above-mentioned, in the computationof their time : fo that the order of all their
months was tranfpofed from their flated feafons ;
the winter months carried back into Autumn, theAutumnal into Summer : till C^far refolved to
put an end to this diforder by abolifhing the fource
of it, the ufe of intercalations ; and inilead of the
Lunar to eftablifh the Solar year, adjulled to the
exad meafure of the Sun's revolution in the Zo-
diac^ or to that, period of time, in which it re-
turns to the point, from which it fet out ; and as
this, according to the Aftronomers of that age,was fuppofed to be three hundred and Jlxty five
days^ and fix hourSy fo he divided the days into
[q] Quod inftitutnm perlte Per fortunas primum illud
a Numa, polleriorum Pontifi- prsfuki atque prsmuni quse-
cum negligentia difTolutum ib, ut iimus annul ; ne inter-
eft. De Leg. 2. 12. vid. calecur quidem. Ad Att.5.
Cenforin. de die Nat. c. 20i13, it. 9.
Macrob. Sat. i. 14. "[jj LevifTirae enim, quia
[r] Nos hie in multitudine de in.ercalando non cbtinue-
& celebritate judiciorum rat, transfagit ad popnlum ^-
ita deftinemur, ut quoridie pro Carfare loqui cccp^t, Ep.votafaciamusne intercaUtur. fam. 8. 6. Dio. p. 148.
Ep,faiTV
7.
2.
A a 2 twelve
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55<5The History of the
Life
A.Urb. 707. twelve artificial months, and to fupply the defi-
Cic. 61.ciency of the fix hours, by which they fell (hort
n T of the Sun's complete courfe, he ordered a dayC JULIUS 7 . 7 T r r t
Ctesar III. io be intercalated arter every tour years, betweenM. -^MiLius the twenty third and tiventy fourth of February [/].
Lepidus. But to make this new Year begin, and pro-cede regularly,
he was forced to infert into the
current year, two extraordinary months^ between
November and December ; the one ofthirty
three^ the other of thirty four days \ befides the
ordinary intercalarymonth of twenty three days^
which fell into it of courfe; which were all ne-
ceflary to fill up the number of days, that were
loft to the old year, by the omifTion of interca-
lations^ and to replace the months in their pro-
per feafons \ii\All this was efFedled by the care
and fl^ill of Sofigenes, a celebrated Afironomer ofJlexandria^whom C^far had brought to Rome for
that purpofe [.r]: and a new Kalendar \Y2iS formed
upon it by Flavius a Scribe^ digefted according
to the order of the Roman Feftivals, and the old
manner of computing their days by Kalends^ Ides,
and Nones ; which waspubliflied and authorized
by the Dilator's Edi^^ not long after his return
from Afric. This year therefore was the longeft,
that Rome had ever known ; confifting o^fifteen
months.^ or four hundred andforty five days^ and is
called thelafi of the
confiifion [jy]; becaufe it in-
troduced
[/] This day was called riis nobis temporum ratio
BiJJ'extus,from its being a
congrueret, inter Novembrem
repetition or duplicate of the & Decembrem menfem adje-
Sixth of the Calends(j/^ March, cit duos alios :
fuitque is an-
which fell always on the nus xv.menfium cum Inter-
24th; and hence ovs Inter- calario, qui ex confuetudine
cnlnr\ or Leap-yearis flill call- eum annum inciderac. Suet.
edBiJJextile. J.
C?ef. 40.
\u\ Quoautem
magis
in
[a-]
Plin. Kill. N. 18.
25.pollcnim ex Kalendis janua- [j] Adnitente fibi M. Fla-
vio
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of M. rULLlUS CICERO, 357
troduced the Julian, or folar year,with the com- A. Urb. 707*
mencement of the enfuing January; which con-^Qq^^'
tinues in ufe to this day in all Chriftian Countries, c. Julius
without any other variation, than that of the oia C^sar III.
and new fiile \%\M. ^Emilius
Soon after the affair of Marcellus, Cicero had Lepidus.
another occafion of trying both his eloquence
and intereft with Csefar, in the caufe of Ligarius;
who was now in exil on the account of his hav-
ing been in arms againfl C^far, in the African ,
war, in which he had born a confiderable com-
mand. His two Brothers however had always
been on Casfar's fide;and being recommended
by Panfa, and warmly fupported by Cicero, had
almoft prevailed for his pardon ;of which Cicero
givesthe
following account in a Letter to Liga-
rius himfelf
Cicero to Ligarius.
"I would have you be aiTured, that I em-
*'
ploy my v/hole pains, labor, care, fbudy, in
vio fcriba, qui fcriptosdies oned
bya
regulationmade
fingulos ita ad Diclatorem ^j; ?^/^ Gregory A. D. 1582.
detulit, ut & ordo eorum in- for it having been obferved,
veniri facillime poffet,& in- that the computation of the
vento, certus ftatus perfeve-Vernal Equinox was fallen,
raret eaque re fadum t^ty back ten days from the time
ut annus confufionis ulcimus of the Council of Nice, when
in quadringentos quadragintait was found to be on the
tres dies tenderetur. Macrob. 2\Ji of March ; according to
Sat. I. 14. Dio. 227. which all the feftivals of the
Macrobius makes this Church were then foleninly
year to confift of 443 days, fettled; Pope Gregory, by
but he {hould have faid 445, the advice of Aflronomers,
fince, according; to all ac- caufcd ten days to be entire-
counts, ninety days were add- ly funk and thrown out of
ed to the old year of 355.the current year,
between
[z] This difference of the the 4th and 15th of Ofto-
old a?id neuj ftih was occafi- ber.
A a 3"
procuring
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55S TJje History cf the Lifo
A. Urb. 707."
procuring your refloration : for as I have evier
Cip. 61. cc\^^^ j-j^g greatefl afFedion for you, fo the fin-
C TuLius^'
gular pietyand love of your Brothers, for
C^ffiSAR III. ''whom, as well as yourfelf, I have alwaysM. iEMiLius "
profeiTedthe utmoft efleem, never fuffer me
Lepidus, cc ^q negledl any opportunity of my duty and fer-
*' vice to you. But what I am nowdoing, or
" have done, I would have you learn from their
"Letters, rather than mine ^ but as to what I
"hope, and take to be certain in your affair,
" that 1 chufe to acquaint you with myfelf : for
"if any man be timorous in great and dangerous
*'events, and fearing always the v/orft, rather
" than hoping the befl, I am he ; and if this be" a fault, confefs myfelf not to be free from it ;
"yet on the twenty feventh of November, when,
"at
thedefire
of your Brothers, I had been"early with Casfar, and gone through the trou-
*'ble and indignity of getting accefs and audi-
*' ence ; when your Brothers and relations had" thrown themfelves at his feet, and I had faid,'' what your caufe and circumftances required, I
" came away perfuaded, that your pardon was
" certain : which I colle6led, not onely from"
Casfar's difcourfe, which was ijiild and gene-''
rous, but from his eyes and looks, and many" other fiofns, which I could better obferve than"
defcribe. It is your part therefore, to behave"
yourfelf with firmnefs and courage; and as
"
youhave born the more turbulent
part pru-'*
dently, to bear this calmer (late of things''
chearfuliy : I fhall continue frill to take the'' fame pains in your affairs, as if there was the*'
greateit difficulty in them, and willheartily
'^
fupplicatc in your behalf, as I have hitherto'
done, not onely Csfar himfelf, but all his
" friends.
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 359*'
friends, whom I have ever found more affedli- A. Urb. 707.
" onate to me. Adieu, [a]"^ColT
^*
While Ligarius'saffair was in this
hopeful! ^ ij^nus
way, Q.. Tubero, who had an old quarrel with c^sar III.
him, being defirous to obftrucl his pardon, and M. ^milius
knowing Csfar to be particularly exafperated^^pidus.
againft all thofe, who through an ohftinate averfwn
to him^ had reneuued the war in Afric^ accufed
him, in the ufual forms, of an uncommon zeal
and violence in profecutingthat war. Csefar
privately encouraged the profecution, and or-
dered the caufe to be tried in the Forum^ where
he fat upon it in perfon, ftrongly prepoffeifed
againft the Criminal, and determined to lay hold
on any plaufible pretence for condemning him :
but the force of Cicero's eloquence, exerted with
allhis fkill in a
caufe,which he had much at
heart, got the better of all his prejudices, and
jpxtorted a pardon from him againft his will.
The merit of this fpeech is too well known,
to want to be enlarged upon here : thofe, who
read it, will find no reafon to charge Cicero with
flattery: but the free
fpirit,which it breaths, in
the face of that power, to which it was fuing
for mercy, muft give a greatidea of the art of
the fpeaker,who could deliver fuch bold truths
without offence ;as well as of the generofity of
the Judge, who heard them not onely with pa-
tience, but approbation.''
Obferve, Cjefar, fays he, with what fide-
**
lityI plead Ligarius's caufe, when 1 betray
*' even my own by it. O that admirable clemen-
*'
cy, worthy to be celebrated by every kind of
'*
praife, letters, monuments ! M. Cicero de-
^' fends a criminal before you, by proving hirn
\a'\ Ep.fam. 6,
14.
A a 4"
not
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q6o The History of the Life
A. Urb. 707. not to have been in thofe fentiments, in whichCic.6u cc
j^g owns himfelf to have been; nor does he
C. TuLi'us
"y^^ ^^^^ y^^^ fecret thoughts, or while he is
C^sAR in. " pleading for another, what may occur to youM. ^MiLius " about himfelf. See, I
fay, how little he is
Lepidus. ccafraid of you. See with what a courage and
"gaiety
of fpeaking your generofity and wifdom"
infpire me. I will raife my voice to fuch a''
pitch,that the v/hole Roman people may hear
" me. After the war was nor
onely begun," C^far, but in great meafure finifhed, when I
'* was driven by nonecefTity, I v^ent by choice
'' and judgment to join myfelf with thofe, who" had taken arms againlt you. Before whom do"
I fay this ? why before him, who, though he" knew it to be true, yet reflored me to the Re-''
public, before he had even {ten me; who
^' wrote to me from Egypt, that I Ihould be''
the fame man, that I had always been ; and
^' when he was the onely Emperor within the" dominion of Rome, fuffered me to be the*'
other; and to hold my laurelled Fafces, as long*'
as I thought them worth holding [i?].Do
*'you then, Tubero, call Ligarius's condud:
*' wicked ? for what reafon ? fince that caufe'^ has never yet been called by that name : fome" indeed call it midake, others fear ; thofe who''
fpeak morefeverely, hope, ambition, hatred,
"obflinacy ; or at the word, ralhnefs
; but no*'
man, befides you, has ever calledit
wickednefs.^' For my part,
were I to invent a proper and ge-" nuin name for our calamity, I fhould take it
''for a kind of
fatality, that had poiTefTed the un-"
wary minds of men ; fo that none can think it
^'ilrange, that all human counfils were over-
[<^] Pro Ligar. 3.
^^rulecj
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DUS.
of M.TULLIUS CICERO. ^6i''
ruled by a divine necelTity.Call us then, if A- Urb. 707.
''
you pleafe, unhappy, though we can never^p*^**
" be fo, under this Conqueror ; but I fpeak not q [u^hus
" of us who furvive, but of thofe who fell , c^sar III.
"let them be ambitious; let them be angry -,
M. ^milius
"let them be obllinate
; but let not the guilt of ^^^^
*'crime, of fury,
of parricide, ever be charged" on Cn. Pompey, and on many of thole who" died with him. When did we ever hear any" fuch thing from you, Casfar ? or what other
" view had you in the war, than to defend"
yourfelf from injury ? you confidered it from" the firfb, not as a war but a feceffion
-,not as
" an hoftile, but civil difienfion : where both''
fides wiflied well to the Republic : yet through" a difference, partly of counfils, partly of in-
"clinations, deviated from the common good
:
"the dignity of the Leaders was almoil equal ;
"though not perhaps of thofe that followed
" them : the caufe was then dubious, fince there
" was fomething which one might approve on"
either fide ;but now, that muft needs be
"thought the befb, which the Gods have fa-
'^ vored , and after the experience of your cle-
^'mency,who can be difpleafed with that
victory,'^ in which no man fell, who was not
actually in
" Arms[c]
?"
The Speech was foon made public, and greedi-
ly bought by all : Atticus was extremely pleafed
withit,
andvery
induflrious in
recommending it;fo that Cicero fays merrily to him by Letter," You have fold my Ligarian fpeech finely
:
" whatever I write for the future, I will make you"
the Publifher :
"and again,
"your authority,
*'I perceive, has made my little oration famous :
Wlb. 6.
"for
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36z7)5^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 707."
for Balbus and Oppius write me word, that
Cic. 61. c
they are wonderfully taken with it, and have
C T?Mus"
^^^^ ^^^^l
^^ ^^^^^ ^^^" ^^^ fuccefs,
cJsAK^ll which it met with, made Tubero afiiamed of the
M. JEuiLivs figurethat hp made in it; fo that he applied to
Lepidus. Cicero, to have fomething inferted in his favor,
with the mention of bis wife^ and fome of his fa-
mily^ who were Cicero's near relations : but Cicero
excufed himfelf, hecaufe the fpeech was got abroad:
nor had he a mind, hefays,
to make any apologyfor
^uhero^s condu^ [^].
LiGARius was a man ofdiftinguifhed
zeal
for the libertyof his Country : which was the
reafon both of Cicero's pains topreferve,
and of
C^far*s averfenefs to reftore him. After his re-
turn he lived in great confidence with Brutus,
who found him a fit perfon to bear a part in the
confpiracy againilCsefar ; but happening to be
taken ill near the time of it's execution, when
Brutus, in a vifit to him, began to lament, that
he was fallenfickin a very unlucky hour \ Ligarius^
raifing himfelf prefently upon his elbow^and taking
Brutus by the hand^ replied: yet fiill^ Brutus^ tf
you mean to do any thing worthy of yourfelf I am
well [/] : nor did he difappointBrutus's opinion
of him, for we find him afterwards in the lilt of
the confpirators.
[//] Ligarianam prseclareculam mififfe. lb.
19.
vendidifti. Pofthac quicquid [f] Ad Ligarianam de ux-
fcripfero, tibi praeconiumde- ore Tiiberonis, & privigna,
feram. Ad Att. 13. 12. neque poffum jam addere,
Ligarianam, ut video, prs- eft enim res pervulgata, ne-
clare audoritas tua commen- que Tuberonem volo defen-
davit. Scripfitenim ad me dere. Miriiice eft enim 9/-
Balbus & Oppius, mirifice fe Act^T/(^. lb. 20.
probare, ob eamque caufam [/] Plutarch, in Brut,
ad Cffifarem earn fe oratiun-
In
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO.'
363
In the end of the year, Caefar was called awayIn great haft into Spain to oppofe the attempts
of Pompey's Sons, who, by the credit of their
father's name, were become mafters again of all
that Province, and with the remains of the
troops, which Labieniis, Varus, and the other
Chiefs, who efcaped, had gathered up from Afric,
were once more in condition totry the fortune of
the field with him : where the great danger, to
which he was expofed from this laft effort of a
broken party, ihews how defperate his cafe muft
have been, if Pompey himfelf, with an intire
and veteran army, had firft made choice of this
country for the fcene of the war.
Cicero all this while palTed his time with lit- A. Urb. 708.
tie fatisfadion at home, being difappointed ofCic.
62.the eafe and comfort, which he expedled from J^^-
his new marriage : his children, as we may ima- c^sa^^^^
gine, while their own mother was Hving, would Didator III,
not eafily bear with a young mother in law in the M. ^milius
houfe with them. The Sonefpecially was pref- \f^^^^^'.
fing to get a particular appointment fettled for^^' ^^^^^
his maintenance, and to have leave alfo to go to
Spain, and make a Campaign under C^far -,whi-
ther his Coufin Quintus was already gone : Cice-
ro did not approve this proje6b ; and endeavoured
by all means to difluade him from it; reprefent-
ing to him that it would naturally draw ajuft
reproach upon them^ fornot
thinkingit
enoughto
quittheir former party^ unlefs they fought againft
it too \ and that he would not he pleafed tofee his
Coufin more regarded there thanhimfelf \ and pro-
mifing withal, if he would confent to ftay, to make
him an ample and honorable allowance [^]. This
diverted
[^] De Hifpania duo attuli-, primum idem, quod tibi,
me
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364 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 708. diverted him from the thoughts of Spain ; thoughCic. 62.
j^Q|. fj.Qj3^ |-i^e defire of removing from his Father,
C. TuLius^^^ taking a
feparate houfe in the City, with a
CiEsAR diflin6t family of his own ; but Cicero thoughtDiftator III. it bell to fend him to Athens, in order to fpendM. ^Emilius ^ fe^ years in the ftudy of Philofophy, and po-
M^^^E^iiit^^^^ Letters ; and to make the propofal agreeable,
offered him an appointment, tbat would enable
him to live as fplendidly as any of the Roman Nohi-
lity,who then refided there^ Bibidus^ Acidinus^ or
Mejfala [h]. This fcheme was accepted, and
foon after executed ^ and young Cicero was fent
to Athens, with two of his Father s Freedmen^ L.
^ullius Montanus^ and TuUius Marcianus^ as the
Intendants and Counfellors of his general conduft,
while the particulardiredlion of his ftudies was
left to the principal Philofophers of the places
and above all to Cratippus, the chief of the Pe-
ripateticSed;
\f\.
In this uneafy ftate both of his privateand
public life, he was opprefled by a new and mod
cruel affliction, the death of his beloved daughter
Tullia; which happened foon after her divorce
froirfDolabella ; whofe manners and humor were
intirely difagreeable to her. Cicero had long been
deliberating with himfelf and friends, whether
Tullia fhould not firji fend the divorce j but a pru-
me vcreri vituperationem : quos Athenis futures audio,
non fatis efTe fi hasc armamajores fumptus
faduros,
reliquifiemus? etiam contra- quam quod ex eis mercedU
ria ? deinde fore ut angere- bus accipietur. lb. 32.
tur, cum a fratre familiarita- [/] L.Tullium Montanum
te & omnia gratia vinceretur. nofti, qui cum Cicerone pro-
Velim magis liberalitate uti fedlus eft. lb. 52, 53.
mea quamfua libertate, Quanquam te, Marce fib'.
Ad Att. 12.7. annum jam audientem Cra-
[>&]Praellabo nee Bibulum, tippum, &c. De Off. 1. i.
ttec Acidinum, necMeffalam, it. 2. 2.
dential
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of M.rULLlUS CICERO. 365dential regard to Dolabella's power and intereft A. Urb. 708.
with Casiar, which was of ufe to him in thefe ^^^- ^2.
times feems to have withheld him[k]. The
^ t^^'
cafe was the fame with Dolabella, he v/as wilHng c'^sar'^*
enough to part with TulUa, but did not care to Dldator HI.'
break with Cicero, whofefriendfhip was a credit ^^- ^milius
to him',and whom gratitude obhged him to ob-
J^^^^tJ^^*-
ferve and reverence-,fmce Cicero had twice de-
^^' ^^^ '
fended and preferved him in capital caufes [/] ;
lb that it feems mofl probable, that the divorce
was of an amicable kind ; and executed at lafl bythe confent of both fides : for it gave no appa-rent interruption to the friendlbip between Cice-
ro and Dolabella, which they carried on v/ith
the fame ihew of affection, andprofeflions of
refpedltowards each other, as if the relation had
milfubfifted.
TuLLiA died in childbed, at her hufband^s
houfe \m\ \ which confirms theprobability of
their agreement in the divorce : it is certain at
lead, that fhe died in Rome ; where Cicero was
detained^ he fays, by the expe^Iation of the birth^ and
to receive the firji payment of her fortune back again
from 'Dolabella^ who was then in Spain : fhe was de-
livered^ as it was thought^ very happily^ and fuppo-
fed to be out of danger ; when an unexpedled turn
in her cafe put an end to her life, to theinexpref-
fible grief of her Father[;?]. We
[/f]Te oro ut de hac mi- tatlo multitudinls, ignore. Si
fera cogites melius quidem metuendus iratuseft, quies ta-
in peffimismihi fuit difcidio men ab ilia fortalle nafcetur.
nunc quidem ipfe videtur Ep. fara. 14. 13.
denunciare placetmihi
igi- [/] Cujus ego falutemduo-
tur, & idem tibi nuncium re- buscapitis judiciis fumma
mitti, &c. Ad Att. xi.23. contentione defendi Ep.
vid. ib. 3. fam3. x.
Quod Icripfide nuncio re-
[^m] Plutarch in Cic.
mittendo, quje fit iftius vis [n] Me Rom^ tenuit om-hoc tempore, Sc quse conci- nino Tullice meas partus ; fed
cum
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366A. Urb. 708.
Cic. 62.
Coff.
C. Julius
Didator III.
M. ^Emilius
Lepidus.
Mag. Equit.
The History of the Life
We have no account of the ifTue of this birth,
which writers confound with that which happenedthree years before, when fhe was delivered at the
end of feven months of a puny male child : but
whether it was from the firfl, or the fecond time
of her lying in, it is evident, that fhe left a So?t
hy Dolabelky who furvived her, and whom Cice-
ro mentions more than once in his Letters to At-
ticus, by the name of Lentulus[<?]
:
defiring
him tovifit
theChild,
and fee a due care taken
of him, and toajfign
him what number of fervants
he thought proper \f\.
TuLLiA was about two and thirty years old
at the time of her death ;and by the few hints,
which are left of her chara6ler, appears to have
been an excellent and admirable woman : fhe was
mofl affedionately and pioufly obfervant of her
Father ; and to the ufual gracesof her fex, hav-
cum ea quemadmodum fpe-
ro, fatis firma fit, tenor ta-
men, dum a Dolabellae pro-
curatoribus exigam primam
penfionem. Ep. fam. 6.
18.
\o'\The Father's names
were Publius Cornelius Len-
tulus Dolabella ;the two lall
being furnamcs acquired per-
haps by adoption, and diftin-
guifliingthe different bran-
ches of the Cornelian famiiv.
[/]Velim aliquando, cum
erit tuum commodum, Len-
tulum puerum vifas, eique de
mancipiis, quae tibi videbi-
tur, attribuas ad Att. 12.
28.
Quod Lentulum invifis,
valdegratuxn.
lb.
30vid.
ctiam 18.
iV. B. Mr. Bayle declares
himfelf furprized, tofind Af-conitis Feed, fo ill informed ofthe hijlory of Tullia, as to tell
tiSf that after Pifo's death ^ fhe
fwas married to P. Lentulus^
and died in child-bed at his
horfe : in which fhort account,
there are contained, hefays,
t^vo or three lies. But Plu-
tarch confirms the fame ac-
count ; and the miftake will
reft at lall, not on Afconius,but on Mr. Bayle himfelf,
who did not refleft, from the
authority of thofe Ancients,
that Lentulus was one of
Dolabelia's names, by which
he was called indifferently,as
woil as by any of the reft.
SeeBayl.
Didion. Artie.
TuUia, not. k.
ing
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 367
ing added the more folid accomplifliments of A. Urb. 708.
knowledge and polite letters^ was qualified to be^^^ ^^'
the companion as well as the delight of his age ; q Julius
and was juftly efbeemed not onely as one of the c^sarhefi^
hut the moft learned of the Roman Ladies. Didator III.
It is not Arrange therefore, that the lofs of fuch a^-
-^^ilius
daughter,in the prime of her life, and the moft
Mag^^Equit
comfortlefs feafon of his own, fhould affect him
with all thatgrief,
which the greateft calamity
could imprint on a temper naturally timid and
defponding.
Plutarch tells us, that the Philofophers came
from all parts to comfort him ; but that can hardlybe true, except of thofe, who lived at Rome,or in his own family ;
for his firft care was, to
fhun all company as much as he could, by re-
movingto Atticus's houfe
;
where he livedchief-
lyin the Library ; endeavouring to relieve his
mind, by turning over every book^ which he could
meet with on thefuhje^l of moderating grief \jf\
:
but finding his refidence here too public, and a
greater refort to him than he could bear, he re-
tired to Aftura, one of his feats near Antium ;
a little i/land on the Latian fhore at the mouth ofa river of the fame name^ covered with woods ayid
groves^cut out into fhady walks \
a fcene of all
others the fitteft to indulge melancholy, and
where he couldgive
a free courfe to hisgrief.
*'Here, fays he, I live without the fpeech of
" man :
every morning early
I hide
myfelfin
" the thickefl of the wood, and never come*'
out till the evening : next to yourfelf, nothing*'
is fo dear to me, as this folitude : my whole" converfation is with my books j yet that is.
[^] Me mihi non defuifle fcriptum eft, quod ego non
tu teftis es, nihil enim de domi tuselegerim.
Ad Ait.
mcerore minuendo ab ullo 12. 14.*' fometimes
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^68 '^be History of the Life
A, Urb. 708." fometimes interrupted by my tears, which I
Cic. 62. refiit as well as I can, but am not yet able to
C/SAR^^^ Atticus urged him to quit this retirement,
Diaator III. and divert himfelf with bufinefs, and the com-M. ^MiLius
pany of his friends; and put him
gently inLepidus.
i-nind, that, by affliciinghimfelf fo immoderate-
g. qui .
j^^j^^ would hurt his charader, and give people
a handle to cenfure his weaknefs : to which he
makes the
following
anfwer.
" As to what you write, that you are afraid,"
left the excefs of my grief fhould leiTen my*'
credit and authority ; I do not know what" men would have of me. Is it, that I fhould"
not grieve P that is impolTible : or that I
*' fhould not be opprefTed with grief? who*'
was ever lefs fo ? when I took refuge at''
your houfe, was any man ever denied ac-
''cefs to me ? or did any one ever come, who
*' had reafon to complain of me ? I went from"
you to Aftura : v/here thofe gay fparks, who" find fault with me, are not able even to
*' read fo much as I have written : how well,*'
is nothing to the purpofe, yet it is of a kind*' which no body could write with a difordered
*' mind I fpent a month in my gardens about** Rome , where I received all who came, with*'
the fame eafmefs as before. At this very mo-*'
ment, while I am employing my whole time*'
in reading and writing, thofe, who are with*'
me, are more fatigued with their leifure, than
[r]In hac folitudine careo folitudine. In ea mihi om-
omnium colloquio, cumque nis fermo eil cum litteris ;
mane in fylvam me abilruli cum tamen interpellat fletus :
denfam & afperam, non'exeo cui repugno quoad poiTum,inde ante vefperam. Secun- fed adhuc
pares
non fumus.
dum te, nihil mihi amicius lb. 15."
I with
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO. 369"
I with my pains.If any one aflcs, why I am A. Urb, 708.
"not at Rome , becaufe it is vacation time : why S^^'^^*" not in fome of my villa's, more fuitable to q Julius
" the feafon ^ becaufe I could not eafily bear fo c^sar" much company. I am, where he, who has Didator IIT.
*'the beft houfe at Baise, chufes to be, in this
^-^milius
''
part of the year. When I come to Rome, no- ^ Equit,"body fhall find any thing amifs, either in my
"looks or difcourfe : as to that chearfulnefs,
" with which we ufed to feafon the mifery of*' thefe times, I have loft it indeed for ever
; but*'
will never part with my conftancy and firm*"
nefs, either of mind or fpeech, ^c. [jj."
All his other friends were very officious like-
wife in making their compliments of condolence,
and adminiftring arguments of comfort to him :
among the reil, Csfar himfelf, in the hurry ofhis affairs in Spain, wrote him a Letter on the
occafion, dated from Hifpalis^ thelaft of April \f\ :
Brutus wrote another, fo friendly and affe5iionate^
that it greatly moved him[?/]
: Lucceius alfo, one
of the moft efteemed writers of that age, fcnt
him two\ the firfl to condole, the fecond to ex-
poftulate with him for perfevering, to cherifli an
unmanly and ufelefs grief [^]: but the following
Letter of Ser. Sulpicius is thought to be a mailer-
piece of the confoiatory kind.
Ser. Sulpicius to M. T. Cicero.
' I was exceedingly concerned, as indeed I*'
ought to be, to hear of the death of your
[i] Ad Att. 12. 40. &: prudenter & amice, multas
f/j A Csefare litteras ac- tamen mihi lacrimas attule*
cepi confolatorias, datasprid. runt. lb. 12. 13.
Kal, Maii, Hifpali. Ad Att.[a-] Vid. Ep. fam. 5.13,
13. 20.14.
[] Bruti litterasfcriptae
Vol, II. B b "daughter
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370 .TbeHisroKY of the Life
A. Urb. 708.<
daughter Tullia ; which I looked upon as anCic. 62. cc
afflidion common to us both. If I had been
C Julius"
^^i^h. you, I would have made it my bufinefs
C^sAR"
to convince you, what a real fhare I take iaDiaator III. "
your grief. Though that, kind of confola-
M. ^Emilius u^JQj^ ^g 1^^^ wretched and lamentable, as it is
Mas^ Ea^uit
"^^ ^^ performed by friends and relations, who
*'are overwhelmed with
grief,and cannot en^
"ter upon their tafk without tears, and feem to
*' want comfort rather themfelves, than to be
^' in condition to adminifler it to others. I re-
*'folved therefore to write to you in iliort, what
*' occurred upon it to my own mind : not that
VI imagined, that the fame things would not
*' occur alfo to you, but that the force of your*'
grief might pofTiblyhinder your attention ta
*' them. What reafon is there tlien to difturb
*:' yourfelffo immoderately on this melancholy
*'occafion ? confider how fortune has already
*'treated us ; how it has deprived us of what
''
ought to be as dear to us as children ; our"
country, credit, dignity, honors. After fo
*'miferabie a lofs as this, what addition can it
*' poffibly make to our grief, to lufFer one mif-*' fortune m.ore ? or how can a mind, after being*'
exercifed in fuch trials, not grow callous, and" think every thing elfe of inferior value ? but
*'is it for your daughter's fake that you grieve ?
**
yet how often muft you neceiiarily- refie6l, as
*V I.
rnyfelf frequentlydo, that thofe cannot be
*'faid to be hardly dealt v/ith, v/hofe lot it has
*' been in thefe times, without fufrering any at-
*'fiiftion, to exchange life for death. Foi?
" what is there in our prefent circumftances that
*'could give her any great invitation to live ?
*' what bufinefs ? what hopes ? v/hatprofpe6t;
''
of comfort before her ? v/as it to pafs her"days
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of M.rXJLLIUS CICERO. ^Ji
**days in the married ftate, with folne young
-^- Urb. 738.
*' man of the firir quality P (for you, I know,^q'^^^'
** on the account of your dignity, might have^ j.^^^^^g*'
chofen what fon-in-Jaw you pleafed out of all C/esar*' our youth, to whofe
fid^elity you might fafelyDilator IIT.
<' have trufted her,) was it then for the fake of !^-^^ ^"^'^
L EPI DU S .
'
bearing children, whom ihemight
have ^^-^ m^^ . ^Q\xiU'' the pleafure to fee florifhing afterwards, in
*' the enjoyment of their paternal fortunes, and*'
rifing gradually to all the honors of the date,** and ufing the liberty,
to which they were
*'born, in the protection of their friends and
*'clients ? but what is there of all this, which
*' was not taken away, before it was even given*' to her P but it is an evil, you'll fay, to lofe
*' our children. It is fo; yet it is much greater
*' tofuffer, what we now
endure. 1
cannot"help mentioning one thing,
which has given" me no fm^all comfort, and m.ay help alfo per-*'
haps to mitigate your grief.On my return
*' from Afia, as I was failing from jSerina to-
*'^ wards Megara, I began to contem.plate the
*'
profpe6t of the countries around me : ^gina>*' was behind, Megara before me , Piraeeus on'' the right ; Corinth on the left : all which*'
towns, once famous and florifhing, now lie
*'overturned, and buried in their ruins : upon
*'this
fight,I could not but think prefently
*' within myfelf, alas ! how do v/e poor mortals
*'fret and vex ourfelves, if
any
of our friends
*'
happen to die, or to be killed, w^hofe life is
**
yet fo ihort, when the carcafTes of fo many*' noble cities lie here expofed before me in one*' view ? Why wilt thou not then command*'
thyfelf, Servius, and remember, that thou*art born a man ? Believe me, I v/as not a lit-
*'
tie confirmed by this conternplatioa:
try theB b 2 *Vforce,
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37^ 57?^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 708."
force of it therefore, if you pleafe, uponC1C.62. '
yourfelf ; and imagine the fameprofpe6t.be-
C. TuLius" ^^^
y^'-^^^^^
^y^^* ^^^ ^^ come nearer
C.5;sAR " home ; when you confider how many of ourDiaator III. "
greateft men have perilhed lately at once -,
M. ^MiLius cc^i^^j- deflrudion has been made in the Em.-
Ti/^^^E ^ult
"pii*ej
what havock in all the Provinces ; how** can you be lb much ihocked to be deprived'' of the fleeting breath of one little woman ?
"who, if Hie had not died at this time, muft
'^
necelTarilyhave died a few years after, fmce
" that was the condition of her being born.
*' But recall your mind from reflections of this
*'kind, to the confideration of yourfelf ;
and'^ think rather on what becomes your character
*' and dignity : that your daughter lived, as
''
^ong as life was woi-th enjoying, as long a.<;
<' the Republic fl:ood ; had feen her Father
'^Prastor, Conful, Augur ; been married to the
'' noblefb of our youth -,had tailed every good
*' in life-,
and when the Republic fell, then
"quitted it : what ground is there then, either
" for you, or her, to complain of fortune on
" this account ? In fhort, do not forget, that
''
you are Cicero , one, who has been ufed al-
"ways to prefcribe and give advice to others ;
'' nor imitate thofe paultry Phyficians, who pre-*' tend to cure other people's difeafes, yet are
'' not able to cure their own-, but fuggeft rather
'' toyourfelf
the fameleflTon,
whichyou
would*^
give in the fame cafe. There is no grief fo
''great, which leneth of time will not alle-
" viate : but it woukl be fhametull in you to
" wait for that time, and not to prevent it by**
your wifdom : btfides, if there be any ^tn^Q
''in the dead, fuch was her love and piety to
^' you J thac Hie mufl be concerned to fee, hov/-*= much
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO.^y^^
" much you affli6t: yourfelf. Give this therefore to A- Urb. 708."
the deceafed-, give it to your friends j give it to ^^^-^2-
**
your country; that it may have the benefit of(^ t^
'
^
" your affiftance and advice, whenever there fhall C^sar"beoccafion. Laflly, fince fortune has now made Didator III.
*'it neceffary to us to accommodate ourfclves to
^' -'^milius
" our prefent fituation ; do not give any one aj^i^^'^ljP^'.
*' handle to think, that you are not fo much*'
bewaihng your daughter, as the ftate of the
*'times, and the vidory of certain perfons. I
" am afhamed to write any more, left 1 fiiould
" feem to diftruft your prudence ; and will add''
therefore but one thing farther, and conclude." We have fometimes feen you bear
profperity"
nobly, Vv'ith great honor and applaufe to your-"
{t\^ \ let us now fee, that you can bear ad-"
verfitywith the fame
moderation,and
with-*' out thinking it a greater burthen than you**
ought to do : left in the number of all your*' other virtues, this one at laft be thought to
" be wanting. As to myfelf, when I under-*' ftand that your mind is grown more calm and"
compofed, I will fend you word, how all
" things go on here, and what is the ftate of
I"
the Province. Adieuf jy]."
His anfwer to Sulpicius was the fame in effe6t
with what he gave to all his friends ;
"that his
*'cafe was different from all the examples,
" which he had been collecting for his own"
imitation, of men, who had born the lofs of*'
children with firmnefs ,fince they lived in
"times, v/hen their dignity in the ftate was able
*,' in great meafure to compenfate their misfor-**
tune : but for me, fays he^ after I had loft all
''thofe ornaments, which you enumerate, and
\.y'\ Ep.fam.
4. 5.
B b 3*^
whlcli
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574 ^^'^ History cf the Life
A. Urb. 708.f which I had acquired with the utmoft pains,
^r ff^*
"^ \i'2iyt now loil the
onely comfort that was
C luLi'us
"^"^^ ^^ ^^^' -^^ ^^^^ ^^^"^ ^^ ^^^ Republic,
C^sAR"
iiiy thoughts were not diverted by fervingjDidiator III.
"either my friends or my country : I had no
M. -^MiLius ccinclination to the Forum ,
could not bear theLepidus. tt
(jo-ht of the Senate; took myfelf, as the cafe
.
" m tnjth was, to have loic all the iruit or my.
"induftry and fortunes: yet when I refledled,
"that all this v/as common to you, and to ma-
" ny others, as well as to myfelf; and was for^
^'
cing myfelf therefore to bear ittolerably ; I
" had flill in Tullia, fomewhat always to recur
''to, in which I could acquiefce ; and in whofe"
fv/eet converfation I could drop all my cares
" and troubles : but by this lafl cruel wound,"
all the reft, which feemicd to be healed, are*'
broken out again afrefh : for as I then could
relieve the uneafinefs, which the Republic
gave me, by what I found at home ; fo I
''cannot now, in the afI]i(5i:ion which I feel at
home, find any remedy abroad ; but am dri-
ven, as well from my houfe, as the Forum ;
' fmce neither my houfe can eafe my public"
grief,nor the public my domeflic one
[2]."
The remonftrances of his friends had but lit-
tle effeft upon him ;all the relief that he found,
was from reading and writing,in vyhich he con-
tinually em.ployed himfelf; and did what mVian had ever done
beforehim^ draw
upa
treatife
of confolation for himfelf -,from which he pro-
feffes to have received his greateft comfort ;
"Though he wrote it, he owns, at a time
"when, in the opinion of the Philofophers, he*
' was not fo wife as he ought to have been;
[s:] Ep. fair.. 4. 6. it. add Att;. 12. 28.
^^but
cc
cc
(C
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of M. rULLIUS CICERO. 37^*' but I did violence, feiys he, to my nature ; to A. Urb. 708-
'' make the greatnefs of my forrow give place ^!^'^^'**
to the greatnefs of the medicine; though Iq juli'us'
*'
adled againft the advice of Chryfippus, who c^sar*'
difTuades the application of any remedy to Dilator TIT.
the firfl affaults of grief r^l." In this work ^^-^^'"^^'s
hechix'fly
imitated Grantor, the Academic, who^^^
*
j^
.
had left a celebrated pieceon the fame fubjed: ;
yet he inferred alfo whatever pleafed him, from any
ether author ivho had written upon it[h'\ ;
il-
luftrating his precepts all the way, by examplesfrom their own hiftory, of the mofi eminent Ro-
mans of bothfexes,
zvho had born the fame mif-
fortune with a remarkable conflancy. This book
was much read by the primitive Fathers, efpedally
LaBantius',
to whom we are obliged for the few
fragments,
which remain of it :
for,
as the Cri-
tics have long lince obferved, thatpiece, which
we now fee in the colle6lion of his writings, un-
der the title ofConfolation,
is undoubtedly fpu-
rious.
\_a1 Feci, quod ante me quafi tumores animi rems-
nemo, ut ipfe me per litteras dium adhibere, id nos feci-
confolarcr affirmo tibi mus, natura^que vim adtuli-
nuUam confolationemefTe ta- mus, ut magnitudini me-
lem. Ad Att. 12. 14. it. ib. dicinae doloris magnitudo28. conccderet. Tufc. Difp. 4.
Quid ego de confolatione 29.
dicam ? quae mihi quidem [^ ] Crantorem feqnor.
ipii fane aliquantum mede- Plin. Prxf. Hill. N. -.
tur, casteris item multum il- Neque tamen progrediorlam profuturam puto.
Delongius, quam mihi dodif-
Dix^ 2. I. fimi homines concedunt, quOrIn confolationislibro, quern rum fcripta omnia, qua^cun-
in medio, (non enim fapien- quK funt in earn fententiam
tes eramus) mccrore & dolor non !egi folum Ted in mea
confcripfimus : quodque ve- ctiamfcripta tranftuli. Ad
tatChryfippus, ad recentes Att. 12. 21. it. 22.
B b 4 But
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576 7he History of theLife
-A.Urb. 708. But the defign of this treatife was, not onelyCic. 62. tQ relieve his own mind, but to confecrate the
C T uvirtues and memory of Tullia to all pofterity ;
C^sAR ^or did his fondnefs for her flop here; butDiaatorlll. fuggeiled the projed of a more efFeftual con-
M. ^MiLiusfecration, hy building
a temple to her^ and eredt-Lepidus.
jpigj^^j. -j^^Q ^ ^Qj.|.
^jT j)Qiiy^ It was an opi-^' ^ ^ *
nion of the Philofophers, which he himfelf con-
ftantly favored, and in his prefent circumftances
particularly indulged,"
that the fouls of men*' were of heavenly extradion : and that the*'
pure and chad, at their diflblution from the
**body, returned to the fountain from which
*'
they were derived, to fubfift eternally in the
*'fruition and
participation of the Divine Na-** ture
, whilft the impure and corrupt were left
'^
to grovel below in the dirt and darknefs of*'thole inferior regions." He declares there-
fore,"
that as the wifdom of the antients had*'
confecrated and deified many excellent per***
fons of both fexes, whofe Temples were then*'
remaining; the progeny of Cadmus; of Am-*'
phitryon ; of Tyndarus ; fo he would perform*^ the fame honour to Tullia ; who, if any crea-*'
ture had ever deferved it, was of all the mod**
worthy of it. I will do it therefore. Jays he^" and confecrate thee, thou beft and moll learn-
** ed of women, now admitted into the affem-*'
bly of the Gods, to the regard and veneration*' of all mortals
[c]."In
\c\ Non enim omnibus il- cere cocuerunt; caftos autem
li fapientes arbitrati iuiu e- animos, puros, integros, in-
undem curfum in coelam pa- corruptos,bonis etiam fludiis
tere. Nam vitiis & fceleri- atque artibus expolitos, leni
bus contaminatos deprimi in quodam ac facili lapfa ad
tenebras, at^ue in cceno ja- I)eos, id eft, ad n"aturam fui
fm^alem
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. ^77
In his Letters to Atticus we find theflrongeft
A. Urb. 708.
cxpreflionsof his refolution, and impatience to fee ^^^' ^2.
this defignexecuted :
"I will have a Temple, ^ t^l^j^s
^'^
fays he-,it is
not poffibleto
divert me from c^s^^cc
it if it be not finifhed this fummer, I fhall Didator HI.
" not think myfelf clear of guilt I am more ^- ^m'lius
**
religiouflybound to the execution of it, than
Jjj^^^^p '^jt*'
any man ever was to the performance of his
*' vow[i].'*
He feems to have defigned a Fa-
bric of great magnificence -,for he had fettled
the plan with his Archited, and contradled for
Pillars of Chian marble, with afculptor of that
Ifle ; where both the work and the materials
were the moft efleemed of any in Greece[e\.
One reafon, that determined him to a Temple^
rather than a Sepulchre^ v/as, that in the one he
was not Hmited in the
^expenfe,
whereas in the
other he was confined by law to a certain fumm,
fimilem pervolare Fragm. probantibus Diisipfis,
in eo-
Confolat. ex Ladtantio rum ccstu locatam, ad opi-
Cum vero & mares k foe- nionem omnium mortalium
minas complures ex homini- confecrabo. ib. 'vid. Tufc.
bus in Deorum numero efle Difp. 1. i.e. xi. 12, 30, 31.
videamus, & eorum in urbi- [d~\ Fanum fieri volo, ne-
bus atque agris auguflifTima que mihi eruipoteft. [Ad
templa veneremur, aflentia- Att. 12. 36.] Redeo ad Fa-
mur eorumfapientise, quo- num, niii hac asftate abfolu-
rum ingeniis & inventis om- turn erit fcelere me libera-
nem vitam Icgibus & inftita- turn non putabo. [ib. 41.]
tis excultam conftitutamque Ego me majore religione,
habemus. Quod fii ullum quam quifquam fuit uliius
unquam animal confecran- voti, obftridum puto. Ib. 43.dum fuit, illud profedlo fuit.
\_e']Dc Fano illo dico
Si Cadmi, aut Amphitryonis neque de genere dubito, pla-
progenies,aut Tyndari in cet enim mihi Cluatii. [ib.
caelum tollenda fama fuit, 18.] Tu tamen cum Apellahuic idem honos certe di- Chio confice de columnis,
candus eft. Quod quidem [ib. 19.] vid. Plin. Hift. N.
faciam ; teque omnium op- 36. 5.6.
timamdOi^iffimamque, ap-
which
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378 ^e History of the Life
A. Urb. 708. which he could not excede, without the forfei-
Cic. 62. ture of the fame fumm alfo to the public : yetCoff. ^ ^g j^g ^gjjg ^3^ ^^g j^Q^ ^|,g ^l^-g^ motive,
cIesar t)ut a refolution, that he had taken, of makingDiaatorlir. a proper apotheofis [/]. The
onely difficultyM. ujEmILIUS -yy^S
Lepidus.
Mag. Equit.
[y] Nunquam mihi venit honors to dead r.crtah; and
in mentem, quo plus infum- tells us, how tkeir very Vuh-
turn in monumentum ^^tt^ licans had decided that quef-
quam nefcio quid, quod lege tion in Basotia : for when the
conceditur, tantundem po- lands of the Immortal Gods
pulo dandum t^o. : quod non were e^:cepted out of their
iiiagnopere moveret, nifi ne- leafe, by the laiv cf the Cen-
fcio quomodo, dhoyco^ for- Jors, they denied, that anytaffe. Nollem illud ullo no- c,v<? could be deemed an immor-
mine niii Faniappellari. talCady n.'Joo had cnce been a
[Att. 12. 35.] Sepulcri fimi- man ; andfu made the lands cf
litudinem effugere non tarn Jmpkiaraus andTrophcnius pay
propter pcrnain legis iludeo, the ftune taxes nvith therejij.
quam ut maximeafTcquar [de Nat. Deor.
3. 19]. Yet
a^^jio^'i.i'^aiv. lb. 36. in apolitical view he fome-
This fad feems to confirm times recommends the wor-
what the Author of the book ftup of thofe fons of men,of Wifdom obferves on the whom their eminent fervices
originof Idolatry ; that it to mankind had advanced to
wasowing
to the fond atfec- the rank of inferior
Gods,tion of Parents, fceking to as it inculcated, in a man-
do honor to their deceafed ner the moft fenfible, the
children. 7he father^ fays dodrine of the Soul's hnmor-
he, opprejjedivith an unex* tality : [de Leg. 2. xi.] And
peSled grief for the fudden fmce a temple was the mofdeath of his child, after mak- antient
nx;ayof doing honor
ing an image of him, began to to thofe dead, who had de-
nvorjhiphim as a Gody though ferved it; [Plin. Hift. ly.^
he nvas but a dead many and he conlidered it as the moft
enjoinedcertain rites and myjie-
effeftual method of perpe-ries to his fern)ants and
depeu- tuating the memory andprai-,
dents. [Wifd. xiv. 15.] But fesof TuUia; and was will-
it was not Cicero's real ing to take the benefit of the
thought after all to exalt his popular fuperlHtion, and
daughter into a Deity : he follow the e^'^ample of thofe
knew it to be abfurd, as he Antients, who hadpoliflied
often declares, to ;^ay di'vine aiid civilized human life, byconijpcrating^
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cf M.TULLIUS CICERO. 379
was to find a place that fuited his purpofe : his A. Urb. 70S,
firfl thought was to ptirchafe certain gardens crofs q^^'the 'Tiber^ which lying near the city,
and in the c. Julius
public view, were the moft likely to draw a re-C^sARfort of votaries to his new Temple ;
"he
pref-I^<^ator III.
*'fes Atticus therefore to buy them for him ^t ?^'
^^'^^""^
*'
any rate, without regard to his circumflances ; y[^ Equity^' fmce he would fell, or mortgage, or be con-"
tent to live on little, rather than bedifap-
"pointed : Groves and remote places, he fays^
" were proper onely for Deities of an eflablifh-
" ed name and religion ; but for the Deification*' of mortals, public and open fituations v/ere
*'
neceffary, to (Irike the eyes, and attradt the"
notice of the people." But he found fo ma-
ny obilrudiions in all his attempts ofpurchafing,
that to fave trouble andexpence,
Atticus advifed
him, to build atlafi
in one of his oizn lilla^s j to
which he feemed inclined, left the fummer
fhould pafs without doing any thing : yet he was
irrefolute ftill, which of his villa's he fhould
chufe ; and difcouraged, by rePiedling on the
change of maflers^ to which all private eftates
were expofed, in a fucceiTion of ages ; which
might defeat the end of his building, and de-
ftroy the honor of his Temple ; by convert-
ing it to other ufes, or fuffering it to fall into
rums [^].
But
ccnfecrating fuch patterns of fant in infinita potentatevirtue to the veneration of illud quafi confecratum re-
their fellow Citizens, Vid. manerepoiTit. Equidem jam
Mongault. Not. i. ad Att. nihil egeo vedligalibus, &1 2. 18. parvo contentus efTe pofTum.
[^] Sed ineunda nobis ra- Cogito interdum trans Tibe-
tio eft, quemadmodum in rim hortos aliquos parare,omni mutatione dominorum, & quidem ob hanc caufain
qui innumerabiles fieri poi- maxime j nihil enim video
quod
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380^he History
'ofthe
Life
A. Urb. 708. But after all his eagernefs and follicitude
Cic. 62. zhouttKi^ ^rempky it was never adually builtby*
Coil. Yam',
fince we find no mention of it in any of
C^sAR^"^ the ancient writers; which could not have been^
Diaator III. omitted, if a fabric fo memorable had ever been
M. -^MiLius ereded [hX It is likely, that as hisgrief eva-
Lepidxjs.porated,
and his mind grew more calm, he be-
Mag. Equit.g^j^
^Q confider hisproje6t more
philofophically ;
and to perceive the vanity of expecting any lafl-
ing glory
from fiich monuments, which time it-
felf, in the courfe of a fewages, mud neceflarily
deltroy : it is certain at leaft, that as he made no
iteptowards building it this fummer, fo Casfar's
death, which happened before the next, gavefrefh obflrudion to it, by the hurry of affairs, in
which it engaged him ; and though he had not
Hill wholly dropt the thoughts of it, but conti-
nued to make preparation, and to fet apart a
fund for it[f] \ yet in the fhort and bufy fcene
quod tarn celebre effepofTet. yet when it was removed in-
[ad Att. 12. 19 ]De hortis, to the Cicy, it mouldered
etiam atque etiam te rogo. away in three days. But
[ib. 22.] Ut fcepelocuti iu- this was
onclythe
hafiy con-mus, commutationes domino- jefture of fome learned of
nmi reformido. [ib. 36.] Ce- that time, which, for want
lebritatem require,ib. 37, of authority to
fupport it,
[/?> ]
Caslius Rhodiginus foon vaniihed of itfelf; for
tells us, that in the time of no infcription was ever pro-
Sixtus the 4th, there was duced to conlirm it^ nor has
found near Rome on the Ap- it been mentioned, that I
pian way, over-againft the know of, by any other au-
Tonib of Cicero, the body thor; that there was any fe.
of a woman, whofe hair was pulchre of Cicero, on the
drefled up in netv/ork of Appian way vid. CjeI.
gold,and which, from the P.hod. Ledlion.
antiq. 1, \.
infcription,was thought to c. 24.
be the body of Tullia. It [/] Quod ex iftis fruftnofis
was intire, and fo well pre- rebus receptum ell, id egoferved by fpices,
as to have ad illud fanum fepofitum pu-
fufFered no injury from time ; tabam. Ad Att. 15. 15.
of
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 3S1
of life, which remained to him, he never had A. Urb. 708.
leifure enough to carry it into execution.^l^'^^'
He was now grown fo fond of folitude, that q tJ'lius
all company was become uneafy to him ; and C^sarwhen his friend Philippus, the Father-in-law of Diaator III.
Odlavius, happened to come to his villa in that^' ^^ilius
neighbourhood, he was not a little difturbed atjvhg'^Equit
it, from the apprehenfion of being teized with
his vifits',and he tells Atticus, with fome plea-
fure, tbat he bad called upon ^himcnely to fay a
jhort complhnent^ end went hack again to Rome^
without giving him any trcuhle\k]. His wife
Pubiilia alfo v/rote him word, that her Mother
and Brother intended to wait upon him^ and that
jhe would come along with them^ if he would giveher leave ;
which fhe begged in the moft earnefb
and fubmifTive terms but his anfvver
was,that
he was more indifpofed than ever to receive compa-
ny^and woidd not have them come : and left they
iliouid come without leave, he defires Atticus to
watch their motions^ and give him notice^ that he
might contrive to avoid them[/J.
A denial fo
peremptory confirms what Plutarchfays, trhat
bis wife Was now in difgrace with hiniy on account
of her carriage towards hisdaughter^ and for
feemingto
rejoiceat her death : a crime, which^
in the tendernefs of his afflidlion, appeared to
[k]Mihi adkuc nihil pri- Jilio ad me venturam, & Te
us fuic hac foljtudine, quam una, fi ego paterer : orat
vereor, ne Philippus toUat : multis & lupplicibus verbisheri enim vefperi venerat. ut liceat, & ut fibi refcribam
lb. 12. 16. refcripfi, me etiam gra-
Quod eram veritus, non vius ei^e affeclum, quam tuqa,
obturbavit Philippus: nam cum illi dixiflem, me foium
ut heri me falutavit, ftatim effe velle, quare nolle meRomam profedus ell. lb. iS. hoc tempore earn ad me ve-
[/jPubiilia ad me
fcrip- nire te hoc nunc rogo
fit, matrem fvi.^m cum Pub- ut explores, lb.
32.
him
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Lepidus
Mag. Equit.
382 T^Be History of the Life
A. Urb. 708. him To heinous, that he could not bear theCic. 62.
thoughts of feeing her any more ; and though it
C. Julius^^^ inconvenient to him, to part with her for-
CiESAR tune at this time, yet he refolved to fend her dDidator III. divorce^ as a proper facrifice to the honor of
f:^^,'^' Tulha \ni\
Brui^us likewife about this time took a refo-
lution of putting away his wife Claudia, for the
fake of taking Porcia, Bihulus's widow, and his
Uncle Cato's daughter. But he was much cen-
fured for this llep ;fince Claudia had no llain
upon her charader , was nobly born ; the Sifter
of Appius Claudius\ and
nearlyallied to Pom-
pey ; fo that his Mother Servilia, though Cato's
Sifter, feems to have been averfe to the divorce,
and llrongly in the intereft of Claudia, againft
her Niece, Cicero's advice upon it was, that ifBruins was refohed upon the
thing,he fhould do it
out of hand, as the beft way to put an end to
people's talking \ by fhewing, that it was not
done out of levity or complaifance to the times,
but to take the daughter of Cato, whofe name
was now highly popular \n\ : which Brutus foon
after complied with, and made Porcia his wife.
There happened another accident this fum-
mer, which raifed a great alarm in the City ,
the furprizing death of Marcellus, whom Casfar
M This affair of Publi-
lia's divorce is frequently re-
ferred to, though with lome
obfcurity, in his Letters;and
we find Atticus employed byhim afterwards to adjuft with
the Brother Publilius, the
time and manner of payingback the fortune. Vid. ad
Att.13. 34, 47 : 16. 2.
\n\ A te expeCto fi quid
de Bruto : quanquam Niclas
confedlum putabac, fed di-
vortium non probari. AdAtt. 13. 9.
Brutus fi quid curabis ut
fciam. Cui quidem quam
primum agendum puto, prse-
lertim fi llatuit ; f.rmuncu-
lum enim omnem aut reftinx-^
erit aut fedarit. lb. 10.
had
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 385
had lately pardoned. He had left Mitylene,^-
V^^- 708*
and was come as far as Piraseus, on his way to-^^ ^^*
wards Rome ;where he fpent a day, with his c. Julius
old friend and collegue, Serv. Siilpicius, intend- C^saring to purfue his voyage the day following by
Ci<^ator III.
fea; but in the night, after Sulpicius had taken ^'^^^^^*^'
leave of him, on the twenty-third of May^ heMaf,^ Equit.
was killed by his friend and client, Magius, who
Jiabbed himfelf inftantly^ with the fame poignard :
of which Sulpicius lent thefollov/ing account to
Cicero.
cerv. Sulpicius
to M. T. Cicero.
*' Though I know that the news, which I
*' am going to tell you, will not be agreeable,*'
yetfince chance and nature
governthe lives
" of us all, I thought it my duty to acquaint*'
you with the fadV, in what manner foever it
"happened. On the twenty-fecond of May I
^' came by fea from Epidaurus to Piraseus, to
'' meet my collegue Marcellus, and for the fake
" of his company, fpent that day with him
" there. The next day, when I took my leave*' of him, with defign to go from Athens into
''Boeotia, to finifh the remaining part of my
*^jurifdi6lion, he, as he told m.e, intended to
" kt fail at the fam.e time towardsItaly. The
^'
day following, about four in the morning," when I was preparing to fet out from Athens,''
his friend, P. Poftumius, came to let me''know, that Marcellus was ftabbed by his
"companion P. Magius Cilo after fupper, and
*' had received two wounds, the one in his ilo-
-'mach, the other in his head near the ear,
" but he was in hopes ftiil, that he might live),
^^
tJiat Magip.s prefently killed himfelf; and"that
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384 The VL I ^roKY of the Life
A. Urb. 708."^hat Marcellus fent him to inform me of the
^cr^*"
^^^^' ^^^ ^^ defire, that I would bring fome
C. Julius
"Phyficians to him. I got fome together im-
cksAR "mediately, and went away with them before
Diaatorlll. " break of day: but when I was come near Pi-
M. -^MiLius cer^eus, Acidinus's boy met me with a note
M^ag^Equit.
"^^^"^ ^^^ mafter, in which it was
fignified, that^ " Marcellus died a little before day. Thus a
"great man was murthered by a bafe villain ^
" and he, whom his
very
enemies hadfpared*' on the account of his
dignity, received his
" death from the hands of a friend. I went" forward however to his tent, where I found
two of his freedmen, and a few of his flaves ;
all the refl, they faid, were fled, being in a'"
terrible fright,on the account of their mailer's
"murther. I was forced to carry his body with
" me into the City, in the fame litter in which"
I came, and by my own fervants : where I
"provided a funeral for him, as fplendid as the
*' condition of Athens would allow. I could*' not prevail
with the Athenians, to grant a'*
place of burial for him within the City ; they*'
faid, that it was forbidden by theirreligion,
*^ and had never been indulged to any man :
*< but they readily granted, what was the mofl:
"-defirable in the next place, to bury him in
'
any of their public Schools, that I pleafed. I
" chofe a place therefore, the nobleft in the
"Univerfe, the School of the Academy^ where I
*' burnt him;and have fince given orders, that
" the Athenians fhould provide a Marble Mo-*' nument for him in the fame
place. Thus I
*' have faithfully performed to him, both when"
living and dead, every duty, which our part-**
nerfhip in office, and my particular relation
" to
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of MTULLIUS CICERO. 385*'
to him required. Adieu. The thirtieth of A. Urb. 708*"May from Athens
[^].^'^J^^-
M. Marcellus was the head of a family, q Julius
which, for a fucceflion of many ages, had madeC/ESARthe firft figure in Rome, and was himfelf adorn- r)i<ftator III.
ed with all the virtues, that could qualify him to^'
^^ilius
fuflain that dignity, which he derived from hisy^^^ Eault
noble anceftors. He had formed himfelf in a
particular manner for the Bar, where he foon
acquired great fame ; and, of all the Orators of
his time, feems to have approached the nearefl
to Cicerohimfelf^
in the chajradler of a complete
Speaker. His manner of fpeaking waselegant,
firong^ and copious \ with a fweetnefs of voice^
andpropriety of action
^that addled a grace and
luf-
ier toevery thing that he faid. He was a conjlant
admirerand imitator of Cicero^ of the fame prin-
ciples in peace^and on the fame fide in war ; fo
that Cicero laments his abfence, as the lofs of a
companion and partner^ in their common ftudies
and labors of life. Of all the Magiflrates, he
was the fiercefl oppofer of Casfar's power, and
the mod adtive to reduce it : his high fpirit,and
the ancient glory of his houfe, made him impa-tient under the thought of receiving a mafter ;
and when the battle of Pharfalia feemed at laii
to have impofed one upon them., he retired to
Mitylene, the ufual refort of men of learning ;
there to fpend the reft of his days in a ftudious
retreat, remote from arms, and the
hurry
of
war ; and determined neither to feek, nor to
accept any grace from the Conqueror. Here
Brutus paid him a vifir, and found him, as he
gave an account to Cicero, as perfectly eafy and
happy under all the fuifery of the times, from the
[0] Ep. fam. 4. 12.
Vol. 11. C cconfcioufiefs
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^S6 The History of the Life
A. Urb. yoS.confchuffiefs of his integrity^
as the condition of hu-
^r (T^*'^^^ ^^f^
^^ ^^^^ ' furrounded with the principal
C. JuliusScholars and Philbfophers of Greece, and ^ager
cksAR in the purfuit of knowledge ; fo that in departing
Diftator III. from him towards Italy, he feemed^ he faid, to
M. u^MiLius^^ ^^^~ himfelf into exiL rather than leaving Mar-^
Lepidus. jf9 .
^ <,^
Mag.Eqait.^^^^^^ in it [p],
Magius, who killed him, was of a family
which had born fome of the publick offices, and
had himfelf been S>ueftor[^]
; and
having
at-
tached himfelf to the fortunes of Marcellus, and
followed him through the wars and his exil, was
now returning with him to Italy. Sulpicius gives
no hint of any caufe, that induced him to com-
mit this horrid fa6t: which, by the immediate
death of Magius, could never beclearly known.
[^] Mihi, Inquit, Marcel- ullo genere laudis prseftan-
lus fatis eft notus. Quid igiturtior ? pro Marcel, i .
de illo judicas ? quod habi- Noftri enim lenfus, ut in
turus es fimilem tui ita eft, pace Temper, fic turn etiam in
& vehementer placet.Nam bello congruebaht. lb. 6.
& didicit, & omiflis cxteris Qui hoc tempore ipfo-in
(ludiis id egit unum, fefeque hoc communi noftro & quaft
quotidianis commentationi- fatali malo, confoletur fe
bus acerrime exercuit. Ita- cum confcientiaoptimae men-
que Sc ledis utitur verbis & tis, turn etiam ufurpationc ac
frequentibus ; & fplendore renovatione doftrinas. Vidi
vocis, dignitate motus fit enim Mitylenis nuper virum,
Ipeciofum& illuftre, quod atque ut dixi, vidi plane vi-
dicitur ; omniaque fic fuppe- rum. Itaque cum eum antea
tunt, ut ei nullam deeiie vir- tui fimilem in dicendo vide-
tutemoratoris
putem.Brut,
rim;turn vero nunc dodliffi-
367.mo viro, tibique ut intellexi,
Dolebam, Patrcs confcrlp. amiciffimo Cratippo, inftruc-
d, -illo 2emulo atque imita- tum omni copia, multovide-
tore ftudiorum meorum, qua- bam iimiliorem. Brut. ibid,
fi quodam focio a me & co- vid. Senec. Confolat. ad
mite diftrafto quls enim ell Helv. p. 79.
illo aut nobilitate, aut probi- [q] Vid. Pigh. Anna!. A.
tate, aut optimarum artium U. 691.
ibadio, aut innocentia, aut
Cicero's
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0f M. rULLlVS CICERO. 387
Cicero's conjedure was^ that Magius^ opprejjed ^-'^J^^- 70S.
with debts^ a nd apprehending fome trouble on thatqct
^'
fcore at his return^ had been urging Marcellus^ q j^^i'^^
who was his fponfor for fome part of them^ to fur- C^sarnifh him with money to pay the whole
-,and by re- I^i<^ator III.
ceiving a denial^ was provoked to the madnefs of ^^
milius
killing his Patron [r].Others afTign
a differentjviag. Eqiiit.
reafon, as the rage of jealoufy^ and the impatience
bf feeing others more favored by Marcellus^ than
himfelf [j].
As foon as the news reached Rome, it raifed
a general conflernation : and from thefufpicious
hature of the times, all people's thoughts v/ere
f)refently
turned on Csfar, as if he wereprivate-*
y the contriver of it-,and from the wretched
fate of fo illuftrious a Citizen, every man beganto think himfelf in
danger: Cicero was
greatlyfhocked at it, and feemed to confider it, as the
prelude of fome greater evil to enfue,and At-
ticus fignifyinghis concern upon it, advifes him
to take a more particularcare of himfelf, as
being
'the onely confular Senatorleft^
who ftood expofed
to any envy [/]. But Csefar's friends foon clear-
ed him of all fufpicion ; as indeed the fad itfelf
did, when the circumftances came to be knov/n,
and fixt the whole guiltof it on the fury of
Magius.
[r] Qnanquam nihil habeo micorum ab eo fibi prsferri.
quod dubicem, nifiipfi
Ma- Val. Max.9. ii.
gioquas fueritcaufa amentiae. [/] Minime miror te &i'ro quo quidem etiam Spon- graviter
ferre ce Marcello, &for Sunii fa-!tus ell. Nimi-
plura vereri periculi genera,
rum id fuit. Solvendo enim Quis enim hoc timeret, quodnon erat. Credo eum a Mar- neque acciderat antea, nee
cello petiifTe aliquid,Sc ilium, videbatur nacura ferre, ut ac-
ut erat, conliantius refpon- ciderepoflet.
Omnia igitur
diflTe. Ad Att, 13. 10. metuenda, &c. Ad Att. 13.
[j] Indignatus aliquema- 10.
C c 2 Therje
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388 The History of the Life
A.Urb. 708. There appeared at this time a bold Impof-
S^ (T^' tor, who began to make a great noife and figure
C Tuu'us^" Italy, by afTuming the name, and pretending
CiESAR to be the Grand/on of Cuius Mai'ius: but appre-Diaator III. hending that Caefar would foon put an end to
M.iEMiMusj^jg
pretenfions, and treat him as he deferved, he
m"' Eqiiit^^"^ ^
pathetic Letter to Cicero, by fome youngfellows of his company, to juftify
his claim and
defcent, and to implore his protediion againllthe
enemies of his family ; conjuring him by their re^
lation \ by the poem^ which he had formerly written
in praife of Mariiis \ by theelcqtience of L. Craffus^
his mother's Father^ whom he had likewifecele-
brated^ that he would undertake the defence of his
caufe : Cicero anfwed him very gravely,that he
could not want a Patron^ when his Kinfman C^far^
fo eyxellent and generous a man^ was now the Majlerof all ; yet that he
alfo fhould be ready to favor
him [u]. But C^efar, at his return, knowing him
to be a cheat, banillied him out ofItaly , fmce
inflead of being, what he pretended to be, he
was found to be onely a Farrier^ whofe true
name was Herophilus [.v].
Ariarathes the Brother and prefumptive
heir of Ariobarzanes, King of Cappadocia^ came
[] Heii quidam Urbani, hominis liberal iffimi ;me ta-
ut videbantur, ad me manda- men ei futurum ad Att. 12.
ta & litteras attulerunt, a C. 49.
Mario, C. F. C. N. multis [*] Herophilus Equariusverbis
ageremecum
per cog-mctiicus,
CMarium
Teptiesnationem, qua; mihi fecum Confulem avum fibi vendi-
ciTet, per eum Marium, qun cando, ita fe extulit, ut co-
fcripfiflem, per eloquentiam Ionise veteranorum compluresL. Crafli avi fui, ut fe defen- & municipiafplendida, collc-
derem refcripfinihil ei Pa- giaque fere omnia patronum
trono opus effe. quoniam Cdc- adoptarent coeterum decre-
fciris, propinqui ejus,omnis to Ca;faris extra Italiam rele-
poteilas e/Tct, viri optimi &cgatus,
&c, Val. Max.9. 15.
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of M rULLIUS CICERO. 389
to Rome this year ; and as Cicero had a particu-A. Urb. 70S.
lar friendfhip with his family, and, when Con-S^*^'^^*
ful, had, by a decree of the Senate, conferred q julius
upon his Father the honor of ihe Regal 7///f, he c^sar
thought proper to fend a fervant to meet him on Didatorlir.
the road, and invite him to his hcufe : but he was^^'
-^^^'^-lus
already engaged by Seftius, whofe office it then ^^ ^q^^
was, to receive foreignPrinces and Embafladors
at the pubHc expence -,which Cicero was not dif-
pleafed with in the prefent ftate of his domeftic
affairs : he comes, fays he, / gi^ejs^to purchafe
fome kingdom of C^far^ for he has not atprefeyit a
foot of land of his own \j\Cicero's whole time during his folitude was
employed in reading and writing : this was the
bufinefs both of his days and nights : it is incre-
dible,
hefays,
how much hewrote^
afid how little
he flept: and if he had not fallen into that way of
fpzndinghis time, he fhould not have known what to
do with himfelf [z]. His ftudies were chiefly
Philofophical, which he had been fond of from
his youth, and, after a long intermifiion, now
refum.ed with great order ; having taking a refolu-
tion, to explain to his Countrymen in their ownlanguage,
whatever the Greeks had taught on
every partof Philofophy
whether fpeculative or
[j?]Ariarethes Ariobarza- tudo ell, invito eum per lit-
ni hlius Romam venit. Vult, teras, ut apud me diverietur.
opinor, regnum aliquod e- Ad Att. 13.26.
mere a Caefare : nam, quo [2] Credibile non ert^,
modo nunc eft, pedem ubi quantam fcribam die, quin
ponat in luo non habet. Om- etiam noflibus. Nihil enim
ilino eum Seftius nolter paro- fomni, lb. 26.
chus publicus occupavit: Nifi mihi hoc veniflet in
quod quidem facile patior, mentem, icribere ifta nefcio
Verumtamen quodjnihi fum- quae, quo verterem me non
mo beneficio meo, magna haberem. lb, 10,
cum fratribusillius necefli-
C c 3 pradical :
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2po ^he History of theLife
A.Urb. 708. pradlical :
*' For being driven, as he tells us,
Cic. 62. ^cfj.Qj.j^ |.|^e public adminiftration, he knew no
^011.
4c
^,^^y^^ efFedual of doing good, as by inftrud-
CiESAR ''i^"^g ^^^ minds, and reforming the morals of
Didator III." the youth ; which, in the licence of thofe
M. ^MiLius <fc
times, wanted every help to reflrain and cor-
M ^^^E ^ui
" ^^^ them. The calamity of the City, fays be,^ '* made this tafk necefTary to me : fince in the
"confufion of civil arms, I could neither de-
**fend it after
myold
way, nor, when it was
*^
impofTible for me to be idle, could I find any*'
thing better, on which to employ myfelf. My*'
Citizens therefore will pardon, or rather thank*^ me , that when the governm.ent was fallen into*'
the power of a fingle perfon, I neither wholly^'
hid, nor afflidled myfelf unnecefTarily ; nor*'
afted in fuch a manner, as to feem angry at*'
the man, or the times ; nor yet flattered or*'
admired the fortune of another fo, as to be''
difpleafed with my own. For I had learnt
*' from Plato and Philofophy, that thefe turns" and revolutions of dates are natural
^fome-
**times into the hands of a few^ fometimes of
*' the many^ fometimes of one : as this was the*'
cafe of our own Republic, fo when I was dc-
'^prived of my former poft in it, I betook my-
''felf to thefe ftudles, in order to relieve my
*' mind from the fenfe of our common miferies,** and to ferve my country at the fame time in the**
befl manner that I was able:
for my books"fupplied the place of my votes in the Senate ;
*^ and of my fpeeches to the people ; and I took^^up philofophy, as a fubilitute for my man^ge-
^^ ment of the ftate [^]."
[a] I)ivin. 2. 2. de Fin, i.j.
He
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ofM. TULLIUS CICERO.-591
'He now publiflied therefore, in the way of A. Urb. 70^.
dialogue, a book, which he called Hortenfius, ^p ^^*in honor of his deceafed friend ; where in a de- c. Juliuj
bate of learning he did, what he had often done C/esarin contefts of the Bar, undertake the defence of^'^^^tor III.
FMofophy againji Hortenfius^ to whom heaffigned^'
-^^^^^^^
the part of arraigning it [^]. It was the reading Mag^qdtof this book, long fince unfortunately iofl, which
firft inflamed St. Auftin, as he himfelf fomewhere
declares, to the Jtudy of,the Chrijlian Philofophy :
and if it had yielded no other fruit, yet happy it
was to the world, that it once fubfifted, to be
the inftrument of raifing up fo illuflrious a con-
vert and champion to the Church of Chrifl [f].
He drew up alfo about this time in four books^
^ particular account and defence of thePhilofophy
ofthe
Academy\ the fedb, which he himfelf fol-
lowed ; being, as he fays, of all others^ the mofi
conjijlent with itfelf and the leaft arrogant^ as well
as moji elegant \d]. He had before publifhed
a work on the fame fubjeft in two books; the
[3] Cohorti fumus, ut ed to difcourage hisdifciples
maxime potuimus, ad Philo- from reading them at all ;
fophiae ftudium eo libro, qui and declared, that he had not
eftinfcriptus,
Hortenfius taken either Cicero or MarOfde Div. 2.1. or any heathen ^writer into his
Nos autem univerfce Philo- hands for aho^vefifteen yean :
fophiae vituperatoribus re- for which his adverfary Ruf-
fpondimus in Hortenfio. Tuf. finus rallies him very ievere-
X)ifp. 2. 2. ly. Vid. Hieron, Op.Tonj.
[c] It is certain, that ///>^^ 4. par. 2. p. 414. it. par. i.
tatin Fathers ffiade great ufe p. 288. Edit. Benedict.
of Cicero's ^writings ',and cf- [d] Quod g^nus philofo-
pecially jerom, who was not phandi minime arrogans,
lo grateful as Auftin, in ac- maximeque 8c conftans, tx e-
knowledging the benefit; legans arbitrai*emur, auatuor
for, having conceived fome AcademicisJibrisoftendimus,
fcruples on that fcore in his De Divin. 2. i,
declining age, he endeavour-C c 4 on
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592 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 708. one called Catulus, the other Lucullus : but con-
^r (T^* iidering that the argument was not fuited to the
C luLiuschara5Iers of the fpeakers -y
who were notparticu-
C^sAR larly remarkable for any ftudy of that fort, heDiaator III. was thinking to change them to Cato and Brutus :
M. iEMiLius^yl^gj^ Atticus happening to fignify to him, thatjlepidus.
y^ffo hadexprejfed
a dejire to be inferted in fome of
his writings^ he prefently reformed his fcheme,
and enlarged it into four Books, which he addreff-
ed to Varro, taking upon himfelf the part ofPhi^
lo^ of defendingthe principles of Academy \ and
afTigning to Varro that of Antiochus \ of oppofing
and confuting them-, and introducing Atticus, as
the moderator of the difpute. He finifhed the
v/hole with great accuracy ;fo as to make it a
prefent worthy of Varro; and if he was not de-
ceivedy
hefays, ly
apartiality
and
felf-love too
common in fuch cafes,there was nothing on the fuh^
je^l equalto it, even among the Greeks \e\ All
thefe four books, excepting partof the firft, are
I now loft',
whilft the fecond book of the firft edi-
tion, which he took fome painsto
fupprefs, re-
mains ftill intire, under it's original Title of Lu-
cullus.
He publifhed likewife this year one of the
nobleft of his works, and on the nobleft fubjeft
in Philofophy, his treatife called, de Finihus, or of
the chief good and ill of man-,written in Arijlotle's
[e] Ergo illam 'A;tct/M^/- ab hpminibus nobiliffimis ab-
XrW, in qua homines, nobiles lluli ; tranftuli ad noftrum
illi quidam, fed nullo modo fodalem, & ex duobus libris
philologi,nimis acute lo- contuli in quatuor- libri qui-
quuntur, ad Varronem tranf- dem ita exierunt(nifi me
feramus Catulo & Lucullo forte communis ^tAAviict de-
alibi reponemus. Ad Att.cipit)
ut in tali genera nc
13. 12. apud Graecos quidem quic-
Quod ad me de Varrone quam fimile. lb. 13. vide
fcripferas, totam A^ademiam i;. ib, 16. 19.
manner
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^f M. TULLIUS CICERO. 393
manner [/] ,in which he explaned with great
A. Urb. 708.
elegance and perfpicuity,the feveral opinions of r ^
all the ancient feds on that moft important quef- c. Juiivi
tion. // is there inquired^ he tells us, what is the Casar
chief end, to which all the views of life ought to he I^^ator III.
referred, in order to make it happy : or what if isj
* '^^^^^^*
which nature purfues as the fupreme good, andfhuns j^ag. Equit.
as the worfi of ills [g']. The work confifls of
five books : in the two firft, the Epicurean doc*
trine is largely opened and difcufled ; being de-
fended by Torquatus, and confuted by Cicero,
in a conference fuppofed to be held in his Cuman
Villa, in the prefence of Triarius, a youngGentleman, who came with Torquatus to vifit
him. The two next explane the do5lrine of the
Stoics, afierted by Cato, and oppofed by Cicero,
in a friendly debate, upon their meeting acci-
dentally in Lucullus's Libra7y. The fifth con-
tains the opinions of the old Academy, or the Pe--
ripateticks, explaned by Pifo, in a third dialogue,
fuppofed to be held at Athens, in the prefence of
Cicero, his Brother ^intus, Couftn Lucius, and
Atticus, The Critics have obferved fome im-
propriety in this laft book ; in making Fifo refer
to the other two dialogues, of which he had no
fhare, and could not be prefumed to have any
knowledge \h\ But if any inaccuracy of that
kind bereally found in this, or any other of his
[/] Q!?^ autem his tern- vivendi, refleque faciendi
poribus fcripfi. 'Afgs-oJ'lA.6/.qj/ confilia referenda. Quid fe-
^orem habent ita confeci quatur nature, pt fummum
quinque libros arsp/ Tihav-' ex rebus expetendis ; quid fu-
jb. 19. giatut extremum malorum.
[g]Turn id, quod his li- De Fin. 1.4.
bris quaeritur, quid fit finis, [h] Vid. Praefat. Davis in
quid extremum, quid ulti- Lib. de finib.
mum, quo fmt omnia bene
works,
>r
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qp^The History of the Life __
A.Urb. 70S. works, it may reafonably be excufed by thatmul-Cic. 62.
tiplicityof affairs, which fcarce allowed him time
^S^^' to write, much lefs to revife what he wrote : and
cI^hK^^ in dialogues of length compofed by piece-meal,
Diftator III. and in the fhort intervals of leifure, it cannot
M. ^MiLius feem ftrangethat he fhould fometimes
forget his
Lepidus.artificial, to refume his proper character ; and
I> ag. qui.^^^^^ inadvertently into a
part, which he had
affigned to another. He addreffed this work to
Brutus, in return for a
prefent
of the fame kind,
which Brutus had fent to him a little before, >a
treatife upon virtue[t].
Not long after he had finifhed this work, he
publifhed another of equal gravity, called his
^ufculan Difputations ',in ^yq books alio, upon
as many different queftions in Philofophy, the
m^ important and ufeful to the happinefs ofhuman life. The firft teaches us, how to contemn
ihe terrors of deaths and to look upon it as ahlef^
fing^ rather than an evil : the fecond, to fupport
pain and affii^iionwith a manly fortitude : the third,
to appeafe all our complaints anduneafineffes under
the accidents of life: the fourth, to moderate all
vur other pafjions:
'
the fifth, to evince thefufficien-
xy of virtue to make man happy. It was his cuftom,
in the opportunitiesof his leifure, to take fome
friends with him into the country ; where inftead
of amufing themfelves with idlefports or feafts,
their diverfions were wholly fpeculative ; tend-
ing to improve the mind, and enlarge the under-
ftanding. In this manner he nowfpentjfi;^ days
at his Tufculan Villa^ indifcuffjng with his friends
the feveral queftions juft mentioned : for after
employing the mornings in declaming and rhe-
torical exercifes, they ufed to retire in the after-
[/] De Fimb, i. j.
noon
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of M. rtlLLl'US CICEtCo. ^9^noon into a Gallery, called the Academy^ which A.'Urb. yofe.
he had built for the purpofe of Philofophical con- ^^<^:,^'2.
ferences : where, after the manner of the Greeks, p S^^'x
he held a School^ zs they called it, and invited cJsarthe company to call for atty flibjeft,
that they Diaator III.
defired to hear explaned; which being propofed^ '^milius
accordingly by fortie of the audience, became^^.^''ly^-.
immediately theafguriie'iit
of thatday's debate.
^^' ^^^*
Thefe five conferences or dia]o;?ues he coiiedted
afterwards into writing, in the'Very words ''arid
manner'
in which they really paffed^ and publilhed
them under the title of \{\s Tufctilan Difputtittons^
from the name of the Villa, m which they wefe
held [kl .^.
He wi^o^e'alib a little jKfec^, In tKe^ ^f^^Funeral Encomium, in praife of Porcia
\the ftjier
of CatOyand
wife ofDomitius
Ahenobarhus^ Cfe-far's mortal enemy ; which fhews how little he
was ilill difpofed to court the times. Varro and
Lollius attempted the famefubje6t ; zw^Ciceto
defires Atticus to fend him their compofitions : biit
all the three are now loft : though Cicero took,
the pains to revife and corred: his ; and fent
copies of it. afterwards to Domitius the Sen, 'and
Brutus, the Nephew of that Porcia[/].
'[^] In Tufculano, cum narrantes exponimus, fed eif-
tfient complures mecum Fa- dem fere verbis ut adum dif-
miliares ponere jubeoam, puta'umque eft. lb. 2.'3.
de quo qujs audire vellet; ad
3. 3.
id aut ledens aut ambulans [/] Laudafionem Porciae
difputabam. Itaque dicrum tibi niifi corredtam : ac eo
quinque Scholas, ut Grxci properavi ; ut li forte aut
appellant, in totidem libros'
Domido filio aut Bruto mit-
contuli. Tufc. Difp. I.4. teretur, h^c mitteretur. Id
Itaque cum ante meridiem fi tibi erit commoduin, mag-didlioni operam dedillemus nopere cures velim; & velim
portmeridiem '\n Acadeni'am M. Varronis, Lolliique mit-
defcendimus : in qua diipu- tas laudationem. Ad Att,
Utionem habitam non quafi 13. 48. it. ib. 37.
C^SAR
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3p6 7he History of the Life
A. Urb. 708. CiESAR Continued all this while inSpain,
^c'^^' purfuing the Sons of Pompeyy and providing for
C. Julius^^^ future peace and fettlement of the Province ;
C^sAR whence he paid Cicero the compliment of fend-
Didator III. ing him an account of his fuccefs with his ownM. -^MiLius hand, Hirtius alfo gave him early intelligence
Mag Equit.^f ^^^ ^^/^^/ andflight of the two Brothers \ which
was not difagreeable to him, for though he was
not much concerned about the event of the war,
andexpefted
no
goodfrom it on either fide,
yetthe opinion, which he had conceived of the fierce-
nefs and violence of the young Pompeys, efpecially
of the elder of thtm^ Cnaeus, engaged his wifhes
rather for Caefar. In a Letter to Atticus, Hir-
tius, fays he, wrote me word, that Sextus Pom-
fey had withdrawn himfelf from Corduha into the
hither Spain ; and that Cn^us too was fled, I knownot whither ; nor in truth do I care [m] : and this
indeed feems to have been the common fentiment
of all the Republicans : as Caflius himfelf, writ-
ing to Cicero on the famefubje6t, declares flill
more explicitely ;
"May I
perifh, fays he, if I
*'be not follicitous about the event of
things in
*'
Spain ; and would rather keep our old and cle-
** ment mafler, than try a new and cruel one.
** You know what a fool Cnasus is;how he tabs
*'cruelty for a virtue : how he has always thought,
**that we laughed at him
-,I am atraid left he
** fhould take it into his head to repay our jokes*'
in his ruftic manner with the fword []."
[w] Hirtius ad me fcrip- clementem dominum habe-
fit. Sex. Pompeium Corduba re, quam novum & crudelem
exiffe, & fugiffe in Hifpa- experiri. Scis, Cnaeus quamniam citerior.'m ;
Cnasum fit fatuus; fcis quomodo cru-
fugifle nefcio quo, neque e- delitatem virtutem putet ;
nim euro. Ad Att. 12. 37. fcis, qu^ fe Temper a nobis
[] Peream, nifi follicitus derifum putet.
fum ; ac ma|o veterem ac
Young
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 297
Young Quintus Cicero, who made the cam- A. Urb. 7of.
paign along with C^far, thinking to pleafe his^q^^^'
company, and to make his fortunes the better q juL,ug
among them, began to play over his old game, c^sarand to abufe his uncle again in all places. Cicero, Diaator III.
in his account of it to Atticus, fays,"
there islep^us''''''"
nothing new, but that Hirtius has beenj^ |
'
j^^
*
quarrellingin my defence, with our Nephew
*'Quintus, who takes all occafions of faying
"every thing bad of me, and efpecially
at pub-* lie feafts ; and when he has done with me,*'
falls next upon his Father : he is thought to
"fay nothing fo credible, as that we are both ir-
"reconcilable to Cafar \
that defar Jhould truft*'
neither of us ; and even beware of me : this
" would be terrible ;did I not fee, that our King
*'is
perfuadedthat I have no
fpirit
left
[o]"Atticus was always endeavouring to mo-
derate Cicero's impatience under the prefent go-
vernment, and perfuading him, to comply more
chearfuUy with the times; nor torejedb the
friendfhip of C^efar, which was fo forwardly of-
fered to him : and upon his frequent complaints
of the flavery and indignity of his prefent condi-
tion, he took occafion to obferve, that Cicero
could not but own to be true, that if to pay a par-
ticular court and obfervance to a man^ was the mark
of flavery^ thofein power feemed to be Jlaves rather
Vere#f, ne nos ruftice gla- ^atrem : nihil autem ab eo
^\Qyt\\\.aLv\iu.v)i,\^iSJi>. Ep. tam^-:; -Ti5-<y? did, qua^ a-
fam. 15. 19.lieniffimos nos efTc a Csefare ;
[0]Novi fane nihil, niii fidem nobis habendam non
Hirtium cum Quinto acerri- effe ; me vero cavendum.
mo pro me litigaffe ;omni-
(^ojiipoi' mV, nifi viderem fcirc
bus eum locis facere, maxi- Regem, me animi nihil ha-
roeque in conviviis ; cum bere Ad Att. 13.37.
niulta de me, turn redir ad
4 f
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598 ^he History of the Life
^vUrb. 708. tokm th^rihe to tkem [^].
Witli the fame view
^^^2. ^g ^^s i^ipw prefTing him, among his otherworks^
C lu 3^^ think of foniething to be addrqfed to Csefar:
CiESAR hij;; Cicero had no appetite to this tafk ; he faw
Bji^torlll.how difEcuit
it;would be to
perforttiit without
JVi/^MiLiysl^'ljening
his chara(5ter, and defcendlhg toflattery;
Lepid^s. yi^i;' being urged to it aifo by othet friends, he
.m* T^.^-^ drew up a Letter, which was communicated to
|d[i;rtius'an4. Balbus, for their judgement upon it,
\yhether it was proper to be fent to Casfar. Th^
fubjed feems to h^ve "been fbme advice, about
rcftpringthe peace and hberty of the RepubHc ;
and to difluade him from the Parthian war^
>!/hich he intended for hisne^^t expedition, till
he had finifhed* the more' heceflarywork of
iettlingthe ftate of things at home : there was
"nothing in it, he fzys,i?ut
what mightcome
fromthe lefi of Citizens, It was drawn however with
rp rquch freedom, that though Atticus feemed
pieafed with it, yet the other two durfl not ad*
yife the fending it, unlefs fome paffages were
altered and foftned -,which difgufled Cicero fo
puch, that he refolved not to write at all ; and
whep Atticus was flill urging him to be more
complaifant,he anfwered with great fpirit
in two
qr three Letters [^].
(^] Etfi mehercule, uttu fcis ita nobis efTe vlfum, ut
intelligis, magis mihi ifti Ifti axite legerenc.Tu
igitur
ferviunt, fi obfervare fervire id curabis. Sed nifi plane
eft. Ad Att. 13. 49. intelligesiis
placere, mitten-
[^] Epiftolam ad C^efarem da non eft. Ad Att. 12.51.
jnitti video tibi placere mi- Pe Epiftola ad Caefarem,
l\\ quidem hoc idem maxi- ;t4x.p//.it. Atque id ipfum,
jne placuit, & eo magis, .quodifti aiunt ilium fcribere,
x^uodnihil eft in ea nift opti- fe, nifi conftitutis rebus, non
jni civi fed ita optimi, ut iturum in Parthos, idem ego
tempora, quibus parere om- f\iadebam in ilia epiftola
nes'sroA/'l/Ko/ pracipiunt.
Sed ,ib. 13. 31.
As
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO, jpp" As for the Letter to Csefar, fays he^ I A. Urb. 70^.
* was always very willing, that they Ihould firflr^p"^^*
" read it : for otherwife I had both been want- q tJ^ljus*'
ing in civility to them ; and if I had happened Ctesar"to give offence, expofed myfelf alfo to dan- Diftator III.
**ger. They have dealt ingenuoufly and kind-
^* -^m'l.iu
<'
ly with me, in not concealing what they j^^^'^g^j^j^^"thought : but what pleafes me the moft is,
*' that by requiring fo many alterations, they give*' me an excufe for not writing at all. As to the
*' Parthian war, what had I to confider about*'
it, but that which I thought would pleafe him ;
*'for what fubjedt was there elfe for a Letter,
*' but flattery? or if I had a mind to advife, what
"I really took to be the bed, could 1 have been
*' at a lofs for words ? there is no occafion there-
^' fore for
any
Letter : for where there is no*'
greatmatter to be gained, and a
flip, though*' not great, may make us uneafy, what reafon
*'is there to run any rifle ?
efpecially, when it is
*' natural for him to think, that as I wrote no-*'
thing to him before, fo I fliould have written
*'nothing now, had not the war been wholly
'
ended : befldes, I am afraid lefl: he lliould*'
imagine, that I fent this, as a fweetner for
*'
my Cato : in fliort, I was heartily afliamed of*' what I had written ; and nothing coulc fall'
*' out more luckily, than that it did notpleafe
Again," As for writing to Casfar, I f*vear
*' to you, I cannot do it : nor is it yet the fl^ame
*' of it that deters me, which ought to do i: the*' mofl: j for how mean would it be to flatter,
^
*' when even to live is bafe in me ? but it is not,"
as I was faying, this flaame, v/hich hinders
[;] Ad Att. 13.27.
me.
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400 The History of the LifeA. Urb. 7b8.
cc
^^^ though I wifli it did ; for I fhould then
^ColT^*
*'^^> ^^^^ ^ ought to be ; but I can think of
C. Julius"
nothing to write upon. As to thofe exhorta-
C^sAR *' tions, addrefled to Alexander, by the eloquentDiaator III. cc and the learned of that time, you fee on what
Lep^us^^'^^*'
points they turn : they are addrefled to a youth,
Mag. Equit.
*' inflamed with the thirfl: of true glory, and de-*'
firingto be advifed how to acquire it. On an
"occaflon of fuch dignity, words can never be
"
wanting, but what can I do on
my fubjed
?
*' Yet I had fcratched, as it were, out of the
" block fome faint refemblance of an image :
*' but becaufe there were fome things hinted in
*'it, a little better than what we fee done
**
every day, it was difliked : I am not at all for-
*'
ry for it ; for had the Letter gone, take my"word for it, I fliould have had caufe to re-
*'
pent.For do you not fee that very fcholar
** of Arifl:otle, a youth of thegreatefl: parts, and
*' thegreatefl; modefl:y, after he came to be call-
" ed a King, grow proud, cruel, extravagant ?
*' Do you imagine, that this man, ranked in the
*'
procefllons of the Gods, and inflirined in the
" fame Temple with Romulus, will be pleafed*' with the moderate fl:ile of my Letters ? It is
"better that he be difgufted at my not writings
*' thin at what I write : in a word, let him do"
wiiat he pleafes -,for that problem, which I
" once propofed to you, and thought fo diflicult,
*'
in what way I jJoall manage him^ is over with** ne : and in truth, I now wifli more, to feel
*'tie effedt of his refentment, be it what it will,
*'tLan I was before afraid of it [j]." "I beg of
"y^u therefore, fays he, in another Letter, let
*'u> have no more of this \ but fliew ourfelves
[i] Ad Att. 13. 28.
"at
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 401"
at leaft half free, by our filence and re- A. Urb. 708.
"treat [/]." Ck.^2.From this little fa6l, one cannot help refled:- q julius
ing on the fatal effe&s of arbitrary pozver, upon c^sarthe ftudies and compofitions of men of genius,
Didator IIT.
and on the reftraint, that itnecellarily lays on the
^'^milius
free courfe of good fenfe and truth among men.^\^^^v^'-^
It had yet fcarce flievvn itfelf in Rome, when we
fee one of the greateft men, as well as thegreat-
eft wits which that Republic ever bred, em-
barrafled in the choice of a fubje6l to write upon;and for fear of offending, chufing not to wTite
at all : and it was the fame power, which, from
this beginning, gradually debafed the purity both
of the Roman wit and language, from the per-fection of elegance, to which Cicero had advan-
ced them, to that ftate of rudenefs and barbarifm,which we find in the produdiions of the lower
Empire.This was the prefent ftate of things between
Casfar and Cicero ;all the marks of kindnefs on
Casfar's part ;of coldnefs and referve on Cicero's.
Casfar was determined never to part with his
power, and took the more pains, for that reafon,
to make Cicero eafy under it : he feems indeed
to have been fomewhat afraid of him; not of
his engaging in any attempt againft his life ; but
left by his infinuations, his railleries, and his au*
thority, he fhould excite others to fome a6t of
viplence : but what he moreefpecially
defired
and wanted, was to draw from him fome public
teftimony of his approbation ; and to be recom-
mended by his writings to the favor ofpofterity.
[/] Obfecro, abjiciamus mus ; quod aflequemur & ta-
ifta; & femiliberi faltem fi- cendo, & latendo ib. 31.
Vol.. II, D d Cicero
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4^2 7?^ History of the Life
A. rb. 708. Cicero on the other hand, perceiving noftep
^!^ ^^'taken towards the eftablifhment of the Republic,
r luLi'us^^^- iT^o^^ ^^^ more reafon every day to defpair of
C^sAR it, grew ftill more indifferent to every thing elfe :
Di ator III. the refloration of public liberty was the onelyM. ylwiLius
condition, on which he could entertain any friend-
Mae'^q^uit ^-^^P"^^^^ Cai^far, or think and fpeak of him with
any refpedl: without that, no favors could oblige
him',
fince to receive them from a m after, was
an affront to his formiCr dignity, and but afplen-
did badge of fervitude : books therefore were his
onely comfort ; for while he converfed with them,
he found himfclf eafy, and fancied himfelf free.
Thus in a Letter to Caffius, touching uponthe mifcry of the times, he adds,
" What is be-
** come then, you'll fay,of Philofophy ? Why,
*'
yours is in the kitchen ; but mine is trouble-'' fome to me : for I am^ afhamed to live a flavej" and feign myfelf therefore to be doing fome-*'
thing ^\^t^ that 1 m.ay not hear the reproach*' of Plato
[//]."
During Caefar's ftay in Spain, Antony fet
forv/ard from.Italy, to pay his compliments to
him there, or to meet him at leaft on the road
in his return tov/ards home ^but when he had
; made about half of the journey, he met with
fome difpatches, which obliged him to turn back
in all hafte to Rome. This raifed a new alarm in
thecity , and
efpecially among the Pompeians,who v/ere
afraid,that
Csefar, havingnow fub-
dued alloppofition,
was refolved, after the ex-
ample of former Conquerors, to take his revengein cool blood on ail his adverfaries j and had fent
[] Ubiigitiir, inquies, c'o me alias res agere, ne
Plnloiophia ? I'ua quidem in convicium Platonis audiam.
culina; mea molciia eil. Pu- Ep. id,xr>., 15. 18.
(det eniiu fervire. Itaoue 3.-
I Antony^
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 403
Antony back, as the properefl inftrument to ex- A. Urb. 708.
cute Ibme orders of that fort. Cicero hinifelf ^]^^--
had the famefufpicion, and vv^as much furpriz- q lutms
ed at Antony'sfudden return-^ till Balbus and Op- Caesar
pius ealed him of his apprehenfions, by fendingDidator III.
him an account of the true reafon of it[x']
: which, J^-
^^"ljus
contrary to expecfation, ^ave no uneafmefs at hft -aLI^v^' .
to any boay, but to Antony himleif. Antonyhad bought Pompey's Houfes in Rome and the
neighbourhood, with all their rich furniture, at
Ccefar^s au^ion^ foon after his return from i^gypt j
buttrufting to his intereft with Caefar, and to the
part, which he had born in advancing him to
his power, never dreamt of being obliged to
pay for them; but C?efar, being difgufled by the
account of his debauches, and extravagancies in
Italy, and refolved to fnev/ himfelf the Ible maf-ter, nor fuffer any contradidlion to his will, fent
peremptory orders to L. Piancus, the Pr^tor,to require immediate payment of Antony, or
t\^c to levy the money upon his fureties, accord-
ing to the tenor of their bond. This was the
caufe of his quick return, to prevent that dif-
grace from falling upon him, and find fomemeans of complying V\^ith Cjfar's commands : it
provoked him however to fuch a degree, that in
the height of his refenrment, he is faid to have
entered into a defign of taking away Qefar's life ;
of which Caefar himfelf complained openly in the
Senate [^y].
D d 2 The
[x] Heri cum ex aliorumidque tibi
placui.Te, ne per-littens cognoviilem de Anto- turbarer. illis
egi gratias,nii adveiULi, admirarus fum ib. 19.nihil efle in tuis. Ad Ate.
[_y] Appellatuses de pecu-'2. 18, nia, quam pro domo, proDe Antonio Balbus
quoquehortis,
pro
fectione debebas.
ad me cum Oppio coiifcripht, & ad te S: adprasdes tuos mi-
lites
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I^ag. Eqait.
404 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 708. The war being ended in Spain, by the death
^c'ff^* ^/ Cn^us Pompey^ and theflight of SextuSy Caefar
C. TuLi'us finifhed his anfwer to Cicero'j CatOy in two hooks^
Cjesar which he fent immediately to Rome, in order toDiaator III. be pubhfhed. This gave Cicero at laft the argu-M. ^M I LI us
j^ent of a Letter to him, to return thanks for theEPiDus.
gj.gat civility,with which he had treated him in
that piece , and to pay his compliments likev/ife
in his turn, upon the elegance of the compofi-
tion. This Letter was communicated again to
Balbus and Oppius, who declared them.felves ex-
tremely pleafedwith it, and forwarded it diredly
to Csfar. In Cicero's account of it to Atticus,*'
I forgot, fays he, to fend you a copy of what*'
I wrote to Csefar : not for the reafon, which"you fufped, that I was afliamed to let you fee,
*'
how well I could flatter:
for in truth, I wrote*^
to him no otherwife, than as if 1 was writing*' to an equal , for I really have a good opinion'' of his two books, as I told you, when w^** were together -,
and wrote therefore both with-*' out flattering
him ,and
yet fo, that he will
''read nothing, I believe, with more plea-
<' fure [z]."
C^SAR
lites iTiifit [Phil.2. 29.]
Idcirco urbem terrore no<5tur-
no, Italiam niiiltorum die-
rum metu pevtarbaftine L.
Plancusprascles
tuos venderet
[ib. 31.] Quin hisipfis
temporibus domi Casfaris ptr-
icaiior ab ifto miffas, depre-
henfus dicebatur eife cum fl-
ea. De quo Cajfar in Sena-
tu, apertein te invehens,
quelluseft ib. 29.
[z] Confcripfide his li-
bris epiilolam Csfari, ejus
deferretur ad Dolabellam :
fed ejus exemplum mifi ad,
Balbum & Oppium, fcripii-
que ad eos, ut turn deferri
ad Dolabellamjuberunt
meas
litteras, fi exemplum pro-baffent ; ita mihi
refcripfcr^
runt, nihil unquam felegifTe
melius. Ad Att. 13. 50.
Ad Casfarem quam mifi
epiftolam, ejus exemplum fu-
gitme turn tibi mittere ; nee
id fuit quod fufpicaris, ut me
puderet tai nee mhercul|j^
fcripJT.
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ofM, TULLIUS CICERO. 40^C^SAR returned to Rome about the end <?/A.
Urb. 708.
September ; when diverting himfelf of the Con- ^^^-
^^*
fulfhip4 he conferred it on ^. Fabius Maximus. r\ it
and C. Trebomus^ for the three remaining months of Maximvsthe year \a\.
His firft care, after his arrival, was C. Trebo-
to entertain the City with the mojl fplendid triumph^^'^s.
which Rome had ever feen : but the people, in-
ilead of admiring and applauding it, as he ex-
pefted, were fullen and filent ; confidering it,
as it really was, a triumph over themfelves, pur-
chafed by the lofs of their liberty, and the de-
llru6lion of the beft and noblefl: families of the
Republic. They had before given the fame proofof their difcontent at the Circenfian games ; where
defar's ftatue^ by a decree of the Senate, was -
carried in the frocejfion^ along withthofe of the
Gods:
for they gave noneof their ufual
acclama-tions to the favorite Deities^ as they pafled, left
they fhould be thought to give them to C^far, Atti-
cus fent an account of it to Cicero, whofays in
anfwer to him,'
I'our Letter was agreeable^ though
thefhew was fo fad the people however behaved
bravely^ who would not clap even the Goddefs Vi^o-
ry^ for the fake of fo bad a neighbour [^]. C^farhowever to make amends for the unpopularity
of his triumph, and to put the people into good
humor, entertained the whole City foon after
with fomething more fubflantial than fhews ; two.
fcripfi,aliter ac fi
-Trpof^iaov nos noviffimos menfes. Suet.
'(^mwv quae fcriberem. Bene J. Casf. 76.
enim exiftimo de illis libris, [^] Suaves tuas litteras f
ut tibi coram. Itaque fcrip-etfi acerba pompa populum
fi & cfc>toAA;tuTfiy^, & tamen vero praeclarum, quod prop-
iic, ut nihil eum exillimem ter tarn malum vicinum, ne
ledurum libentius. lb. 51. Viiftoriaequidemplodicur.Ad
[] Utroque anno binos Att. 13.44.
Confules fubltituit fibi in ter-
D d 3 piihlic
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Cic. 6i.
Coir.
Q^Fabius
Maxtmus,C. Trebo-
MUS.
406 TJje History of the Life
A. Urb. 70S. puMic dinners^ with plenty of the mofi efteemed
andcoftly wines., of Chios and Falerniim \c\
Soon after Csefar's triumph, the Conful Fahitts.,
one of his Lieutenants in Spain, was allowed to
triumph too, for the redudlion of fome partsof
that province,which had revolted : but the mag-
nificence of Caefar's made Fabius's triumph appear
contemptible , for his models of theconquered
Towns^ which were always a part of the Ihew,
being made onely of woody when Csefar's were of
Silver or Ivory ^ Chryfippus merrily called them,
the cafes onely of C^far's ^owns \d\CiCERO refided generally in the Country, and
withdrew himfelf wholly from the Senate[^]
:
but on Csfar's approach towards Rome, Lepidus
began to prefshim by repeated Letters, to come
and give themhis afTiflance
; alluring him,that
both he and C^far would take it very kindly of him.
, He could not guefs,for what particular fervice
they wanted him, except the dedication offomeTen^-
fie.,to which the prefence of three Augurs was ne-
cefTary [/]. But whatever it was, as his friends had
long been urging the fame advice, and perfuading
r f ] Quid ncn & Caefar
Diclator triumphi fui coena
vini Falerni amphoras, Chii
cados in convivia diftribuit ?
idem in Hifpanienfi trium-
pho Chium & Falernum de-
dit. Plin. Hill. 14. 15.
Adjecit poll Hilpanienfemviftoriam duo prandia. Su-
eton. 38.
\d'\Ut Chryfippus, cum
in triumpho Csefaris eborea
oppida ellent tranilata, & poll
dies paucosFabii Maximi lig-
nea, thecas efTe oppidorumCa^faris dixit.
Quintil6.
3.Dio. 234.
^
[^]Cum his temporibus
non lane in fenatum ventita-
rem Ep. fam, 13. ']'].
[/] Ecce tibi, orat Lepi-
dus, ut veniam. Opinor Au-
gures nil habere ad Tem-
plum efrandum. Ad Att. 1 3.
Lepidus ad me heri lit-
teras iriifit. Rogat magno-
pere ut fim Kalend.in Senatu,
rne & fibi & Caefari vehemen.-
ter gratum effe fadurum
ib. 47.
him
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of M, TULLIUS CICERO. 407
him to return to public affairs, he confented at A. Urb. 70S.
laft, to quit his retirement and come to the City; ^^-^^'
where foon after Csefar's arrival he had an oppor- n p^"-
tunity or empioymg his autnority and eloquence, PvIaximus,
where he exerted them always with the greateftC. Trelo-
pleafure, in the fervice and defence of ^,^ old^^^^'
friend^ King Deiotarus.
This Prince had already been deprived byCsefar of part of his dominions, for his adhe-
rence to Pompey, and was now in danger of lo-
iing the reft, from an accufation preferred againfl
him by his Grandfon, of a defign pretended to
have been formed by himagainfi defar'^s life^
when Casfar was entertained at his houfe, four
years before, on his return from Egypt. The
charge was groundlefs and ridiculous, but under
his
prefent difgrace, any chargewas fufficient to
'
ruin him ; and Csfar's countenancing it fo far,
as to receive and hear it, fhewed a ftrong preju-
diceagainft
the King jand that he wanted onely
a pretence for ftripping him of all that remained
to him. Brutus likewife interefted himfelf very
warmly in the fame caufe ;and when he v/ent to
meet Casfar, on his road from Spain, jiiade anOration to him at Nic^a^ in favor of Deiotarus^
with a freedom, which ftartled Ccefar, and gavehim occafion to refletfl on what he had not per-
ceived fo clearly before, the invinciblefiercenefs
and vehenunce of Brutus*s temper [^]. The pre-
fent trial was held in Csefar'j houfe \ where Cice- .
. r^] Ad Att. 14. I. The tus met C^efar on his lafl re-
Jefuito, Catrou and Rouille, turn from Spain, and when
take Nicea, where Brutus he was not able to prevail
made this fpeech, to be the for Deiotarus, Cicero was
Capital of Bitbyma, Deiota- forced to undertake the caufe
rus"s kingdom : but it was a as loon as Caefar came to
City on the Ligurian coajl^Rome, Vid. Hill. Tom. 17.
ftiU callc'd Nice, where Bra- p. 91. not.
D d 4 ro
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CofT,
Q^Fabius
Maximus,C. Trebo-
MIUS.
408 ^he History of theLife
A. Urb. 708. ro fo manifeftly expofed the malice of the accufer,Cic. 62. and the innocence of the accufed, that C^efar,
being determined not toacquit, yet afliamed ta
condemn him, chofe the expedient of refervinghis fentence to farther deliberation, till he fhould
go in perfon into the Eafl, and inform himfelf
of the whole affair upon thefpot. Cicero
fays,
that Deiotarus, neither prefent nor ahfent^ could
ever obtam any favor orequity frofn C^far : and
that asoft
as he pleaded for him^ which he was
always ready to do^ he could never perfimde Cafar^ to
think any thing reafonahle^ that he ajked for him \h\He fent a copy of his oration to the King ; and,
at Dolabella's requeft, gave another likewife to
him : excufmg it, as atrifling performance, and
hardly worthtranfcribing ; but I had a mind^
fays he, to make a flight prefent to my oldfriendand hofi^ of coarfe fluff indeed^ yet fuch as his pre-
fents ufuallyare to me
[/'].
Some little time after this trial, Csefar, to fhew
his confidence in Cicero, invited himfelf to fpenda day with him, at his houfe in the country;and chofe the third day of the Saturrialia for his vi-
fit ; a feafon always dedicated to mirdi and feaft-
ing among friends and relations[^]. Cicero gives
\_h~\ Quis enim cuiquam
inimicitior, quam Deiotaro
Cajfar ? a quo nee pnefens,
nee abfens Rex Deiotarus
quidquam sequi
boni
impe-travit ille niinquam, fem-
per enim abfenti alFui Deio-
taro, quicquam fibi, quodnos pro illo poftularemus, ae-
quufli dixit vlderi.Philip.
2. 37-
[/] Oratiunculum pro Dei-
otaro, quam requirebas
tibi mifi. Quam velim fic
legas, ut caufam tenuem &
inopeiH, nee fcriptione mag-no opere dignam. Sed ego
hofpiti veteri & amico mu-
nufculum mittere volui levi-
denfe, crafTo filo, cujufmodi
ipfius folent ^^q munera. Ep.fani.
9.12.
[k
] This Fertival, after
Ca^far's reformation of the
Kalendar, began on the 17th
of December, and laded three
days. Macrob. Saturn, i. x.
Atticus
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 409
Atticus the following account of the entertain- A. Urb. 70?.
ment, and how the day pafied between them :^^^' ^^
** O this gueft, fays he, v/hom I fo much dread- ^ p^^^j*' ed ! yet I had no reafon to repent of him
: for Maximus*' he was well pleafed
with hisreception. When C. Trebo-
" he came the evening before, on the eighteenth,^'^u*-
^^ to my neighbour Philip's, the houfe was fo
*' crouded with foldiers, that there was fcarce a
*' room left empty for Csefar to fup in : there
*' were about two thoufand of them : which gave*' me no fmall pain
for the next day : but Barba*'
Caffius relieved me,
for he alTigned me a
'*
guard,and made the reft encam.p in the field :
<' fo that my houfe was clear. On the nine-
"teenth, he ftaid at Philip's
till one in the after-
" noon ; but faw nobody ,was
fettling accounts,**
I guefs, withBalbus
;
thentook
a
walk on*' the fhore ; bathed after two ; heard the verfes
*^ on Mamurra[/] -,
at which he never changed
[/] Mamurra was a Ro- Cicero's In this fhort account
man Knight, and General of of it : but it muft be remem-
the Artilleryto Ctefar in Gaul; bered, that their villa's vver
where he raifed an immenfe adjoining to each other on
fortune, and is faid to have the Formian coail near Ca-
been the firfl man in Rome, jeta ;fo that when Csefar
who incrufiedhis houfe
luith came out ofPhilip's at one,
marble, and made all his pil-he took a walk on the fhore
lars of folid marble. [Plin. for about an hour, and then
Hift. 36. 6.] He was fe- entered into Cicero's ; where
verely laflied, together with the bath was prepared for
Casfar himfelf, lor his ex- him, and in bathing he heard
ceiTive luxury, and more in- Catullus's verfes-, no.t pro-
famous vices, by Catullus; duced by Cicero, for that
whofe verfes are Hill extant, would not have been agree-
and the fame probably that able to good manners, but byCicero here refers to, as be- fome of his own friends, who
ing firll read to C:Efar at his attended him, and who knew
houfe. Vid. Catull. 27, 55. his defire to fee every thing,
The reader perhaps will that was publidied againil
not readily underftand the him, as well as his eafine>s
time and manner of Cffifar'5 inflighting
or forgiving it.
fajji?ig from Philifs houfe to
*' countenance ^
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^
410 7he History of the Life'
A. Urb. 708." countenance ; was rubbed, anointed, fat down
Cic. 62. <c^.Q table. Having taken a vomit
jufl before,
O F ^ s
" ^^ ^^^ ^"^ drank freely, and was very chear-
MAxmlTs! " full \m\ : the Supper was good and well ferved :
C. Trebo-
3iius. <^ But our difcourfe at table, as we eat,'' For taft and feafoning (till excell'd our meat
[;/].
C4Befides Casfar's table, his friends were plenti-
fully provided for in three other rooms ; nor
*' was there any thing wanting to his freedmen'' of lower rank, and his flaves ; but the better
*'fort were elegantly treated. In a word, I ac-
"quitted myfelf like a man : yet he is not a
"gueft
to.whom one would fay at parting,
"pray call upon me again, as you return : once
[w] The cuftom cf taking ton. 12. Dio. 65. 734.] And
a 'vomit both immediately be- the praftice was thought fo
fore and after meals, which effeftual for ftrengthening the
Cicero mentions Csefar to conftitution, that it was the
have done on different occa- conftant regimen of all the
fions, [proDeiot. 7.] was ve- Athletae, or the profeffed
ry common with the Romans, Wrefller s, trained for the
andufed
bythem as an in-
public fhews,in order
tollrument both of their luxu- make them more robuft. So
ry, and of their health :
theythat Caefar's vomiting before
fuomity fays Seneca, that they dinner was a fort of compli-
may eat, a7td eat thatthey may ment to Cicero, as it intimat-
'vomit. [Confol.ad Hclo.
9. J ed a refolntion to pafs the
By this evacuation before day chearfully,and to eat and
eating, they were prepared drink freely with him.
to eat more plentifully ; and \n] This is a citation from
by err?ptyingthemfelves pre- Lucilius, of an Hexameter
fently after it, prevented any verfe, with part of a fecond,
hurt from repletion. Thus which is notdiftinguifhed
Vitellius, who was a famous from the text, in the editions
glutton, is /aid to hanje pre- of Cicero's Letters.
fewed his life by conjiayitn)0'
mitSy while he deftroyed all fed bene coBo et
his companions, who did not <ondito fermone bo?Wy ^ Ji
ufe.the fame cautions : [Sue- quteris libenter.
''is
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of M.'TULLIUS CICERO. 411*'
is enough : we had not a word on bufinefs,A. Urb. 708.
** but many on points of literature: in fhort, he^p'/^^*
*' was delightedwith his entertainment, and paf- q Fabi'us
*' fed the day agreeably. He talked of fpend- Maximus,*^
ing one day at Puteoli, another at Baise : thus C. Trebo-
*'
you fee the manner of my receiving him ,
^^^^
" fomewhat troublefome indeed, but not uneafy*'
to me. I fhould fbay here a little longer, and*'
then to Tufculum. As he pafTed by Dolabel-"
la's villa, his troops marched clofe
by
his
" horfe's fide, on the right and left , which was*' done no where elfe. I had this from Nicias
[0].^'
On the lafl of December, when the Conful
J'rebonius was abroad, his Collegue Q. Fabius
died fuddenly ; and his death being declared in
the morning, C. Caninius Rebilus was named by
Casfar to the vacancy at one in the afternoon ;
whofe office was to continue onely through the re-
maining part of that day. This wanton profana-tion of the fovereign dignity of the Empire raif-
ed a general indignation in the City ; and a Con-
fulate fo ridiculous gave birth to muchraillery,
and many jokes which are tranfmitted to us bythe ancients [/>] ; of which Cicero, who was the
chief author of them, gives us thefollowing fpe-
cimen, in his own account of the fadt.
Cicero to Curius.
**I no longer either advife or defire you to
*' come home to us, but want tofly
fome whi-" ther myfelf, where I may hear neither the
'' names nor the acls of thefe fons of Pelops. It
'*is incredible, how meanly I think of myfelf,
{0] Ad Att. 13. C2.
[ p] Mac.ob. Saturn, 2.3. Dio. p. 236.
''for
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-412^^^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 768."' for being prefent
at thefe tranfadlionS. YouCic. 62. ft had furely
an early forefight of what was com-Coff.
jj^g Qj^^ when you ran away from this place :
S'.^tf/Ty/ " for though it be vexatious to hear of fuch
C. Trebo-"
things, yet that is more tolerable than to fee
Nius <t them. It is well, that you were not in the
*field, when at feven in the morning, as they
** were proceedingto an eledlion of Quasftors,
*' the Chair of Q^ Maximus, whom they called
" Conful [^],was fet in it's place : but, his
*' death being immediately proclamed, it was re-
*' moved-,and Casfar, though he had taken the
*'
aufpicesfor an affembly of the Tribes,
*'
chaliged it to an affembly of the Centuries ;
*'and, at one in the afternoon, declared a new
**Conful, who was to govern till one the next
**
morning. I would have you to know there-*'
fore, that whilfl Caninius was Conful, nobody**
dined \ and that there was no crime committed in
*'his Confuljhip^
for he was fo wonderfully vigi-'*
lant^ that through his whole adminiftration he
*'never fo much as Jlept.
Thefe things feem ri-
*'diculous to you, who were abfent, but were
**you to fee them, you would hardly refrain
*' from tears. What if I fhould tell you the
*'reft ? For there are numberlefs fads of the
** fame kind ,which I could never have born,
*'if I had not taken refuge
in the port of Philo-
[^j Cicero would not al- trance into the Theater, his
low a Conful of three 7nonths Officers, according to cullom,
fo irregularly chofen, to be proclamed his prefence, and
properly called a Co;/// : nor ordered the people to make
did the peoplethemielves ac- <vjayfor the Conful', the whole
knowledge him : for, as Sue- affembly cried out, he is tj
tonius tells us, [in J. Csef. Conful.
80.] when upon Fabius's en-
a .
"%hy
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of M, rULLIUS CICERO. 41;**
fophy, with our friend Atticus, the companion*' and partner
of my ftudies, &c. [r]"
C^SAR had fo many creatures and depen-
dents, who expedled the honor of the Confuljhip
from him, as the reward of their fervices, that
it was impoffible to obHge them all in the regular
way, fo that he was forced to contrive the expe-dient of fplitting it, as it were, into
parcels, and
conferring it for a few months^ or weeks^ or even
days^ as it happened to fuit his convenience ; and
as the thing itfelf was now but a name, without
any real power, it was of little moment for what
term it was granted ; fince the fhorteil gave the
fame privilege with the longeft, and a man once
declared Conful, enjoyed ever after the rank and
character of a confular Senator[/].
On the opening of the new year Csefar en-. A. Urb. yo^tered into his fifth Confulfhip^ in
partnerfhip with Cic. 63.
M. Antony : he had promifed it all along to Do- q 9^^^
labella, but, contrary to expedation, took it at C^sar^ y.
laft to himfelf. This was contrived by Antony, M. Anto-
who, jealous of Dolabella, as a rival inCasfar's^'^s.
favor, had been fuggefting fomewhat to his dif^
advantage, and laboring to create a diifHdence of
him in Casfar; which feems to have been the
ground of what is mentioned above, defar^s
guarding himfelf fo particularly^ when he pafjed bfhis Villa. Polabell4 was
fenfibly toiiched with
this affront, and came full ofindignation
to the
Senate ; where, not daring to vent his fpleen on
Casfar, he entertained the aflembly with a fevere
fpeech againft Antony, which drew on manywarm and angry words between them ; till Casfar,
to end the difpute, promifed torefign t;he Con-
[r] Ep. fam. 7. 30. [j] Yi^- ^ip* P* 240.
fulJhip
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Cic. 63.
Coff.
C, Julius
C^SAR. V.M. Anto-
ius.
414 The Hist onY of tbe Life
^'^^^'^7<59-
fulfhip to Dolabella, before he went to ihe Par-
thian war : but Antony protefted^ that by bis au-
thorityas Augur^ he would difturh that ele5lion^
whenever it Jhould he attempted [/] ; and declared,
without any fcruple,that the ground of his quar-
rel with Dolabella was, for having caught him in
anatter/ipt
to debauch his wife Antonia^ the
daughter of his Uncle \ though that wasthought
to be a calumny, contrived to color his divorce
with her, and his late marriage with Fulvia, the
widow of Clodius \u\C^SAR was now in the height of all his glory,
and^dreffed^
as Florus fays, in all his trappings^
like a vi5iim defiined tofacrifice [.v].
He had re-
ceived from the Senate the mofi:extravagant ho-
nors, both human and divine, whichflattery
could invent ; a Temple^ Altar^ Prieft ; his Imagecarried in proceffion
with the Gods ; his Statue
among the Kings \ one of the months called after his
name^ and a perpetual Di^atorfhip \^y\ Cicero
endeavoured to reftrain the excels of this com-
piaifance,within the hounds of reafon [2] ; but in
vain ;fmce Caefar was more forward to receive,
than they to give ; and out of the gaiety of his
pride, and totry,
as it were, to what length
their adulation would reach ; when he was ad:u-
\t'\Cum Caefar oftendif-
fet, fe priufquam proficif-
ceretur, Dolabellam Confu-
lem efTe juliurum hie bonus
Augur eo fe facerdotio prae-
ditum ^^^ dixit, ut comitia
aufpiciis vel impedire vel vi-
tiare pofTet,idque fe faftu-
rum alTeveravit. Phil. 2, 32.
[/^] Frequcntilfimo fenatu
hanc tibi eife cum Dola-
bella caufam odii ditere au-
fus es, quod ab eo forori &uxori tuai iluprum oblatum
efleconiperifi'es. Phil. 2.
38.
[;f] Quae omnia, velut in-
fulae, in deilinatam morti
vidimam con2;ercbantur. 1.
4. 2. 92.
[j;]Flor. ibid. Sueton. J.
Ca;f. 76.
\%\ Piutar.h. in Caif.
ally
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ofM.TULLIUS CICERO. 41J
ally pofTefTedof every thing, which carried with A. Urb.
709.
it any real power,was not content flill without ^^^-
^3-
a title, which could add nothing but envy, and q t^lius
popular odium -, and wanted to he called a King, c^sar V.
Plutarch thinks it a ftrange inftance offolly in M. Anto-
the people to endure with patience all the real ^*^^-
effefts of Kingly government^ yet declare fuch an
abhorrence to the name. But thefolly was not
fo flrange in the people, as it was in Crefar : it is
natural to the multitude to be
governed bynames
rather than things ;and the conftant art of
par-
ties to keep up that prejudice ,but it was unpar-
donable in fo greata man, as Casfar, to lay fo
much ftrefs on a tide, which, fo far frombeing
an honor to him, feemed to be a diminution ra-
ther of that fuperior dignity, which healready
enjoyed.Among the other complimicnts, that were paid
to him, there was a new fraternity of Luperci in-
flituted to his honor, and called by his name ;
of which Antony was the head. Young Quin-
tus Cicero was one of this fociety, v/ith the con-
fent of his Father, though to the diffatisfa^lion
of his Uncle ; who confidered it, not onely as a
low pieceof flattery, but an indecency for a
young man of family, to be engaged in ceremo-
nies fo imm.odeft of running naked and frantic
about the Streets [^]. The Fellival was held
about the middle of February ; and Csfar, in his
triumphal robe^ feated himfelfin the
Roflra^in a
golden Chair^to fee the diverfion of the running;
where, in the midft of their fport, the Confal
Antony, at the head of his naked crew, made him
H Quintus Pater quar- nat duplici dedecore cumu-
tum velpotiiis
millefimum latam domum. AdAtt. 15.nihil fapit, qui Izetetur Lu-
5.
perco filio & Static, ut cer-
the
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4i6 The Hi ^roKY of the Life
A. Urb. 709. theoffer of a Regal Diadem^ and attempted to put
^Coff^*^^ ^pon his head \ at the
fight of which z, general
C. Juuus ^^^^^ ijfuedfrom the whole Forum-^
till upon Cse-
C^sAR V. iar's flight refufal of it, the people loudly tefti-
M. Anto- fied their joy, ly anuniverfal Jbout, Antony
Nius. however ordered it to be entered in the public
ad:s, that by the command of the people^ he had
offered the Kingly name and power to Cafar^ and
that defar would not accept it[b'].
While this affair of the Kingly Title amufedand alarmed the
city, two of the Tribuns, Ma-rullus and Caefetius, were
particularly adive in
difcouraging every flep and attempt towards it:
they took off the Diadem^ which certainperfons
had privately put upon Csfar'j Statue in the Rof-
tra^ and committed thofe to prifon, who were
fufpeded to have done it ; and publicly punifliedOthers for daring to falute him in the fireets hy
the name of King ; declaring, that Cafar himfelf
refufed and abhorred that title. This provokedCasfar beyond his ufual temper, and command of
himfelf; fo that he accufed them to the fenate,
of a defign toraife a
fedition againjl him, by per-
fuadingthe
City,that he
really offered to be a King ;
but when the affembly was going to pafs the fe-
vereft fentence upon them, he was content with
depofing thm from their Magifiracy^ andexpelling
SJ}]Sedebat in Roftris col- fit in Faftis ad Lupercalia, C.
lega tuus, amiftus toga pur- Csfari, DiAatori perpetuopurea, in fella aurea, core- M. Antonium Confulem po-natus : adfcendis, accedis ad
puli julTu regnum detuliffe,
fellam diadema oilendis ; Ca^farem uti noluifle. [Phil,
gemitus toto foro tu diade- 2. 34.] Quod ab eo ita re-
ma imponebas cum plangore pulfum erat, ut non offenfus
populi, ille cum plaufu reji- videretur. Veil. P. 2. 56.ciebat at enim adfcribi juf-
thm
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of M. TULLIUS CICERO.417
them from the Senate [c] : which convinced peo- A. Urb. 709.
pie flill the more, of his real fondnefs for a name,^^^-
63,
that he pretended todefpife. p ^^^
He had now prepared all things for his expe- c^sar^v^dition againft the Parthians , had fent his
legions M. Anto-
before him into Macedonia ; fettled the fucceflion ^'^s,
of all the Magiftrates for two years to come\d'\ ,
appointed Dolabella to take his own place, as
Conful of the current year -,named A. Hirtius
and C. Panfa, for confuls of the next; and D.
Brutus, and Cn. Plancus, for the following year:
but before his departure, he refolved to have the
Regal 'Title conferred upon him by the Senate,
who were too fenfible of his power, and obfe-
quious to his will, to deny him any thing : and
to make it the more palatable at the fame time to
the
people,
he caufed a
reportto be
indufbriouflypropagated through the
city, of ancient prophecies
found in the Sibylline hooks^that the Parthians
could not beconquered^
but by a King^ on the
ftrengrh of which, Cotta^ one of the Guardia?2s of
thofe books^ was to move the Senate^ at their next
meetings to decree the title of king to him[^].
Cicero fpeaking afterwards of this defign, fays,
it was expelled that fame forged tefiimonies would
he produced^ to floew^ that he^ whom we hadfelt
in reality to be a King^ fhculdbe called
alfo by that
name^ if zve would be fafe : hut let us make a bar-
gain with thekeepers of thofe OracleSy that
they.
h'ing any thing out of them^ rather than a King -,
[<r]Sueton. J.
C2(, 79. L. Cottam Q^ilndecim virum
Di.i. p. 245. App. 1. 2.p. fententiamd.tturum ; utquo-
496. Vcli. P. 2. 68. niam libris faralibus contine-
[c/]Etiamne Confules & recur, Partlios non nifi a Re-
Tribunos plebis in bicnnium, ge pofle vinci, Crefar Rex
quos ille voluit ? Ad Att. appellaretur. Sueton. c. 79.
14.6. Dio. p. 247.
[e] Proximo aiuem Senatu,
Vol.. II. E e which
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4i8 The History of the Life
A. Urb. 709. tiohlch neither the Gods nor men will ever endure
Cic. 63.again
at Rome [/].Coff. Q^^ would naturally have expedted, after all
cIsakV. the fatigues and dangers through which Csefar
M. An TO- had made his way to Empire, that he would have
Nius. chofen to fpend the remainder of a declining
life in the quiet enjoyment of all the honors and
pleafures,which abfolute power, and a com-
mand of the world could beftow : but in the
midft of all this glory, he was a ftranger ftill to
eafe : he faw the people generally difafFe6i:ed to
him, and impatient under his government ;and
though amufed a while with the fplendor of his
fhews and triumphs, yet regretting feverely in
cool blood theprice,
that they had paid for
them ,the lofs of their
liberty, with the Jives
of the beft and nobleft of their fellow Citizens.
^This expedition therefore againfl the Parthians
feems to have been apolitical pretext for remov-
ing himfelf from the Murmurs of the City ; and
leaving to his Minillers the exercife of an invi-
dious power, and the tafk of taming thefpirits
of the populace ; v/hilft he, by employing him-
felf in gathering frefh laurels in the Eaft, and ex-
tending the bounds, and retrieving the honor of
the Empire, againfl its moft dreaded enemy,
might gradually reconcile them to areign, that
was gentle and clement at home, fuccefsfull and
gloriousabroad.
But his
impatienceto be a
Kingdefeated all
[/] Quorum Interpres nu- tiftibus agamus, ut quidvis
per falla qusdam hominum potius ex illis libris, quamtama didiurus in Senatu pu- regem proferant, quern Ro-
tabatur, eum, quern re vera mas pofthac nee Dii nee lio-
rt-gem habtbamus, appellan- mines efle patientur. Dedum quoque elle Regem, li Divin. 2. 54.
lalvi e/i"c vellemu&- cum An-
his
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of M.rULLIUS CICERO. 419
his projels, and accelerated his fate ; and pufhedA. Urb. 7^
on the nobles, who had confpired againft hislife, ^^ !r^'
to the immediate execution of their plot ; that q tJ^lius
they might fave themfelves the fhame of being c^sar V.forced to concur in an adt, which they heartily
M. Anto-
detefted [gl : and the Two Brutus's in particular,^*"^*
the honor of whofe houfe was founded in the
extirpationof Kingly Government^ could not but
confider it as a perfonal infamy, and adifgrace to
their very name, to fuffer the refloration of it.
There were above Jtxty perfons faid to be en-
gaged in this confpiracy [b] ; thegreateft part of
them of the Senatorian rank-,
but M. Brutus,
and C. Caflius were the chief in credit and autho-
rity i the firft contrivers and movers of the whole
defign.
M.Junius
Brutus was about one andforty
years old ,of the moft illuftrious family of the
Republic , deriving his name and defcent in a
diredt line from that firfl Conful, L. Brutus, who
expelled Tarquin, and gave freedom to the Ro-
man people [/]. Having loft his Father when
very
[g] Quae caufa conjuratis gainft it, which feem to be
fuit maturandi deftinata ne- very plaufible. Yet while
gotia,ne affentiri necefle ef- Brutus lived, it was univer-
fet. Suet.J. Csef. 80. Dio lally allowed to him. Ci-
p. 247. cero mentions it in his pub-
[^] Confpiratum eft in eum lie fpeeches, and other writ-
a Sexaginta amplius, C. Caf- ings, as a fa6l, that nobody
fio, Marcoque & Decimo Bru- doubted; and often fpeaksto principibus confpirationis. of the Image of old Brutus^
6uet. 18. which Marcus kept in his
[/]Some of the ancient houfe among thofe of his An-
writers call in queftionthis ceftors : and Atticus, who
account of Brutus^s defcent ; was peculiarly curious in the
particularly Dionyiius of Ha- antiquities of the Roman fa-
licarnafTus, the moft judici- milies, drew up Brutus's ge-
ous and critical of them, who nealogyfor him
;and deduced
alledges fevcral argumentsa- his fucceffion from that old
E e 2 Kero^
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^2o7'/&<f History of the
Life
A.Urb. 709. very young, he was trained with great care byCic. 63. his uncle Cato, in all the fludies of polite letters,
^^efpecially
of eloquence and Philofophy, and un-
cJsTrV <^^^ ^^^^ difciplineof fuch a
Tutor,imbibed a
M. An TO- warm love for libertyand virtue. He had ex-
wiiiTs. cellent parts,and equal induftry, and acquired
an earlyfame at the bar ;
where he pleaded fe-
veral caufes of great importance, and was ef-
teemed the moft eloquent and learned of all the
young nobles of his age.His manner of fpeak-
ing was corred, elegant, judicious, yet wanting
that force and copioufnefs,which is required in
a confummate Orator. But Philofophy was his
favorite ftudy, in which, though he profefTed
himfelf of the more moderate fed of the old Aca-
demyy yet from a certain prideand gravity of tem-
per,
he affeded the
feverity
of the Stoic ; and to
imitate his uncle Cato*,
to which he was wholly
unequal -,for he was of a mild, mercifull, and
compaflionate difpofition ;averfe to every thing
cruel-,and was often forced by the tendernefs of
his nature to confute the rigorof his
principles.
While his mother lived in the greatefl familiarity
with Caefar, he was conftantly attached to the
Hero, in ad ircfl line through vslia, cannot be fuppofed
all the intermediate agesfrom to have commenced, till ma-
father to fon. Corn. Nep. ny years after Brutus was
vit. Att, 18. Tufcul. Difp. born; or not till Caefar had
4_. I. loH his firll wife Cornelia,
He war, born in the Con- whom he married when he
fulfhip of L. Cornelius Cinna was very young, and alwaysHi. and Cn. Fapirias Carbo, tenderly loved; and whofe
A. U. 66S. which fullycon- funeral oration he made when
futes the vulgar ftory of his he was ^i^fior, and conle-
bein? commonly believed to quently thirty years old. Vid.
he Ccvfars Jhi, fince he was Sueton. J. Csf. c 1,6, 50.
but iitueen years younger than it. Brut. p. 343^. 447. & Ccr-
Csefar himfelf: whole fami- radi nates,
liarity withhis
mothtrSer-
oppofite
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of M.rULLlUS CICERO. 421.
oppofite party, and firm to the interefls of liber- ^-^^rb -^og.
ty : for the fake of which he followed Pompey, ^^'^^'whom he hated, and aded on that fide, with ^
c^]^\,J^^
diftinguifhed zeal. At the battel of Pharfalia, Caesar V.
Csefar gave particularorders to find out and pre-
M. Anto-
lerve Brutus : being; deHrous to draw him from ^^^^'
the purfuitof a caufe, that was likely to prove
fatal to him : fo that when Cato, with the reft
of the Chiefs, went to renew the war in Afric,^
he was induced
by
Csefar's generofity and his mo-
tlier's prayers,to lay down his arms, and return.
toItaly. Csefar endeavoured to oblige him by
all the honours, which his power could beilow :
but the indignity ,of receiving from a Mafter,
what he ought to have received from a free peo-
plcj fhocked him much more than any honors
could oblige ; and the ruin, in which he faw his
friends involved by Casfar's ufurped dominion,
gave him a dilguil,which no favors could coir-
penfate. He obferved therefore a diflance and
referve through Casfar's reign ; afpired to no Hiare
of his confidence, or pare in his counfils, and by
the uncourtly vehemence, with which he detend-
ed the rights of King Deiotarus, convinced Cae-
far, that he could never be obliged, where he
did not find himfeif free. He cultivated all the
while the flrifefi: friendOiip with Cicero, v/hofe
principles,he knew, were utterly averle to the .
meafures of the times-,and in whole free conver-
fation,
he ufed to
minglehis ovvqi
complaints
on
the unhappy ftate of the Republic, and the
wretched hands, into which it w\as fallen ,till
animated by thefe conferences, and confirmed by
the generaldifcontent ot all the honed, he form-
ed the bold defign of freeinghis Country by the
deflrucftion of Csfar.' He had pubHcly defend-
ed Mile's 2i6z of killing Ciodius^ by a maxim,E e 3 wliich
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422 T^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 709. which he maintained to beuniverfally true, that
Cic. 63.thofe,
who live in defiance of the laws^ and cannot
c \ lus^^ brought to a trials ought to he taken offwithout a
C-esarV. triaL The cafe was applicable to Casfar in a
M. Anto- much higher degree than to Clodius ; whofe
Nius.power had placed him above the reach of the
law, and left no v/ay ofpiinifliing him, but by
anaffaffmation.
This therefore was Brutus's mo*
tive ; and Antony did him thejuftice
to fay,
that he was theonely
oneof
theconfpiracy^
who
entered into it out of principle ; that thereji^ from
private malice^ rofe up againft the man, he alon^
againfl the 'Tyrant [^].
C. Cassius was defcended likewife from a
family, not lefs honorable or ancient, nor lefs
zealous for the public liberty, than Brutus's ;
whofe Anceflor, Sp. Caflius, after a triumphof three confulihips,
is faid to have been con-
demned, and put to death, by his own Father,
for aiming at a dominion. He Ihewed a remark-
able inllance, when a boy, of his high fpiritand
love of liberty; for he gave SylWs Son, Faufius^
a box on the ear,
for bragging among
his
fchooU
[X]Natura admirabilis, & [Brut. 15.] turn Brutus ita-
exquifita dodlrina, |& fmgu- que doleo & illius confilio &laris induftria. Cum enim in tuavocepopulumRom.careremaximis caufis verfatus efles tamdiu. Quod cum per fe
[Brut. 26.] quo magis tu- dolendum eft, turn multo
urn, Brute, judicium probo, magis confideranti, ad quos
qui eorum, id eft, ex 'vetere ifta non tranflata fmt, fed ne-
academia, philofophorum fee- fcip quo padp devenerint.
tarn fecutus es, quorum in [Brut. 269.doftrina &
praeceptis diffe- 'Aaa' 'Avledvi\i yi kol} 'sroA.-
rendi ratio conjungitur cum ?^ovi dic^aai Aiyo/j^fCo^ fAovov
fuavitate dicendi &copia. olfo/7oBpTof s^/94j-0a/Kct/V<*-
[Brut. 2 19.]
Nam cum in-f/,'srf>oetyJ^ivja.rn ha,iJL'^f)oTiflt
ambularem in Xyfto M. ad kai ru ^ctivofjXvM itcthZ th?
me Brutus, ut confueverat, 'zzrpaJ* yfvid. Plut. in Brut,
cum T. Pomponio venerat p. 997. it. App. p. 498.
3 fellows^
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of MTULLIUS CICERO. 423
fellowSy of his Father's greatnefsand abfolute pow-
A. Urb, 709,
er-^ and when Pompey called the boys before^p'/f^*
him, to give an account of their quarrel, he de- q Julius
clared in his prefence, that if Faujlus fhould dare Cjesar V.
torepeat the words
^he would repeat the blow. He M. An to-
was Qiisftor to CralTus, in the Parthian war,^^^^'
where he greatly fignalized both his courage and
Ikill ; and if Crafllis had followed his advice,
would have preferved the whole army ,but after
their miferable defeat, he made good his retreat
into Syria with the remains of the broken le-
gions : and when the Parthians, flufhed with fuc-
cefs, purfued him thither foon after, and block-
ed ,him up in Antioch, he prefervedthat City
and Province fromfalling into their hands , and,
watching his opportunity, gained a confiderable
vidloryover
them, with the deflru6bionof their
General. In the civil war, after the battel of
Pharfalia, he failed with feventy Ships to the
coaft of Afia to raife frefh forces in that country,
and renew the war againft Csefar ; but, as the
Hiflorians tell us, happening to meet with Cse-
far crofling the Hellefpont in a common pafTage-
boat, inftead of deltroying him, as he mighthave done, he was fo terrified by the fight of
the Conqueror, that he begged his life in an ab-
jedl manner, and dehvered up his fleet to him.
But Cicero gives us a hint of a quite diiTerent
ftory, which is much more probable, and wor^
thy of CafTius ; that having got intelligence
where Csefar defigned to land, he lay in wait for
him, in a Bay of Cilicia, at the mouth of the
river Cydnus, with a refolution to deftroy himj
l^ut Cafar happening to land on the oppofitefooar be-
fore he was aware^ fo that feeing his projed:
blafled, and Csefar fecured in a country where
2,!i\ people were declaring for him, he thoughtit
E e 4 beft
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4^4 57?^ YLisTOT^Y of the Life
A. Urb. 709. befl to make his own peace too, by going over
Cic. 63. ^Q j^^j^ ^jj.|^ j^js fleet. He married Tertia, the
C TuVusSifter of Brutus \
and though differing in temper
C*^.sAR V. and phiiofophy, was ftridly united with him in
^ .. Antn- friendiliipand poHtics ,
and the conttant partner^^y*- of all his counfils. He was brave, witty, learn-
ed^ yet paffionate, fierce, and cruel
;fo that
Brutus was the more amiable friend^ he the more
dangerous enemy : in his later years he deferted
the Stoics, and became a convert to Epicurus ;
whofe doftrine he thought more natural and rea-
fonabie : conftantly maintaining, that the plea-
fure^ which their mafier recommended^ was to he
found onely in the habitual pra^fice of juflice and
virtue ;while he profelTed himfeif therefore an
Epicurean, he lived like a Stoic-,was moderate
in pleafures, temperatein
diet, anda
water-drinker through life. He attached himfeif very
early to the obfervance of Cicero; as all the
young Nobles did, who had any thing great or
laudable in view : this friendfhip was confirmed
by a conformity of their fentiments in the civil
war, and in Csefar's reign , during which, feve
ral Letters pafTed between them, written with a
freedom and familiarity, which is to be found
onely in the moft intimate correfpondence. In
thefe letters, though Cicero rallies his Epicurifm,
and change of principles, yet he allows him to
have a6ted always with thegreatefl: honor and in-
tegrity;and
pleafantly fays,
that he
fhould begin
te
think that feci to have more nerves^ than he imaginedy
Jince Cafjitishad embraced it. The old writers
afTign
feveral frivolous reafons of difguft, as the motives
of his killing C^efar : that defar took a number of
Lions from hirn^ which he had provided for apub-i^
lie fljew ; that he woidd not give him the ConfuU
Jtjip ; thai he gave BruSus the more honorable Free-
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 425
tor/hip in preferenceto him. But we need not A. Urb. 709.
look farther for the true motive, than to his^if'^3-
temper and principles: for his nature was fingu- q ]vhivi
larly impetuous and violent; impatient of con- c^esar V.
tradiction, and much more of fubjedlion ; and M. Anto-
pafTionatelyfond of glory, virtue, liberty : it was ^*"^*
from thefequalities,
that Casfar apprehended his
danger : and when admonifhed to beware of An-
tony and Dolabella, ufed to fay, that it was not
the gay^ the curled^and the jovial^ whom he had caufe
to fear^ but the thcughtfuU the pale^ and the lean;
meaning Brutus and Caffius [/].
The
[/] C. Caffius in ea fami- ko'^a A'Tra^dL^Kiva Xa,i<retpoi
lia natus, quae non modo do- avv]vK'ov]ct,ij^]S''W X-^f^^ ^A-
minatum, led ne potentiam ^iiv V7r(i<^v,vcti.f0 <i\{jTu^ kaju-
quidam cujufquam ferre po- rovci;Gy^^6oi ^v'7ro\<piCii y/oya
tuit. [Phil. 2. II.] Quern u-'Trctpci'^hzovji "^ctpfit/^j-, yVsf 0;/
bi primum magiftratu abiit, kv V&un S'vvct^zvoflA hJ'ii net-
damnatumque conflat. Sunt 7^>c7ctj'f. [App. 2. 483. it.
qui patrem aflorem ejus fup- Dio. I. 42. 188. Sueton.J.
pliciiferant. Eum cognita Csef. 63.] C. Caffius fine his
domi caufa verberaiTe ac ne- clariffimis viris hanc rem in
calTe, peculiumque filii Cereri Cilicia ad oftium fluminis
confecravifle. [Ltv. 2. 41.] CydniconfeciiTetjiiilleadeam
Cujus filium, Faulium, C. ripam, quam conftituerat,non
Caffius condifcipulumfuum in ad contrariam naves appulif-
fchola, profcriptionem pater- fet. [Phil. 2. 11.] e quibus'
nam laudantem colapho Brutum amicum habere mal-
percuffit. [Val. Max.3.
i. les, inimicum magis tiraeres
vid. Plutar. in Brut.] Reli- Caffium.[Vell.P.2.72.] iiJ'o-
quias legionum C. Caffius viiv vero, Sc drctfoL^lcii'virtute,
Quaellor confervavitjSyriam- juftitia,
ra Kct\o)
parari, &queadeoinpopuHRomanipo- verum & probabileeft. Ipfeteftate retinuit, uc
tranfgrejTos enim Epicurus dicit. mc
in eum Parthos, felici rerum gr/V ^cf'keog dtviv 7 Kct\coi Kett
eventu fugaret ac funderet. S'otct'.co';, ^Tw, [Ep. fam. 15,
[Vell.Pat.2.46.it.Phil.xi.i4.] 19.]Caffius tota vita aquam
o'JS'i i^yov iTz^oy Yiynucci bibit. [Senec. 547.] Quan-
TyT(^>if 5;'ctvT:,piy ;tsc/pcL'^sr9t/* quam quicum loquor ? cum
//.rtAAof, ?) Xdci:ryjy rov r^ohi- uno fortiffimo viro; qui po-
^iKa>TcLJovi7ri7or^]fuviC<Ao(jLYi-flea quam forum attigifti,
nihU
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42^ 'The History of the Life
A. Urb. 709. The next in authority to Brutus and Caflius
^if*^3' though very different from them in character,
C. Julius^^^^ Decimus Brutus, and C. Trebonius : they
Cjesar V. had both been conftantly devoted to Casfar ; andM. AnTO- were Angularly favored, advanced, and entrufted
N^us.^y Y{im in all his wars ; fo that when Caefar
marched firft into Spain, he left them to com-
mand theftege of Marfellies^ Brutus by fea^ Tre-
honhis by land \ in which they acquitted them-
felves with the
greateft courage
and ability,and
> reduced that ftrong place to the neceflity of fur-
rendering at difcretion. Decimus was of the
fame family with his namefake, Marcus ; and
Casfar, as if jealous of a name, that infpiredan
averfion to Kings, was particularlyfolicitous to
gain them both to his intereft ,and feemed to
have fucceded to his wifli in Decimus ; who for-
wardly embraced his friendfliip,and accepted all
his favors , being named by him to the command,
cf Cifdpine Gauk and to the Confuljhip of thefoh
lowing year^ and the fecondheir even of his eftate^
in failure of the firft.He feems to have had no
peculiar
charadter of virtue, or patriotifm,nor
any correfpondencewith Cicero, before the ad
of killingC^far ; fo that people,
inftead of ex-
pedting it from him, were furprizedat his doing
it ; yethe was brave, generous, magnificent,
and
lived with great fplendor,in the enjoyment of
an immenfe fortune \for he kept a numerous band
cf Gladiators^ at his own expence, for thediver-
fion of the City ',and after Casfar's death, fpent
about four hundred thoufand founds of his own
nihil fecifti nifi plenifTimum [Ep. fam. 15. 16.] DlfFeren-
amplifiimaj dignitatis.In ifta do confulatum Caffium offen-
ipfa ctifkaiimetuo ne plus
derat. [Veil.P. 2. 56. it.
nervorum fit,quam ego puta- Plut. in Brut. App. 408.]
rim, li mode earn tu probas,
TTioney,
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. ^17
money, in maintaining an army againft Anto- ^' Urb. 709.
ny [m]. ^Coff^*Trebonius had no family to boaft of,
but^ JuliJswas wholly a new man, and the creature of Cas- c'^sar V.
far's power, who produced him through all the M- Anto-
honors of the State, to his lateconfulfhip of three
^^^^'
months : Antony calls him Son of aBuffoon ;
but Cicero, of a fpkndid Knight : he was a manof
parts, prudence, integrity, humanity: was
converfant alfo in the poHter arts, and had a pe-culiar turn to wit and humor : for, after Csfar's
death, he publilhed a volume of Cicero^sfayingSy
which he had taken pains to colledt ; uponwhich Cicero compliments him, for having ex-
planed them with great elegance, and given them
a frefh force and beauty, by his humorous man-
ner of introducing then>. As the Hiflorians
have notfuggeiled any reafon that fhould move
either him or Decimus to the refolution of killins
a man, to whom they were infinitely obliged : fo
we may reafonably irhpute it, as Cicero does, to
agreatnefs of foul, and fuperior love of their
country,which made them
preferthe
liberty ofRome to the friendfhip of any man ; andchufe
ra-
ther to he thedejlroyers^ than the partners of a
tyranny \n\
The
MAdjeflis etiam confi- Vid. Casf. Comm. de Bell,
liariis coedis, familiariflimis civil. 1. z.Plut. inBrut. Appomnium, & fortuna partium p. 497, 518. Dio.l. 44. 247.
ejus in fummum evedtis fafti- &c. D. Brutus cum Caefaris
gium, D. Bruto & C. Trebo- primus omnium amicorum
nio, aliifque clari nominis vi- fuiiTet, interfedorfuit. Veil,
lis. [Veil. P. 2.56.] Pluref- P. 2. 64.
que percurforum in tutoribus [] Scuras filium appellatfilii nominavit : Decimum Antonius. Quafi vero igno-
Brutum etiam in fecundis he- tus nobis fuerit fplendidusredibus. [Sueton. Ca;f. 83.] EquesRomanusTreboniipa-
ter
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428 The IriiSTOKY of the Ltfe
A. Urb. 709. The reft of the confpirators were ^^vtly young
^!J-^3- men^ of noble blood, eager to revenge the ruin
C. Julius^^ ^^^^^ fortunes and families , partly menohfcure^
C^sAR V. and unknown to the public [<?] ; yet whofe fidelity
M. Anto- and courage had been appro^^ed by Brutus and^^us, Caflius. It was agreed by them all in council
to execute their defign in the Senate^ which was
fumnioned to meet on the Ides^ or fifteenth of
March : they knew that the Senate would ap-
plaud
it when done, and even allift, if there was
occafion, in the doing it [^] ;and there was a
circumftance, which peculiarly encouraged them,,
and feemed to be even ominous-,
that it happenedto be Pompefs Senate Houfe^ in v/hich their attempt
was to be made ;and where Casfar would conle-
quently fall at the foot of Pompey's Statue^ as ^
juft facritice to the manes of that great man [^].
They took it alfo for granted, that tjie City
would be generally on their fide, yet for their
greater fecurity, D. Brutus gave orders, to arm
his Gladiators that mornings asif for feme public
JheWy that they might be ready, on the firit no-
ter. [Phil. 13. 10.] Trebo- 16] Qui libertatem populi
nii confilium, ingenium, Romani unius amicitise pr^-
humanitatem, innocentiam, pofuit, depulforque domina-
magnitudinem animi in pa- tus, quam particeps efTe ma-
tria liberanda quisignorat? luit. Phil. 2. 11.
[Phil. xi. 4.] liber ille, quern [0] In tot hominibus, par-
mihi mififti, quantam habet tim obfcuris, partim adolef-
declarationemamoris tui ?
centibus,&c. Phil. 2. 11.
primum, quod tibifacetum[p'j ciifTcoy (iii?.iv]^h',ii Keti
videtur quicquid ego dixi, f^n 'Sj-fouccOc^er,'Ztrpc9v7-'.fcf,on
quod aliis fortaffe non item : IJ^onv roiifyzvy (TWiTrtPs-lc-
deinde, quod ilia, five faceta ijXvkv. App. 499.
funt, five fic fiunt narrante [ql Poflquam Senatus idi-
te venuiliffima. Quin etiam bus Martiis in Pompeii cu-
antequam ad me veniatur, ri- riam ediftus eft, facile tem-
fus omnis pasne confumitur, pus $c locumpiietulerunt.
&c. Ep. fam. 15. 21. it. 12. [Sueton. 80.]
tice.
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of M, rULLIUS CICERO. 429
tice to fecure the avenues of the Senate, and de- A.Urb.709.
fend them from any fudden violence-,and Pom- ^!5-^3-
fey's Theai^r^ which adjoined to bisSenate-houfe^ q t
^
beingthe
propereft place
for the exercife of thec.^sar V.
Gladiators, would cover all fufpicion, that might M. Anto-
otherwife arife from them. The onely delibera- ^^^^*
tion that perplexed them, and on which they
were much divided, was whether they fhould not
kill Antony alfo-,and Lepidus^ together with C<.-efar \
efpecially Antony \ the more ambitious of the
two, and the more likely to create frefh dan-
ger to the Commonwealth. Caflius, with a ma-
jorityof the company, was v/armly for
killing
him : but the two Brutus^s as warmly oppofed,
and iinally over -ruled it : they alledged,"
that
"to fhed more blood, than was
neceffary, would"
difgrace their caufe, and draw upon them an
"imputation of cruelty; and of acting not as
"Patriots, but as the Partifans of Pompey; not
''fo much to free the City, as to revenge them-
"felves on their enemies, and get the dominion
*' of it into their hands." But what weighed with
them the mofr, was a vain perfuafion, that Anto-
ny wouldbe
tradlable,and
eafily reconciled, asfoon as the affair was over : but this
lenity provedtheir ruin : and by leaving their work imperfect,
defeated all the benefit of it ; as we find Cicero af-
terwards often reproaching them in his Letters[r].
Many prodigies are m.entioned by the Hiflo-
rians to have given warning of C^far's death[j]
:
which having been fe## forged by fome, and
[rj Plutar. in Q:z(. ^^pp.fam. x. 28. 12, 4. ad Brut.
2. 499. 502. Dio. 247, 24^. 2.7.
Quam veilcn ad Illas pul- [jj Sed Caifari futura, cae-
cherrimas epulas me Idibus des evidentlbus prodigiis de-
Martiis invitaffes. Reliqui- nunciata ell:, &c. Sueton. 8i.
arum nihil haberemus.Ep.
T'luc. in vit.
ere duloudV
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430 "The History of the Life
A. Urb. 706. creduloufly received by others, werecopied, as.
Cic. 6^. ufual, by all, to ftrike the imagination of their
C TuLiusreaders, and raife an awful attention to an event,
cksAR V. ii^ which the Gods were fuppofed to bei nterefted.M. Anto- Cicero has related one of the moft remarkable of^'^'s* them ;
"that as Csefar was
facrificing a little be-*' fore his death, with great pomp and fplendor,'' in his triumphal robes and golden chair^ the vic-
"tim, which was a fat Ox, was found to be
'' without a heart : and when Csefar feemed to be
'^ fhocked at it, Spurinna, the Harufpex, admo-*' nilhed him to beware, left through a failure
"in counfiU his
lifefhould be cut off, fmce the
*' heart was the feat and fource of them both.*' The next day he facrificed again, in hopes to*'
find the entrails more propitious , but the liver
*' of the bullockappeared
to want its
head^*^ which was reckoned alfo among the direfull
" omens [^]." Thefe fadls, though ridiculed
[/]De Divin. 1. 52. 2. NaturaMs, as wholly unphi-
16. Thefe cafes of vidlims lofophical, who thought it
found fometimes ^without a abfurd to imagine, that the
heart or li'ver, gave rife to a Deity could either annihilate,
curious queftion among thofe or create ; either reduce anywho believed the reality of thing to
nothing, or form
thiskind of ^/'i;/^^/o, asthe any thing out of nothing.
Stoics generally did, how to What feems the moft pro-
account for the caufe of fo bable, is, that if the fadls
ftrange a phaenomenon. The really happened, they were
common folution was, that contrived by Csefar's friends,
the Gods made fuch changes and the heart conveyed away
inftantaneoufly, in the mo- by fome artifice, to givement of
facrificing, by an- them a better pretence of
nihilating or altering the enforcing their admonitions,
condition of the entrails fo, and putting Caefar upon his
as to make them correfpond guard againfl dangers, which
with the circumftances of the they really apprehended,
Sacrificer, and the admoni- from quite different reafons,
tion which they intended to than the pretended denuncia-
tgive. [DeDiv.
ibid.]
But tions of the Gods.
his was laughed at by the
hf
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of M.I'ULLIUS CICERO. 4^1
by ticero, were publiclyaffirmed and believed A. Urb.
709.
at the time ;and feem to have raifed a general ^q'^^^^
rumor through the City, of fome fecret dan-q Julius
ger that threatened Csefar's life ; fo that his c^sar V,
friends being alarmed at it, were endeavouring M. Anto"
to inftil the fame apprehenfion into Csefar him- ^^^^
felf : and had fucceeded fo far, as to fhake his
refolution of going that day to the Senate, when
it was adtually aflembled by his fummons in Pom-
pey's
Senate-houfe ; till D. Brutus, by rallying
thofe fears, as unmanly and unworthy of him,
and alledging, that his abfence would be in-
terpretedas an affront to the aflembly, drew
him out againfl his will to meet his deftined
fate [].In the morning of the fatal day, M. Brutus
and C. Caffius appeared, according to cuflom, inthe Forum fitting
in their Pr^torian '^ribunals^
to hear and determine caufes-, where, though
they had daggers under their gowns, they fat
with the fame calmnefs as if they had nothing
upon their minds ; till the news of C^far's
coming out to the Senate, called them away to
the performance of their part in the tragical a6t ;
which they executed at laft with fuch refolution,
that through the eagernefs of flabbing Caefar,
they wounded even one another[a'].
Thus fell Csefar on the celebrated Ides of
March 5after he had advanced himfelf to a
height
of
power,
which noConquerer
had ever
attained before him; though to raife the mighty
Fabric, he had made more defolation in the world
than any man perhaps, who ever lived in it. Heufed to fay, that his
conquejls in Gaul hadcoji
a-
[] Plutar. inJ.
Caef.
[;r] lb. ia Brut. App. 2. 505.
hout
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1^2^^^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 709. hoiit a million^ and two hmidred thoufandjives [j],Cic. 63. and if we add the civil wars to the account, they
Coff.could not coil the Republic much lefs, in the
cJs^A^V ^ove valuable blood of it's beft Citizens : yet
M. An TO- when through a perpetual courfe of fadion, ivio-
Nius. lence, rapine, flaughter, he had made his way at
laft to Empire, he did not enjoy the quiet pofTef-
fion of it above jive months [z].
He was endowed with every great and noble
quality,that could exalt human nature, and give
a man the afcendant in fociety ; formed to excel!
in peace, as well as war : provident in counfil;
fearlefs in a6tion \and executing what he had re-
folved with an amazing celerity: generous be-
yond meafure to his friends ; placable to his ene-
mies-,and for parts, learning, eloquence, fcarce
inferior to any man. Hisorations were
admiredfor two qualities
which are feldom found toge-
ther, firengthayid elegance : Cicero ranks him a
mong the greateft orators, that Rome ever bred :
and Quintillian fays,that he /poke with the fame
force with which he fought ;and if he had devoted
^
himfelf to the har^ would have been theonely man
capable of rivalling Cicero, Nor was he a mafter
onely of the politer arts; but converfant alfo
with the mofb abfirufe and critical part of learn-
ing *,and among other works whiciriie publifli-
ed, addreflcd two books to Cicero^ on the Analogy
of language^ or the art of fpeaking and writing
corre(Siy \a\.He was a moft liberal Patron of
wit
[j] Undecies centena & [z] Neque illi tanto viro
nonagintaduohoh-inum mil- plufquam quinque menlium
Ha occilapraeliisab eo quod principalis quies contigit
itaelie conteilus eftiple,
bei- Veil. Pat. 2. 56.
lorum civilium ftragemnon
[jIt was in the dedica-
prodendo. Plin, tlift. 7. 25.tion of this piece to Citero,
that
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of M, rULLIUS CICERO. 433
wit and karning, wherefoever they were found ;A- Urb. 709.
and out of his love of thofe talents, would readi-^'^^3-
ly pardon thofe, who had employed them againft q j{lius
himfelf : rightly judging, that by making fuch c^sar V?men his friends, he fmuld draiD praifes from the M. Anto-
fame fountain^ from which he had beenafperfed.
^''^^'
His capital paflionswere ambition and love of
fleafure ; which he indulged in their turns to the
greateftexcefs : yet the firft was always predomi-
nant ; to which he could eafilyfacrifice all the
charms of the fecond, and draw pleafure even
from toils and dangers, when they miniflred to..-
his glory. For he thought Tyranny^ as Cicero
fays, thegreateft of Goddejfes , and had frequent-
ly in his mouth a verfe of Euripides, which ex-
prefled the image of his foul, that if right and
juflice were ever to be violated^ they were to be vio-lated for the fake of reigniitg.
This was the chief
end and purpofe of his lite : the fcheme that he
had formed from his early youth jfo that, as Cato ^
truly declared of him, he came with fobriety and
meditation to thefubverfion of the Republic, He
ufed tofay,
that there were two things neceffary^
to acquire and to fupport power \ foldiers and money \
which yet depended mutually on each other :
with money therefore he provided foldiers-,and
with foldiers extorted money : and was of all men
the moft rapacious in plundering, both frienda
and toes , fparing neither Prince nor State^
nor'Temple^
nor even
private perfons^
who were
known topofTefs any fhare of treafure. His
great abilities wouldneceflarily
have made \\m\
one of the firft Citizens of Rome;but difdaining
that Caefar paid him the of all triu?npbsiasit nvr.s moj-e
compliment, which Pliny glorious to extend the hounds of
mentions, of his having ac- the Ro?nan ncity than of their
quired a laurel,fuperior to that Ei?tt>ire. Hill N. 7. 30.
Vol. II. F f the
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434*^^^^ History of the Life
A. Urb. 709. the condition of a fubjed, he could never reft,
C1G.63. ^^\\ j^g j^a^ md.dchimM^ a Monarch. In a6ling
C Tutius^^^^ ^^^ P^^^'
^^^ ^^^^^^ prudence feemed to fail
Ctesar V. him , as if the height, to which he was mounted,M. Anto- had turned his head, and made him giddy : for,
^iius.I^y
a vain oftentation of his power, hedeftroyed
.
the ftabiUty of it ; and as men fhorten Hfc, by
living too faft, fo by an intemperance ofreigning,
he brought his reign to a violent end[^].
It was a comm.on queftion after his death,
and propofed as a problem by Livy, whether it
was of fervice to the Republic ythat he had ever
[<5]De Cjefare Sc
ipfe ita telligitlaudes fuas, e quo fit
judico ilium omnium fere leviterafperfus. [Ep. fam. 6.
Oratorum latine loqui ele- 6.] tPjJ/ ^iav(xiy'iTnu <^V l-
gantiffime& id mukis lit- %e/i/ rvfctuvU'ct. [Ad Att. 7.
teris, &iis
quidemrecondi-
11.] ipfeautem in ore fem-
tis & exquiiitis, fummoque per grajcos verfus de Phseniflis
fludio ac diligtntia ell: confe- habebat
cutus -~-[Brut. 370.] C. vero
Caefar fi foro tantum vacafTet, Namji 'violajtdunteji Jus, reg'
non alius ex noftris contra nandi gratia
Ciceronem nominaretur, tan- Violandiuneji
: aliis rehuspie-
ta in eo vis eft, id acumen, tatejn colas.
ea concitatio, ut ilium eodem[Offic. 3. 21.]
animo dixifle, quo bellavit,
appareat. [Quintil. x. 1.] Cato dixit, C. Ca^farem ad
C. Caefar, in libris, quos ad evertendam rempublicam, fo-
M, Ciceronem de Analogia brium accefTiffe. [Quintil. I.
confcripfit [A.Gell. 19, 8.] 8. 2.] Abftinentiam neque in
Qu'n etiam in maximis oc- Imperils neque in Magiftra-
cupationibus cum ad teip- tibusprasftitit
in Gallia fa-
fyim, inquit, de ratione la- na,templaqueDeumdonis re-
tine loquendi accuratiflime ferta expilavit: urbes diruit,
fcripferit [Brut. 370.vid.
faspius ob praedam quam de-
it. Sueton. 56.] in Caefare lidlum evidentiffimis rapi-haec funt, mitis, clemenfque nis, ac
Sacrilegiis onera bel-
natura accedit, qaod miri- lorum civilium fuftinuit.
f,ce ingeniis excellentibus, [Sueton. c. 54. vid. it. Dip>
quale tuum eft, deledaturp. 208.]
^odem fonte fe haufturum in-
% hen
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of M.TULLIUS CICERO. 435'
^een lorn [c].The qiieftion did noc turn on the A. Urb. 709.
fimple merit of his a6ts, for that would bear no^^^^^^*
difpute,but on the accidental effedb of them; c. Julius
their producing the fettlement under Augullus, c^sar V,
and the benefits of that government ;which was M- Anto-
the confequence of his Tyranny. Suetonius,^^^'^
who treats the characters of the Csefars with that
freedom, which the happy reigns,in which he
lived, indulged, upon balancing the exacl fumm
of his virtues and vices^
declares him, on the
whole, to have beenjuftly
killed[ti]
; which appears
to have been the generalfenfc of the beft, the
wifeft and the moil difmterefted in Rome, at the
time when the fa6t was committed*
The onely queftion which feemed to admit any
difpute, was, whether it ought to have been com-
mitted by thofe, who werethe leaders in it
[f]:
fome of whom owed their lives to Csefar , and
others had been loaded by him with honors, to a
degree, that helped to encreaie the popular odium j
particularlyD. Brutus, who was the moil cherilli-
ed by him of them all, andleft by his will, the
fecond Heir of his Eftate [/]. For, of the 'Twa
Brutus's^ it was not Marcus, as it is commonly
imagined, but Decimus, who was the favorite^
and whofe part in the confpiracyfurprized people tha
moft [^]. But this circumilance ferved onely for a
different handle to the different parties,for aggra-
[<] Vid. Senec. Natur. dendum eum judicaret.Se-
Quxll. 1.5. 18. p. 766. nee. de Benef. 1. 2. 20.
[rt'J Praigravant tamen cas- [/] Appian. 2. 518*
tera tadla, didaque ejus,ut [^] Etli eil enim Brut6-
& abufus dominatione & jure rum commune faftumd-laud is
csfus exiftimetur. Sueton. focietas a^qua, Decimo tamen
c 76.iratiores erant il, qui id fac-
[^] Difputari de M. Bruto turn doiebant, qud minus ab
folet, an debuerit accipere a eo rem illam dicebanc fieri
D Julio vitam, earn occi- debuiffe^ Philip, x. 7.
F f 2 vating
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43'S^he History of the Life
A. Urb. 709. vating either their crime, or their merit. C^far^S
Cic. 63. friends charged them with hafe ingratitude^for
C Tu^i/ius killingtheir Benefadlor, and abufing the power
C^sAR V. which he had given to the deftrud:ion of theM. Anto-
giver.The other fide gave a
contrary turn to
NILS.\i
.^extolled the greater virtue of the men, for
not being diverted by private confiderations,
from doing an ad: of public benefit : Cicero takes
it always in this view, andfays,
" That the Re-*'
publicwas the more indebted to them, for
*'
preferringthe common good, to the friend-
''
fhipof any man whatfoever; that as to the
*' kindnefs of giving them their lives, it was the
*'kindnefs onely of a Robber, who had firfl
' done them the greater wrong, by ufurping*'
the power to take it : that, if there had been*'
any iiain of ingratitude in the a6l, they could"" never have acquired fo much glory by it
j and'"
though he wondered indeed at fome of them*'
for doing it, rather than ever imagined, that
'"they would have done it; yet he admired"*' them fo much the more, for being regardlefs*'
of favors, that they might fhew their regard to
'' their Country [/:?]."
S o iM E of Crefar's friend?, particularlyPanfa
and Hirtius, advifed him always to keep a fland-
ing guard of PrjEtorian Troops, for the defence
of his perfon ; alledging, that a power acquired hy
<ir,ns rnuft necejfarilyhe maintained hy arms : but his
[h] Quod e(l aliad bene- Quo etiam majorem ei
iicium >
latronum, nifi lit Rcfpub. gratiam debet, qui
commemorarepoflint,
lis fe iibertatem pbpuliRomani u-
dediile vitam, quibus non ad- nius amicitice praepofuit,de-
cmerint ? quod fi effet be- pulforque dominatus qu-am
neficium, nunquam ii qui il- particepsefle maluit admi-
lum interfectrunt, a quo e- ratasfumobeamcaufamjqu-Gd^ant fervati, tantum efient immemor beneticiorum, me-
gloriam coniecuti. Phil. 2.3, mor patris fuiffec. ib. 11.
common
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ofM. TULLIUS CICERO. 437
common anfwer was, that he had rather die once byA. Urb.
709,
treachery^ than Uve always in fear of it[?*].
He^p' ^^*
ufed to laugh at Sylla for reftoring theliberty of
q^ JumJs
the Republic-, and to fay in contempt of him,c^sARV.that he did not know his letters [^]. But, as a ju- M. Anto-
dicious writer has obferved, Sylla had learnt ^ ^ ^ us.
better Grammar than he ; which taught him to re-
fign his guards^and his government together : where^
as Cdefar^ by difmiJjUngthe one^ yet retaining the
other^committed a dangerous folecifm in politics [/] ;
for he flrengthened the popular odium, and con-
fequently his own^danger, while he weakened his *'
defence.
He made feveral good laws during his admi-
niftration, all tending to enforce the publick dif-
cipline, and extend the penaltiesof former laws.
The moft confiderable, as well asthe
moftulefull
ot them was, that no Fratorfhould hold any Province
more than one year^ nor a Conful more than two [m].
This was a regulation, that had been often wifhed
for^ as Cicero fays, in the befi of times , and what
one of the ableft Dilators of the Republic had
declared to be it's chief fecurity,not to fuffer great
and arbitrary commands to be of long duration ^ but
to limit them atleajt
in titne^ ifit was not con-
[/] Laudandum experien- [k"]Nee minoris impoten-
tia confilium eft Panfse atque tine voces propalam edebat
Hirtii : qui iemper pra^dixe- Syllam nefcifTe litteras, quiranc Csefari, ut
principatum Diclaturam depofuerit. Sue-
armis qua^fitum armis tene- ton. 77.
ret. Ille diftitans, mori fe [/] Vid. Sir H. Savile's
quam timeri malle. Vel. P. DifTertat. de Militia Rom. at
2. 57. the end of his tranflation of
Infidias undique imminen- Tacitus,
tes fubire femel confefTum fa-\_m] Phil. r. 8. Sueton. J.
tis efie, quam cavere femper. Ca^i". 42, 43,Sueton. c. 26,
ranient
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NIUS.
438 The History of the Life
A. UVb. 709. venient to limit them in power []. Cafar knew /^
^if*^3 by experience, that the prolongation of thefe ex-
C. Junius traordinary commands, and the habit ofruling
cJesar V. Kingdoms was the readied way, not onely to-
M. Anto-infpire
a contempt of the, laws, but to give a man
the power to fubvert them ; and he hoped there-
fore by this law, to prevent any other man from^
doing what he himfelf had done, and to fecure
his own pofleflionfrom the attempts of all futurcf
invaders.
[] Quas lex melibr, uti- Mamercus^milius max-
lior, optima etiam Repub. iijiam autem, ait, ejus cufto-
{"aepius flagitata, quam ne diara efie, fi magna imperfa
Prxtoriae provincise plus diuturna non effent, &]tem-
quam annum, neve plus poris modus imponeretur,
quam biennium confulares quibus juris imponi non pof-
obtinerentur ? Phil. 1.8, fet. Liv. 1.4. 24.
^'he End of the SECOND VOLUME.
7/28/2019 Marcus Tullius Cicero, Biography VOL 2 - Conyers Middleton (1775)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/marcus-tullius-cicero-biography-vol-2-conyers-middleton-1775 445/447
7/28/2019 Marcus Tullius Cicero, Biography VOL 2 - Conyers Middleton (1775)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/marcus-tullius-cicero-biography-vol-2-conyers-middleton-1775 446/447
7/28/2019 Marcus Tullius Cicero, Biography VOL 2 - Conyers Middleton (1775)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/marcus-tullius-cicero-biography-vol-2-conyers-middleton-1775 447/447
*ewt.
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