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diff --git a/8945-8.txt b/8945-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dc1df32 --- /dev/null +++ b/8945-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11678 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of Cicero, by Anthony Trollope + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Life of Cicero + Volume One + +Author: Anthony Trollope + +Release Date: August 28, 2003 [EBook #8945] +Most recently updated: April 18, 2011 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF CICERO *** + + + + +Produced by Ted Garvin, Marc D'Hooghe, Steve Whitaker, and +the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + + +THE + +LIFE OF CICERO + +BY + +ANTHONY TROLLOPE + +_IN TWO VOLUMES_ + +VOL. I. + +NEW YORK +HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE +1881 + + + + + CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. + + + CHAPTER I. + PAGE + INTRODUCTION. 7 + + + CHAPTER II. + + HIS EDUCATION. 40 + + + CHAPTER III. + + THE CONDITION OF ROME. 62 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + HIS EARLY PLEADINGS.--SEXTUS ROSCIUS + AMERINUS.--HIS INCOME. 80 + + + CHAPTER V. + + CICERO AS QUÆSTOR. 107 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + VERRES. 124 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + CICERO AS ÆDILE AND PRÆTOR. 162 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + CICERO AS CONSUL. 184 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + CATILINE. 206 + + + CHAPTER X. + + CICERO AFTER HIS CONSULSHIP. 240 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + THE TRIUMVIRATE. 264 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + HIS EXILE. 297 + + * * * * * + + APPENDICES. + + APPENDIX A. 335 + + APPENDIX B. 340 + + APPENDIX C. 242 + + APPENDIX D. 345 + + APPENDIX E. 347 + + + + +THE LIFE OF CICERO. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +_INTRODUCTION._ + + +I am conscious of a certain audacity in thus attempting to give a +further life of Cicero which I feel I may probably fail in justifying by +any new information; and on this account the enterprise, though it has +been long considered, has been postponed, so that it may be left for +those who come after me to burn or publish, as they may think proper; +or, should it appear during my life, I may have become callous, through +age, to criticism. + +The project of my work was anterior to the life by Mr. Forsyth, and was +first suggested to me as I was reviewing the earlier volumes of Dean +Merivale's History of the Romans under the Empire. In an article on the +Dean's work, prepared for one of the magazines of the day, I inserted an +apology for the character of Cicero, which was found to be too long as +an episode, and was discarded by me, not without regret. From that time +the subject has grown in my estimation till it has reached its present +dimensions. + +I may say with truth that my book has sprung from love of the man, and +from a heartfelt admiration of his virtues and his conduct, as well as +of his gifts. I must acknowledge that in discussing his character with +men of letters, as I have been prone to do, I have found none quite to +agree with me. His intellect they have admitted, and his industry; but +his patriotism they have doubted, his sincerity they have disputed, and +his courage they have denied. It might have become me to have been +silenced by their verdict; but I have rather been instigated to appeal +to the public, and to ask them to agree with me against my friends. It +is not only that Cicero has touched all matters of interest to men, and +has given a new grace to all that he has touched; that as an orator, a +rhetorician, an essayist, and a correspondent he was supreme; that as a +statesman he was honest, as an advocate fearless, and as a governor +pure; that he was a man whose intellectual part always dominated that of +the body; that in taste he was excellent, in thought both correct and +enterprising, and that in language he was perfect. All this has been +already so said of him by other biographers. Plutarch, who is as +familiar to us as though he had been English, and Middleton, who +thoroughly loved his subject, and latterly Mr. Forsyth, who has +struggled to be honest to him, might have sufficed as telling us so much +as that. But there was a humanity in Cicero, a something almost of +Christianity, a stepping forward out of the dead intellectualities of +Roman life into moral perceptions, into natural affections, into +domesticity, philanthropy, and conscious discharge of duty, which do not +seem to have been as yet fully appreciated. To have loved his neighbor +as himself before the teaching of Christ was much for a man to achieve; +and that he did this is what I claim for Cicero, and hope to bring home +to the minds of those who can find time for reading yet another added to +the constantly increasing volumes about Roman times. + +It has been the habit of some latter writers, who have left to Cicero +his literary honors, to rob him of those which had been accorded to him +as a politician. Macaulay, expressing his surprise at the fecundity of +Cicero, and then passing on to the praise of the Philippics as +senatorial speeches, says of him that he seems to have been at the head +of the "minds of the second order." We cannot judge of the +classification without knowing how many of the great men of the world +are to be included in the first rank. But Macaulay probably intended to +express an opinion that Cicero was inferior because he himself had never +dominated others as Marius had done, and Sylla, and Pompey, and Cæsar, +and Augustus. But what if Cicero was ambitious for the good of others, +while these men had desired power only for themselves? + +Dean Merivale says that Cicero was "discreet and decorous," as with a +similar sneer another clergyman, Sydney Smith, ridiculed a Tory +prime-minister because he was true to his wife. There is nothing so open +to the bitterness of a little joke as those humble virtues by which no +glitter can be gained, but only the happiness of many preserved. And the +Dean declares that Cicero himself was not, except once or twice, and for +a "moment only, a real power in the State." Men who usurped authority, +such as those I have named, were the "real powers," and it was in +opposition to such usurpation that Cicero was always urgent. Mr. +Forsyth, who, as I have said, strives to be impartial, tells us that +"the chief fault of Cicero's moral character was a want of sincerity." +Absence of sincerity there was not. Deficiency of sincerity there was. +Who among men has been free from such blame since history and the lives +of men were first written? It will be my object to show that though less +than godlike in that gift, by comparison with other men around him he +was sincere, as he was also self-denying; which, if the two virtues be +well examined, will indicate the same phase of character. + +But of all modern writers Mr. Froude has been the hardest to Cicero. His +sketch of the life of Cæsar is one prolonged censure on that of Cicero. +Our historian, with all that glory of language for which he is so +remarkable, has covered the poor orator with obloquy. There is no period +in Cicero's life so touching, I think, as that during which he was +hesitating whether, in the service of the Republic, it did or did not +behoove him to join Pompey before the battle of Pharsalia. At this time +he wrote to his friend Atticus various letters full of agonizing doubts +as to what was demanded from him by his duty to his country, by his +friendship for Pompey, by loyalty to his party, and by his own dignity. +As to a passage in one of those, Mr. Froude says "that Cicero had lately +spoken of Cæsar's continuance in life as a disgrace to the State." "It +has been seen also that he had long thought of assassination as the +readiest means of ending it,"[1] says Mr. Froude. The "It has been seen" +refers to a statement made a few pages earlier, in which he translates +certain words written by Cicero to Atticus.[2] "He considered it a +disgrace to them that Cæsar was alive." That is his translation; and in +his indignation he puts other words, as it were, into the mouth of his +literary brother of two thousand years before. "Why did not somebody +kill him?" The Latin words themselves are added in a note, "Cum vivere +ipsum turpe sit nobis."[3] Hot indignation has so carried the translator +away that he has missed the very sense of Cicero's language. "When even +to draw the breath of life at such a time is a disgrace to us!" That is +what Cicero meant. Mr. Froude in a preceding passage gives us another +passage from a letter to Atticus,[4] "Cæsar was mortal."[5] So much is +an intended translation. Then Mr. Froude tells us how Cicero had "hailed +Cæsar's eventual murder with rapture;" and goes on to say, "We read the +words with sorrow and yet with pity." But Cicero had never dreamed of +Cæsar's murder. The words of the passage are as follows: "Hunc primum +mortalem esse, deinde etiam multis modis extingui posse cogitabam." "I +bethought myself in the first place that this man was mortal, and then +that there were a hundred ways in which he might be put on one side." +All the latter authorities have, I believe, supposed the "hunc" or "this +man" to be Pompey. I should say that this was proved by the gist of the +whole letter--one of the most interesting that was ever written, as +telling the workings of a great man's mind at a peculiar crisis of his +life--did I not know that former learned editors have supposed Cæsar to +have been meant. But whether Cæsar or Pompey, there is nothing in it to +do with murder. It is a question--Cicero is saying to his friend--of the +stability of the Republic. When a matter so great is considered, how is +a man to trouble himself as to an individual who may die any day, or +cease from any accident to be of weight? Cicero was speaking of the +effect of this or that step on his own part. Am I, he says, for the sake +of Pompey to bring down hordes of barbarians on my own country, +sacrificing the Republic for the sake of a friend who is here to-day and +may be gone to-morrow? Or for the sake of an enemy, if the reader thinks +that the "hunc" refers to Cæsar. The argument is the same. Am I to +consider an individual when the Republic is at stake? Mr. Froude tells +us that he reads "the words with sorrow and yet with pity." So would +every one, I think, sympathizing with the patriot's doubts as to his +leader, as to his party, and as to his country. Mr. Froude does so +because he gathers from them that Cicero is premeditating the murder of +Cæsar! + +It is natural that a man should be judged out of his own mouth. A man +who speaks much, and so speaks that his words shall be listened to and +read, will be so judged. But it is not too much to demand that when a +man's character is at stake his own words shall be thoroughly sifted +before they are used against him. + +The writer of the biographical notice in the Encyclopedia Britannica on +Cicero, sends down to posterity a statement that in the time of the +first triumvirate, when our hero was withstanding the machinations of +Cæsar and Pompey against the liberties of Rome, he was open to be +bought. The augurship would have bought him. "So pitiful," says the +biographer, "was the bribe to which he would have sacrificed his honor, +his opinions, and the commonwealth!" With no more sententious language +was the character of a great man ever offered up to public scorn. And on +what evidence? We should have known nothing of the bribe and the +corruption but for a few playful words in a letter from Cicero himself +to Atticus. He is writing from one of his villas to his friend in Rome, +and asks for the news of the day: Who are to be the new consuls? Who is +to have the vacant augurship? Ah, says he, they might have caught even +me with that bait;[6] as he said on another occasion that he was so much +in debt as to be fit for a rebel; and again, as I shall have to explain +just now, that he was like to be called in question under the Cincian +law because of a present of books! This was just at the point of his +life when he was declining all offers of public service--of public +service for which his soul longed--because they were made to him by +Cæsar. It was then that the "Vigintiviratus" was refused, which +Quintilian mentions to his honor. It was then that he refused to be +Cæsar's lieutenant. It was then that he might have been fourth with +Cæsar, and Pompey, and Crassus, had he not felt himself bound not to +serve against the Republic. And yet the biographer does not hesitate to +load him with infamy because of a playful word in a letter half jocose +and half pathetic to his friend. If a man's deeds be always honest, +surely he should not be accused of dishonesty on the strength of some +light word spoken in the confidence of familiar intercourse. The light +words are taken to be grave because they meet the modern critic's eye +clothed in the majesty of a dead language; and thus it comes to pass +that their very meaning is misunderstood. + +My friend Mr. Collins speaks, in his charming little volume on Cicero, +of "quiet evasions" of the Cincian law,[7] and tells us that we are +taught by Cicero's letters not to trust Cicero's words when he was in a +boasting vein. What has the one thing to do with the other? He names no +quiet evasions. Mr. Collins makes a surmise, by which the character of +Cicero for honesty is impugned--without evidence. The anonymous +biographer altogether misinterprets Cicero. Mr. Froude charges Cicero +with anticipation of murder, grounding his charge on words which he has +not taken the trouble to understand. Cicero is accused on the strength +of his own private letters. It is because we have not the private +letters of other persons that they are not so accused. The courtesies of +the world exact, I will not say demand, certain deviations from +straightforward expression; and these are made most often in private +conversations and in private correspondence. Cicero complies with the +ways of the world; but his epistles are no longer private, and he is +therefore subjected to charges of falsehood. It is because Cicero's +letters, written altogether for privacy, have been found worthy to be +made public that such accusations have been made. When the injustice of +these critics strikes me, I almost wish that Cicero's letters had not +been preserved. + +As I have referred to the evidence of those who have, in these latter +days, spoken against Cicero, I will endeavor to place before the +reader the testimony of his character which was given by writers, +chiefly of his own nation, who dealt with his name for the hundred and +fifty years after his death--from the time of Augustus down to that +of Adrian--a period much given to literature, in which the name of a +politician and a man of literature would assuredly be much discussed. +Readers will see in what language he was spoken of by those who came +after him. I trust they will believe that if I knew of testimony on +the other side, of records adverse to the man, I would give them. The +first passage to which I will allude does not bear Cicero's name; and +it may be that I am wrong in assuming honor to Cicero from a passage +in poetry, itself so famous, in which no direct allusion is made to +himself. But the idea that Virgil in the following lines refers to the +manner in which Cicero soothed the multitude who rose to destroy the +theatre when the knights took their front seats in accordance with +Otho's law, does not originate with me. I give the lines as translated +by Dryden, with the original in a note.[8] + + "As when in tumults rise the ignoble crowd, + Mad are their motions, and their tongues are loud; + And stones and brands in rattling volleys fly, + And all the rustic arms that fury can supply; + If then some grave and pious man appear, + They hush their noise, and lend a listening ear; + He soothes with sober words their angry mood, + And quenches their innate desire of blood." + +This, if it be not intended for a portrait of Cicero on that occasion, +exactly describes his position and his success. We have a fragment of +Cornelius Nepos, the biographer of the Augustan age, declaring that at +Cicero's death men had to doubt whether literature or the Republic had +lost the most.[9] Livy declared of him only, that he would be the best +writer of Latin prose who was most like to Cicero.[10] Velleius +Paterculus, who wrote in the time of Tiberius, speaks of Cicero's +achievements with the highest honor. "At this period," he says, "lived +Marcus Cicero, who owed everything to himself; a man of altogether a new +family, as distinguished for ability as he was for the purity of his +life."[11] Valerius Maximus quotes him as an example of a forgiving +character.[12] Perhaps the warmest praise ever given to him came from +the pen of Pliny the elder, from whose address to the memory of Cicero I +will quote only a few words, as I shall refer to it more at length when +speaking of his consulship. "Hail thou," says Pliny, "who first among +men was called the father of your country."[13] Martial, in one of his +distichs, tells the traveller that if he have but a book of Cicero's +writing he may fancy that he is travelling with Cicero himself.[14] +Lucan, in his bombastic verse, declares how Cicero dared to speak of +peace in the camp of Pharsalia. The reader may think that Cicero should +have said nothing of the kind, but Lucan mentions him with all +honor.[15] Not Tacitus, as I think, but some author whose essay De +Oratoribus was written about the time of Tacitus, and whose work has +come to us with the name of Tacitus, has told us of Cicero that he was a +master of logic, of ethics, and of physical science.[16] Everybody +remembers the passage in Juvenal, + + "Sed Roma parentem + Roma patrem patriæ Ciceronem libera dixit." + +"Rome, even when she was free, declared him to be the father of his +country."[17] Even Plutarch, who generally seems to have a touch of +jealousy when speaking of Cicero, declares that he verified the +prediction of Plato, "That every State would be delivered from its +calamities whenever power should fortunately unite with wisdom and +justice in one person."[18] The praises of Quintilian as to the man are +so mixed with the admiration of the critic for the hero of letters, that +I would have omitted to mention them here were it not that they will +help to declare what was the general opinion as to Cicero at the time in +which it was written. He has been speaking of Demosthenes,[19] and then +goes on: "Nor in regard to Cicero do I see that he ever failed in the +duty of a good citizen. There is in evidence of this the splendor of his +consulship, the rare integrity of his provincial administration, his +refusal of office under Cæsar,[20] the firmness of his mind on the civil +wars, giving way neither to hope nor fear, though these sorrows came +heavily on him in his old age. On all these occasions he did the best he +could for the Republic." Florus, who wrote after the twelve Cæsars, in +the time of Trajan and of Adrian, whose rapid summary of Roman events +can hardly be called a history, tells us, in a few words, how Catiline's +conspiracy was crushed by the authority of Cicero and Cato in opposition +to that of Cæsar.[21] Then, when he has passed in a few short chapters +over all the intervening history of the Roman Empire, he relates, in +pathetic words, the death of Cicero. "It was the custom in Rome to put +up on the rostra the heads of those who had been slain; but now the city +was not able to restrain its tears when the head of Cicero was seen +there, upon the spot from which the citizens had so often listened to +his words."[22] Such is the testimony given to this man by the writers +who may be supposed to have known most of him as having been nearest to +his time. They all wrote after him. Sallust, who was certainly his +enemy, wrote of him in his lifetime, but never wrote in his dispraise. +It is evident that public opinion forbade him to do so. Sallust is never +warm in Cicero's praise, as were those subsequent authors whose words I +have quoted, and has been made subject to reproach for envy, for having +passed too lightly over Cicero's doings and words in his account of +Catiline's conspiracy; but what he did say was to Cicero's credit. Men +had heard of the danger, and therefore, says Sallust,[23] "They +conceived the idea of intrusting the consulship to Cicero. For before +that the nobles were envious, and thought that the consulship would be +polluted if it were conferred on a _novus homo_, however distinguished. +But when danger came, envy and pride had to give way." He afterward +declares that Cicero made a speech against Catiline most brilliant, and +at the same time useful to the Republic. This was lukewarm praise, but +coming from Sallust, who would have censured if he could, it is as +eloquent as any eulogy. There is extant a passage attributed to Sallust +full of virulent abuse of Cicero, but no one now imagines that Sallust +wrote it. It is called the Declamation of Sallust against Cicero, and +bears intrinsic evidence that it was written in after years. It suited +some one to forge pretended invectives between Sallust and Cicero, and +is chiefly noteworthy here because it gives to Dio Cassius a foundation +for the hardest of hard words he said against the orator.[24] + +Dio Cassius was a Greek who wrote in the reign of Alexander Severus, +more than two centuries and a half after the death of Cicero, and he no +doubt speaks evil enough of our hero. What was the special cause of +jealousy on his part cannot probably be now known, but the nature of his +hatred may be gathered from the passage in the note, which is so +foul-mouthed that it can be only inserted under the veil of his own +language.[25] Among other absurdities Dio Cassius says of Cicero that in +his latter days he put away a gay young wife, forty years younger than +himself, in order that he might enjoy without disturbance the company of +another lady who was nearly as much older than himself as his wife was +younger. + +Now I ask, having brought forward so strong a testimony, not, I will +say, as to the character of the man, but of the estimation in which he +was held by those who came shortly after him in his own country; having +shown, as I profess that I have shown, that his name was always treated +with singular dignity and respect, not only by the lovers of the old +Republic but by the minions of the Empire; having found that no charge +was ever made against him either for insincerity or cowardice or +dishonesty by those who dealt commonly with his name, am I not justified +in saying that they who have in later days accused him should have shown +their authority? Their authority they have always found in his own +words. It is on his own evidence against himself that they have +depended--on his own evidence, or occasionally on their own surmises. +When we are told of his cowardice, because those human vacillations of +his, humane as well as human, have been laid bare to us as they came +quivering out of his bosom on to his fingers! He is a coward to the +critics because they have written without giving themselves time to feel +the true meaning of his own words. If we had only known his acts and not +his words--how he stood up against the judges at the trial of Verres, +with what courage he encountered the responsibility of his doings at the +time of Catiline, how he joined Pompey in Macedonia from a sense of +sheer duty, how he defied Antony when to defy Antony was probable +death--then we should not call him a coward! It is out of his own mouth +that he is condemned. Then surely his words should be understood. Queen +Christina says of him, in one of her maxims, that "Cicero was the only +coward that was capable of great actions." The Queen of Sweden, whose +sentences are never worth very much, has known her history well enough +to have learned that Cicero's acts were noble, but has not understood +the meaning of words sufficiently to extract from Cicero's own +expressions their true bearing. The bravest of us all, if he is in high +place, has to doubt much before he can know what true courage will +demand of him; and these doubts the man of words will express, if there +be given to him an _alter ego_ such as Cicero had in Atticus. + +In reference to the biography of Mr Forsyth I must, in justice both to +him and to Cicero, quote one passage from the work: "Let those who, like +De Quincey,[26] Mommsen, and others, speak disparagingly of Cicero, and +are so lavish in praise of Cæsar, recollect that Cæsar never was +troubled by a conscience." Here it is that we find that advance almost +to Christianity of which I have spoken, and that superiority of mind +being which makes Cicero the most fit to be loved of all the Romans. + +It is hard for a man, even in regard to his own private purposes, to +analyze the meaning of a conscience, if he put out of question all +belief in a future life. Why should a man do right if it be not for a +reward here or hereafter? Why should anything be right--or wrong? The +Stoics tried to get over the difficulty by declaring that if a man could +conquer all his personal desires he would become, by doing so, happy, +and would therefore have achieved the only end at which a man can +rationally aim. The school had many scholars, but probably never a +believer. The normal Greek or Roman might be deterred by the law, which +means fear of punishment, or by the opinion of his neighbors, which +means ignominy. He might recognize the fact that comfort would combine +itself with innocence, or disease and want with lust and greed. In this +there was little need of a conscience--hardly, perhaps, room for it. But +when ambition came, with all the opportunities that chance, audacity, +and intellect would give--as it did to Sylla, to Cæsar, and to +Augustus--then there was nothing to restrain the men. There was to such +a man no right but his power, no wrong but opposition to it. His cruelty +or his clemency might be more or less, as his conviction of the utility +of this or that other weapon for dominating men might be strong with +him. Or there might be some variation in the flowing of the blood about +his heart which might make a massacre of citizens a pleasing diversion +or a painful process to him; but there was no conscience. With the man +of whom we are about to speak conscience was strong. In his sometimes +doubtful wanderings after political wisdom--in those mental mazes which +have been called insincerity--we shall see him, if we look well into his +doings, struggling to find whether, in searching for what was his duty, +he should go to this side or to that. Might he best hope a return to +that state of things which he thought good for his country by adhering +to Cæsar or to Pompey? We see the workings of his conscience, and, as we +remember that Scipio's dream of his, we feel sure that he had, in truth, +within him a recognition of a future life. + +In discussing the character of a man, there is no course of error so +fertile as the drawing of a hard and fast line. We are attracted by +salient points, and, seeing them clearly, we jump to conclusions, as +though there were a light-house on every point by which the nature of +the coast would certainly be shown to us. And so it will, if we accept +the light only for so much of the shore as it illumines. But to say that +a man is insincere because he has vacillated in this or the other +difficulty, that he is a coward because he has feared certain dangers, +that he is dishonest because he has swerved, that he is a liar because +an untrue word has been traced to him, is to suppose that you know all +the coast because one jutting headland has been defined to you. He who +so expresses himself on a man's character is either ignorant of human +nature, or is in search of stones with which to pelt his enemy. "He has +lied! He has lied!" How often in our own political contests do we hear +the cry with a note of triumph! And if he have, how often has he told +the truth? And if he have, how many are entitled by pure innocence in +that matter to throw a stone at him? And if he have, do we not know how +lies will come to the tongue of a man without thought of lying? In his +stoutest efforts after the truth a man may so express himself that when +afterward he is driven to compare his recent and his former words, he +shall hardly be able to say even to himself that he has not lied. It is +by the tenor of a man's whole life that we must judge him, whether he be +a liar or no. + +To expect a man to be the same at sixty as he was at thirty, is to +suppose that the sun at noon shall be graced with the colors which adorn +its setting. And there are men whose intellects are set on so fine a +pivot that a variation in the breeze of the moment, which coarser minds +shall not feel, will carry them round with a rapidity which baffles the +common eye. The man who saw his duty clearly on this side in the morning +shall, before the evening come, recognize it on the other; and then +again, and again, and yet again the vane shall go round. It may be that +an instrument shall be too fine for our daily uses. We do not want a +clock to strike the minutes, or a glass to tell the momentary changes in +the atmosphere. It may be found that for the work of the world, the +coarse work--and no work is so coarse, though none is so important, as +that which falls commonly into the hands of statesmen--instruments +strong in texture, and by reason of their rudeness not liable to sudden +impressions, may be the best. That it is which we mean when we declare +that a scrupulous man is impractical in politics. But the same man may, +at various periods of his life, and on various days at the same period, +be scrupulous and unscrupulous, impractical and practical, as the +circumstances of the occasion may affect him. At one moment the rule of +simple honesty will prevail with him. "Fiat justitia, ruat c[oe]lum." +"Si fractus illabatur orbis Impavidum ferient ruinæ." At another he will +see the necessity of a compromise for the good of the many. He will tell +himself that if the best cannot be done, he must content himself with +the next best. He must shake hands with the imperfect, as the best way +of lifting himself up from a bad way toward a better. In obedience to +his very conscience he will temporize, and, finding no other way of +achieving good, will do even evil that good may come of it. "Rem si +possis recte; si non, quocunque modo rem." In judging of such a +character as this, a hard and fast line will certainly lead us astray. +In judging of Cicero, such a hard and fast line has too generally been +used. He was a man singularly sensitive to all influences. It must be +admitted that he was a vane, turning on a pivot finer than those on +which statesmen have generally been made to work. He had none of the +fixed purpose of Cæsar, or the unflinching principle of Cato. They were +men cased in brass, whose feelings nothing could hurt. They suffered +from none of those inward flutterings of the heart, doubtful +aspirations, human longings, sharp sympathies, dreams of something +better than this world, fears of something worse, which make Cicero so +like a well-bred, polished gentleman of the present day. It is because +he has so little like a Roman that he is of all the Romans the most +attractive. + +Still there may be doubt whether, with all the intricacies of his +character, his career was such as to justify a further biography at this +distance of time. "What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba?" asks Hamlet, +when he finds himself stirred by the passion thrown into the bare +recital of an old story by an itinerant player. What is Cicero to us of +the nineteenth century that we should care so much for him as to read +yet another book? Nevertheless, Hamlet was moved because the tale was +well told. There is matter in the earnestness, the pleasantness, the +patriotism, and the tragedy of the man's life to move a reader still--if +the story could only be written of him as it is felt! The difficulty +lies in that, and not in the nature of the story. + +The period of Cicero's life was the very turning-point of civilization +and government in the history of the world. At that period of time the +world, as we know it, was Rome. Greece had sunk. The Macedonian Empire +had been destroyed. The kingdoms of the East--whether conquered, or even +when conquering, as was Parthia for awhile--were barbaric, outside the +circle of cultivation, and to be brought into it only by the arms and +influence of Rome. During Cæsar's career Gaul was conquered; and +Britain, with what was known of Germany, supposed to be partly +conquered. The subjugation of Africa and Spain was all but completed. +Letters, too, had been or were being introduced. Cicero's use of +language was so perfect that it seems to us to have been almost +necessarily the result of a long established art of Latin literature. +But, in truth, he is the earliest of the prose writers of his country +with whose works we are familiar. Excepting Varro, who was born but ten +years before him, no earlier Latin prose writer has left more than a +name to us; and the one work by which Varro is at all known, the De Re +Rustica, was written after Cicero's death. Lucretius, whose language we +regard as almost archaic, so unlike is it to that of Virgil or Horace, +was born eight years after Cicero. In a great degree Cicero formed the +Latin language--or produced that manipulation of it which has made it so +graceful in prose, and so powerful a vehicle of thought. That which he +took from any Latin writer he took from Terence. + +And it was then, just then, that there arose in Rome that unpremeditated +change in its form of government which resulted in the self-assumed +dictatorship of Cæsar, and the usurpation of the Empire by Augustus. The +old Rome had had kings. Then the name and the power became odious--the +name to all the citizens, no doubt, but the power simply to the +nobility, who grudged the supremacy of one man. The kings were +abolished, and an oligarchy was established under the name of a +Republic, with its annual magistrates--at first its two Consuls, then +its Prætors and others, and occasionally a Dictator, as some current +event demanded a concentration of temporary power in a single hand for a +certain purpose. The Republic was no republic, as we understand the +word; nor did it ever become so, though their was always going on a +perpetual struggle to transfer the power from the nobles to the people, +in which something was always being given or pretended to be given to +the outside class. But so little was as yet understood of liberty that, +as each plebeian made his way up into high place and became one of the +magistrates of the State, he became also one of the oligarchical +faction. There was a continued contest, with a certain amount of good +faith on each side, on behalf of the so-called Republic--but still a +contest for power. This became so continued that a foreign war was at +times regarded as a blessing, because it concentrated the energies of +the State, which had been split and used by the two sections--by each +against the other. It is probably the case that the invasion of the +Gauls in earlier days, and, later on, the second Punic war, threatening +as they were in their incidents to the power of Rome, provided the +Republic with that vitality which kept it so long in existence. Then +came Marius, dominant on one side as a tribune of the people, and Sylla, +as aristocrat on the other, and the civil wars between them, in which, +as one prevailed or the other, Rome was mastered. How Marius died, and +Sylla reigned for three bloody, fatal years, is outside the scope of our +purpose--except in this, that Cicero saw Sylla's proscriptions, and made +his first essay into public life hot with anger at the Dictator's +tyranny. + +It occurs to us as we read the history of Rome, beginning with the early +Consuls and going to the death of Cæsar and of Cicero, and the +accomplished despotism of Augustus, that the Republic could not have +been saved by any efforts, and was in truth not worth the saving. We are +apt to think, judging from our own idea of liberty, that there was so +much of tyranny, so little of real freedom in the Roman form of +government, that it was not good enough to deserve our sympathies. But +it had been successful. It had made a great people, and had produced a +wide-spread civilization. Roman citizenship was to those outside the one +thing the most worthy to be obtained. That career which led the great +Romans up from the state of Quæstor to the Ædile's, Prætor's, and +Consul's chair, and thence to the rich reward of provincial government, +was held to be the highest then open to the ambition of man. The Kings +of Greece, and of the East, and of Africa were supposed to be inferior +in their very rank to a Roman Proconsul, and this greatness was carried +on with a semblance of liberty, and was compatible with a belief in the +majesty of the Roman citizen. When Cicero began his work, Consuls, +Prætors, Ædiles, and Quæstors were still chosen by the votes of the +citizens. There was bribery, no doubt, and intimidation, and a resort to +those dirty arts of canvassing with which we English have been so +familiar; but in Cicero's time the male free inhabitants of Rome did +generally carry the candidates to whom they attached themselves. The +salt of their republican theory was not as yet altogether washed out +from their practice. + +The love of absolute liberty as it has been cultivated among modern +races did not exist in the time of Cicero. The idea never seems to have +reached even his bosom, human and humanitarian as were his sympathies, +that a man, as man, should be free. Half the inhabitants of Rome were +slaves, and the institution was so grafted in the life of the time that +it never occurred to a Roman that slaves, as a body, should be +manumitted. The slaves themselves, though they were not, as have been +the slaves whom we have seen, of a different color and presumed inferior +race, do not themselves seem to have entertained any such idea. They +were instigated now and again to servile wars, but there was no rising +in quest of freedom generally. Nor was it repugnant to the Roman theory +of liberty that the people whom they dominated, though not subjected to +slavery, should still be outside the pale of civil freedom. That boon +was to be reserved for the Roman citizen, and for him only. It had +become common to admit to citizenship the inhabitants of other towns and +further territories. The glory was kept not altogether for Rome, but for +Romans. + +Thus, though the government was oligarchical, and the very essence of +freedom ignored, there was a something which stood in the name of +liberty, and could endear itself to a real patriot. With genuine +patriotism Cicero loved his country, and beginning his public life as he +did at the close of Sylla's tyranny, he was able to entertain a dream +that the old state of things might be restored and the republican form +of government maintained. There should still be two Consuls in Rome, +whose annual election would guard the State against regal dominion. And +there should, at the same time, be such a continuance of power in the +hands of the better class--the "optimates," as he called them--as would +preserve the city from democracy and revolution. No man ever trusted +more entirely to popular opinion than Cicero, or was more anxious for +aristocratic authority. But neither in one direction nor the other did +he look for personal aggrandizement, beyond that which might come to him +in accordance with the law and in subjection to the old form of +government. + +It is because he was in truth patriotic, because his dreams of a +Republic were noble dreams, because he was intent on doing good in +public affairs, because he was anxious for the honor of Rome and of +Romans, not because he was or was not a "real power in the State" that +his memory is still worth recording. Added to this was the intellect and +the wit and erudition of the man, which were at any rate supreme. And +then, though we can now see that his efforts were doomed to failure by +the nature of the circumstances surrounding him, he was so nearly +successful, so often on the verge of success, that we are exalted by the +romance of his story into the region of personal sympathy. As we are +moved by the aspirations and sufferings of a hero in a tragedy, so are +we stirred by the efforts, the fortune, and at last the fall of this +man. There is a picturesqueness about the life of Cicero which is +wanting in the stories of Marius or Sylla, of Pompey, or even of +Cæsar--a picturesqueness which is produced in great part by these very +doubtings which have been counted against him as insincerity. + +His hands were clean when the hands of all around him were defiled by +greed. How infinitely Cicero must have risen above his time when he +could have clean hands! A man in our days will keep himself clean from +leprosy because to be a leper is to be despised by those around him. +Advancing wisdom has taught us that such leprosy is bad, and public +opinion coerces us. There is something too, we must suppose, in the +lessons of Christianity. Or it may be that the man of our day, with all +these advantages, does not keep himself clean--that so many go astray +that public opinion shall almost seem to tremble in the balance. Even +with us this and that abomination becomes allowable because so many do +it. With the Romans, in the time of Cicero, greed, feeding itself on +usury, rapine, and dishonesty, was so fully the recognized condition of +life that its indulgence entailed no disgrace. But Cicero, with eyes +within him which saw farther than the eyes of other men, perceived the +baseness of the stain. It has been said also of him that he was not +altogether free from reproach. It has been suggested that he accepted +payment for his services as an advocate, any such payment being illegal. +The accusation is founded on the knowledge that other advocates allowed +themselves to be paid, and on the belief that Cicero could not have +lived as he did without an income from that source. And then there is a +story told of him that, though he did much at a certain period of his +life to repress the usury, and to excite at the same time the enmity of +a powerful friend, he might have done more. As we go on, the stories of +these things will be told; but the very nature of the allegations +against him prove how high he soared in honesty above the manners of his +day. In discussing the character of the men, little is thought of the +robberies of Sylla, the borrowings of Cæsar, the money-lending of +Brutus, or the accumulated wealth of Crassus. To plunder a province, to +drive usury to the verge of personal slavery, to accept bribes for +perjured judgment, to take illegal fees for services supposed to be +gratuitous, was so much the custom of the noble Romans that we hardly +hate his dishonest greed when displayed in its ordinary course. But +because Cicero's honesty was abnormal, we are first surprised, and then, +suspecting little deviations, rise up in wrath against him, because in +the midst of Roman profligacy he was not altogether a Puritan in his +money matters. + +Cicero is known to us in three great capacities: as a statesman, an +advocate, and a man of letters. As the combination of such pursuits is +common in our own days, so also was it in his. Cæsar added them all to +the great work of his life as a soldier. But it was given to Cicero to +take a part in all those political struggles, from the resignation of +Sylla to the first rising of the young Octavius, which were made on +behalf of the Republic, and were ended by its downfall. His political +life contains the story of the conversion of Rome from republican to +imperial rule; and Rome was then the world. Could there have been no +Augustus, no Nero, and then no Trajan, all Europe would have been +different. Cicero's efforts were put forth to prevent the coming of an +Augustus or a Nero, or the need of a Trajan; and as we read of them we +feel that, had success been possible, he would have succeeded. + +As an advocate he was unsurpassed. From him came the feeling--whether it +be right or wrong--that a lawyer, in pleading for his client, should +give to that client's cause not only all his learning and all his wit, +but also all his sympathy. To me it is marvellous, and interesting +rather than beautiful, to see how completely Cicero can put off his own +identity and assume another's in any cause, whatever it be, of which he +has taken the charge. It must, however, be borne in mind that in old +Rome the distinction between speeches made in political and in civil or +criminal cases was not equally well marked as with us, and also that the +reader having the speeches which have come down to us, whether of one +nature or the other, presented to him in the same volume, is apt to +confuse the public and that which may, perhaps, be called the private +work of the man. In the speeches best known to us Cicero was working as +a public man for public objects, and the ardor, I may say the fury, of +his energy in the cause which he was advocating was due to his public +aspirations. The orations which have come to us in three sets, some of +them published only but never spoken--those against Verres, against +Catiline, and the Philippics against Antony--were all of this nature, +though the first concerned the conduct of a criminal charge against one +individual. Of these I will speak in their turn; but I mention them here +in order that I may, if possible, induce the reader to begin his inquiry +into Cicero's character as an advocate with a just conception of the +objects of the man. He wished, no doubt, to shine, as does the barrister +of to-day: he wished to rise; he wished, if you will, to make his +fortune, not by the taking of fees, but by extending himself into higher +influence by the authority of his name. No doubt he undertook this and +the other case without reference to the truth or honesty of the cause, +and, when he did so, used all his energy for the bad, as he did for the +good cause. There seems to be special accusation made against him on this +head, as though, the very fact that he undertook his work without pay +threw upon him the additional obligation of undertaking no cause that +was not in itself upright. With us the advocate does this notoriously +for his fee. Cicero did it as notoriously in furtherance of some +political object of the moment, or in maintenance of a friendship which +was politically important. I say nothing against the modern practice. +This would not be the place for such an argument. Nor do I say that, by +rules of absolute right and wrong, Cicero was right; but he was as +right, at any rate, as the modern barrister. And in reaching the +high-minded conditions under which he worked, he had only the light of +his own genius to guide him. When compare the clothing of the savage +race with our own, their beads and woad and straw and fibres with our +own petticoats and pantaloons, we acknowledge the progress of +civilization and the growth of machinery. It is not a wonderful thing to +us that an African prince should not be as perfectly dressed as a young +man in Piccadilly. But, when we make a comparison of morals between our +own time and a period before Christ, we seem to forget that more should +be expected from us than from those who lived two thousand years ago. + +There are some of those pleadings, speeches made by Cicero on behalf of +or against an accused party, from which we may learn more of Roman life +than from any other source left to us. Much we may gather from Terence, +much from Horace, something from Juvenal. There is hardly, indeed, a +Latin author from which an attentive reader may not pick up some detail +of Roman customs. Cicero's letters are themselves very prolific. But the +pretty things of the poets are not quite facts, nor are the bitter +things of the satirist; and though a man's letters to his friend may be +true, such letters as come to us will have been the products of the +greater minds, and will have come from a small and special class. I fear +that the Newgate Calendar of the day would tell us more of the ways of +living then prevailing than the letters of Lady Mary W. Montagu or of +Horace Walpole. From the orations against Verres we learn how the people +of a province lived under the tyranny inflicted upon them; and from +those spoken in defence of Sextus Amerinus and Aulus Cluentius, we +gather something of the horrors of Roman life--not in Rome, indeed, but +within the limits of Roman citizenship. + +It is, however, as a man of letters that Cicero will be held in the +highest esteem. It has been his good-fortune to have a great part of +what he wrote preserved for future ages. His works have not perished, as +have those of his contemporaries, Varro and Hortensius. But this has +been due to two causes, which were independent of Fortune. He himself +believed in their value, and took measures for their protection; and +those who lived in his own time, and in the immediately succeeding ages, +entertained the same belief and took the same care. Livy said that, to +write Latin well, the writer should write it like Cicero; and +Quintilian, the first of Latin critics, repeated to us what Livy had +asserted.[27] There is a sweetness of language about Cicero which runs +into the very sound; so that passages read aright would, by their very +cadences, charm the ear of listeners ignorant of the language. Eulogy +never was so happy as his. Eulogy, however, is tasteless in comparison +with invective. Cicero's abuse is awful. Let the reader curious in such +matters turn to the diatribes against Vatinius, one of Cæsar's +creatures, and to that against the unfortunate Proconsul Piso; or to his +attacks on Gabinius, who was Consul together with Piso in the year of +Cicero's banishment. There are wonderful morsels in the philippics +dealing with Antony's private character; but the words which he uses +against Gabinius and Piso beat all that I know elsewhere in the science +of invective. Junius could not approach him; and even Macaulay, though +he has, in certain passages, been very bitter, has not allowed himself +the latitude which Roman taste and Roman manners permitted to Cicero. + +It may, however, be said that the need of biographical memoirs as to a +man of letters is by no means in proportion to the excellence of the +work that he has achieved. Alexander is known but little to us, because +we know so little of the details of his life. Cæsar is much to us, +because we have in truth been made acquainted with him. But Shakspeare, +of whose absolute doings we know almost nothing, would not be nearer or +dearer had he even had a Boswell to paint his daily portrait. The man of +letters is, in truth, ever writing his own biography. What there is in +his mind is being declared to the world at large by himself; and if he +can so write that the world at large shall care to read what is written, +no other memoir will, perhaps, be necessary. For myself I have never +regretted those details of Shakspeare's life which a Boswell of the time +might have given us. But Cicero's personality as a man of letters seems +especially to require elucidation. His letters lose their chief charm if +the character of the man be not known, and the incidents of his life. +His essays on rhetoric--the written lessons which he has left on the art +of oratory--are a running commentary on his own career as an orator. +Most of his speeches require for their understanding a knowledge of the +circumstances of his life. The treatises which we know as his +Philosophy--works which have been most wrongly represented by being +grouped under that name--can only be read with advantage by the light of +his own experience. There are two separate classes of his so-called +Philosophy, in describing which the word philosophy, if it be used at +all, must be made to bear two different senses. He handles in one set of +treatises, not, I think, with his happiest efforts, the teaching of the +old Greek schools. Such are the Tusculan Disquisitions, the Academics, +and the De Finibus. From reading these, without reference to the +idiosyncrasies of the writer, the student would be led to believe that +Cicero himself was a philosopher after that sort. But he was, in truth, +the last of men to lend his ears + + "To those budge doctors of the stoic fur." + +Cicero was a man thoroughly human in all his strength and all his +weakness. To sit apart from the world and be happy amid scorn, poverty, +and obscurity, with a mess of cabbage and a crust, absolutely contented +with abstract virtue, has probably been given to no man; but of none has +it been less within the reach than of Cicero. To him ginger was always +hot in the mouth, whether it was the spice of politics, or of social +delight, or of intellectual enterprise. When in his deep sorrow at the +death of his daughter, when for a time the Republic was dead to him, and +public and private life were equally black, he craved employment. Then +he took down his Greek manuscripts and amused himself as best he might +by writing this way or that. It was a matter on which his intellect +could work and his energies be employed, though the theory of his life +was in no way concerned in it. Such was one class of his Philosophy. The +other consisted of a code of morals which he created for himself by his +own convictions, formed on the world around him, and which displayed +itself in essays, such as those De Officiis--on the duties of life; De +Senectute, De Amicitia--on old age and friendship, and the like, which +were not only intended for use, but are of use to any man or woman who +will study them up to this day. There are others, treatises on law and +on government and religion, which have all been lumped together, for the +misguidance of school-boys, under the name of Cicero's Philosophy. But +they, be they of one class or the other, require an understanding of the +man's character before they can be enjoyed. + +For these reasons I think that there are incidents in the life, the +character, and the work of Cicero which ought to make his biography +interesting. His story is fraught with energy, with success, with +pathos, and with tragedy. And then it is the story of a man human as men +are now. No child of Rome ever better loved his country, but no child of +Rome was ever so little like a Roman. Arms and battles were to him +abominable, as they are to us. But arms and battles were the delight of +Romans. He was ridiculed in his own time, and has been ridiculed ever +since, for the alliterating twang of the line in which he declared his +feeling: + + "Cedant arma togæ; concedat laurea linguæ." + +But the thing said was thoroughly good, and the better because the +opinion was addressed to men among whom the glory of arms was still in +ascendant over the achievements of intellectual enterprise. The greatest +men have been those who have stepped out from the mass, and gone beyond +their time--seeing things, with eyesight almost divine, which have +hitherto been hidden from the crowd. Such was Columbus when he made his +way across the Western Ocean; such were Galileo and Bacon; such was +Pythagoras, if the ideas we have of him be at all true. Such also was +Cicero. It is not given to the age in which such men live to know them. +Could their age even recognize them, they would not overstep their age +as they do. Looking back at him now, we can see how like a Christian was +the man--so like, that in essentials we can hardly see the difference. +He could love another as himself--as nearly as a man may do; and he +taught such love as a doctrine.[28] He believed in the existence of one +supreme God.[29] He believed that man would rise again and live forever +in some heaven.[30] I am conscious that I cannot much promote this view +of Cicero's character by quoting isolated passages from his works--words +which taken alone may be interpreted in one sense or another, and which +should be read, each with its context, before their due meaning can be +understood. But I may perhaps succeed in explaining to a reader what it +is that I hope to do in the following pages, and why it is that I +undertake a work which must be laborious, and for which many will think +that there is no remaining need. + +I would not have it thought that, because I have so spoken of Cicero's +aspirations and convictions, I intend to put him forth as a faultless +personage in history. He was much too human to be perfect. Those who +love the cold attitude of indifference may sing of Cato as perfect. +Cicero was ambitious, and often unscrupulous in his ambition. He was a +loving husband and a loving father; but at the end of his life he could +quarrel with his old wife irrecoverably, and could idolize his daughter, +while he ruined his son by indulgence. He was very great while he spoke +of his country, which he did so often; but he was almost as little when +he spoke of himself--which he did as often. In money-matters he was +honest--for the times in which he lived, wonderfully honest; but in +words he was not always equally trustworthy. He could flatter where he +did not love. I admit that it was so, though I will not admit without a +protest that the word insincere should be applied to him as describing +his character generally. He was so much more sincere than others that +the protest is needed. If a man stand but five feet eleven inches in his +shoes, shall he be called a pygmy? And yet to declare that he measures +full six feet would be untrue. + +Cicero was a busybody. Were there anything to do, he wished to do it, +let it be what it might. "Cedant arma togæ." If anything was written on +his heart, it was that. Yet he loved the idea of leading an army, and +panted for a military triumph. Letters and literary life were dear to +him, and yet he liked to think that he could live on equal terms with +the young bloods of Rome, such as C[oe]lius. As far as I can judge, he +cared nothing for luxurious eating and drinking, and yet he wished to be +reckoned among the gormands and gourmets of his times. He was so little +like the "budge doctors of the stoic fur," of whom it was his delight to +write when he had nothing else to do, that he could not bear any touch +of adversity with equanimity. The stoic requires to be hardened against +"the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." It is his profession to +be indifferent to the "whips and scorns of time." No man was less +hardened, or more subject to suffering from scorns and whips. There be +those who think proneness to such suffering is unmanly, or that the +sufferer should at any rate hide his agony. Cicero did not. Whether of +his glory or of his shame, whether of his joy or of his sorrow, whether +of his love or of his hatred, whether of his hopes or of his despair, he +spoke openly, as he did of all things. It has not been the way of +heroes, as we read of them; but it is the way with men as we live with +them. + +What a man he would have been for London life! How he would have enjoyed +his club, picking up the news of the day from all lips, while he seemed +to give it to all ears! How popular he would have been at the Carlton, +and how men would have listened to him while every great or little +crisis was discussed! How supreme he would have sat on the Treasury +bench, or how unanswerable, how fatal, how joyous, when attacking the +Government from the opposite seats! How crowded would have been his rack +with invitations to dinner! How delighted would have been the +middle-aged countesses of the time to hold with him mild intellectual +flirtations--and the girls of the period, how proud to get his +autograph, how much prouder to have touched the lips of the great orator +with theirs! How the pages of the magazines would have run over with +little essays from his pen! "Have you seen our Cicero's paper on +agriculture? That lucky fellow, Editor ----, got him to do it last month!" +"Of course you have read Cicero's article on the soul. The bishops don't +know which way to turn." "So the political article in the _Quarterly_ is +Cicero's?" "Of course you know the art-criticism in the _Times_ this +year is Tully's doing?" But that would probably be a bounce. And then +what letters he would write! With the penny-post instead of travelling +messengers at his command, and pen instead of wax and sticks, or perhaps +with an instrument-writer and a private secretary, he would have +answered all questions and solved all difficulties. He would have so +abounded with intellectual fertility that men would not have known +whether most to admire his powers of expression or to deprecate his want +of reticence. + +There will necessarily be much to be said of Cicero's writings in the +following pages, as it is my object to delineate the literary man as +well as the politician. In doing this, there arises a difficulty as to +the sequence in which his works should be taken. It will hardly suit the +purpose in view to speak of them all either chronologically or +separately as to their subjects. The speeches and the letters clearly +require the former treatment as applying each to the very moment of time +at which they were either spoken or written. His treatises, whether on +rhetoric or on the Greek philosophy, or on government, or on morals, can +best be taken apart as belonging in a very small degree, if at all, to +the period in which they were written. I will therefore endeavor to +introduce the orations and letters as the periods may suit, and to treat +of his essays afterward by themselves. + +A few words I must say as to the Roman names I have used in my +narrative. There is a difficulty in this respect, because the practice +of my boyhood has partially changed itself. Pompey used to be Pompey +without a blush. Now with an erudite English writer he is generally +Pompeius. The denizens of Africa--the "nigger" world--have had, I think, +something to do with this. But with no erudite English writer is Terence +Terentius, or Virgil Virgilius, or Horace Horatius. Were I to speak of +Livius, the erudite English listener would think that I alluded to an +old author long prior to our dear historian. And though we now talk of +Sulla instead of Sylla, we hardly venture on Antonius instead of Antony. +Considering all this, I have thought it better to cling to the sounds +which have ever been familiar to myself; and as I talk of Virgil and of +Horace and Ovid freely and without fear, so shall I speak also of Pompey +and of Antony and of Catiline. In regard to Sulla, the change has been +so complete that I must allow the old name to have re-established itself +altogether. + +It has been customary to notify the division of years in the period of +which I am about to write by dating from two different eras, counting +down from the building of Rome, A.U.C., or "anno urbis conditæ," and +back from the birth of Christ, which we English mark by the letters +B.C., before Christ. In dealing with Cicero, writers (both French and +English) have not uncommonly added a third mode of dating, assigning his +doings or sayings to the year of his age. There is again a fourth mode, +common among the Romans, of indicating the special years by naming the +Consuls, or one of them. "O nata mecum consule Manlio," Horace says, +when addressing his cask of wine. That was, indeed, the official mode of +indicating a date, and may probably be taken as showing how strong the +impression in the Roman mind was of the succession of their Consuls. In +the following pages I will use generally the date B.C., which, though +perhaps less simple than the A.U.C., gives to the mind of the modern +reader a clearer idea of the juxtaposition of events. The reader will +surely know that Christ was born in the reign of Augustus, and crucified +in that of Tiberius; but he will not perhaps know, without the trouble +of some calculation, how far removed from the period of Christ was the +year 648 A.U.C., in which Cicero was born. To this I will add on the +margin the year of Cicero's life. He was nearly sixty-four when he died. +I shall, therefore, call that year his sixty-third year. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +_HIS EDUCATION._ + + +At Arpinum, on the river Liris, a little stream which has been made to +sound sweetly in our ears by Horace,[31] in a villa residence near the +town, Marcus Tullius Cicero was born, 106 years before Christ, on the 3d +of January, according to the calendar then in use. Pompey the Great was +born in the same year. Arpinum was a State which had been admitted into +Roman citizenship, lying between Rome and Capua, just within that +portion of Italy which was till the other day called the Kingdom of +Naples. The district from which he came is noted, also, as having given +birth to Marius. Cicero was of an equestrian family, which means as much +as though we were to say among ourselves that a man had been born a +gentleman and nothing more. An "eques" or knight in Cicero's time became +so, or might become so, by being in possession of a certain income. The +title conferred no nobility. The plebeian, it will be understood, could +not become patrician, though he might become noble--as Cicero did. The +patrician must have been born so--must have sprung from the purple of +certain fixed families.[32] Cicero was born a plebeian, of equestrian +rank and became ennobled when he was ranked among the senators because +of his service among the high magistrates of the Republic. As none of +his family had served before him, he was "novus homo," a new man, and +therefore not noble till he had achieved nobility himself. A man was +noble who could reckon a Consul, a Prætor, or an Ædile among his +ancestors. Such was not the case with Cicero. As he filled all these +offices, his son was noble--as were his son's sons and grandsons, if +such there were. + +It was common to Romans to have three names, and our Cicero had three. +Marcus, which was similar in its use to the Christian name of one of us, +had been that of his grandfather and father, and was handed on to his +son. This, called the prænomen, was conferred on the child when a babe +with a ceremony not unlike that of our baptism. There was but a limited +choice of such names among the Romans, so that an initial letter will +generally declare to those accustomed to the literature that intended. +A. stands for Aulus, P. for Publius, M. generally for Marcus, C. for +Caius, though there was a Cneus also. The nomen, Tullius, was that of +the family. Of this family of Tullius to which Cicero belonged we know +no details. Plutarch tells us that of his father nothing was said but in +extremes, some declaring that he had been a fuller, and others that he +had been descended from a prince who had governed the Volsci. We do not +see why he may not have sprung from the prince, and also have been a +fuller. There can, however, be no doubt that he was a gentleman, not +uneducated himself, with means and the desire to give his children the +best education which Rome or Greece afforded. The third name or +cognomen, that of Cicero, belonged to a branch of the family of Tullius. +This third name had generally its origin, as do so many of our surnames, +in some specialty of place, or trade, or chance circumstance. It was +said that an ancestor had been called Cicero from "cicer," a vetch, +because his nose was marked with the figure of that vegetable. It is +more probable that the family prospered by the growing and sale of +vetches. Be that as it may, the name had been well established before +the orator's time. Cicero's mother was one Helvia, of whom we are told +that she was well-born and rich. Cicero himself never alludes to her--as +neither, if I remember rightly, did Horace to his mother, though he +speaks so frequently of his father. Helvia's younger son, Quintus, tells +a story of his mother in a letter, which has been, by chance, preserved +among those written by our Cicero. She was in the habit of sealing up +the empty wine-jars, as well as those which were full, so that a jar +emptied on the sly by a guzzling slave might be at once known. This is +told in a letter to Tiro, a favorite slave belonging to Marcus, of whom +we shall hear often in the course of our work. As the old lady sealed up +the jars, though they contained no wine, so must Tiro write letters, +though he has nothing to say in them. This kind of argument, taken from +the old familiar stories of one's childhood and one's parents, could be +only used to a dear and familiar friend. Such was Tiro, though still a +slave, to the two brothers. Roman life admitted of such friendships, +though the slave was so completely the creature of the master that his +life and death were at the master's disposal. This is nearly all that is +known of Cicero's father and mother, or of his old home. + +There is, however, sufficient evidence that the father paid great +attention to the education of his sons--if, in the case of Marcus, any +evidence were wanting where the result is so manifest by the work of his +life. At a very early age, probably when he was eight--in the year which +produced Julius Cæsar--he was sent to Rome, and there was devoted to +studies which from the first were intended to fit him for public life. +Middleton says that the father lived in Rome with his son, and argues +from this that he was a man of large means. But Cicero gives no +authority for this. It is more probable that he lived at the house of +one Aculeo, who had married his mother's sister, and had sons with whom +Cicero was educated. Stories are told of his precocious talents and +performances such as we are accustomed to hear of many remarkable +men--not unfrequently from their own mouths. It is said of him that he +was intimate with the two great advocates of the time, Lucius Crassus +and Marcus Antonius the orator, the grandfather of Cicero's future +enemy, whom we know as Marc Antony. Cicero speaks of them both as though +he had seen them and talked much of them in his youth. He tells us +anecdotes of them;[33] how they were both accustomed to conceal their +knowledge of Greek, fancying that the people in whose eyes they were +anxious to shine would think more of them if they seemed to have +contented themselves simply with Roman words and Roman thoughts. But the +intimacy was probably that which a lad now is apt to feel that he has +enjoyed with a great man, if he has seen and heard him, and perhaps been +taken by the hand. He himself gives in very plain language an account of +his own studies when he was seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen. He speaks +of the orators of that day[34]: "When I was above all things anxious to +listen to these men, the banishment of Cotta was a great sorrow to me. I +was passionately intent on hearing those who were left, daily writing, +reading, and making notes. Nor was I content only with practice in the +art of speaking. In the following year Varius had to go, condemned by +his own enactment; and at this time, in working at the civil law, I gave +much of my time to Quintus Scævola, the son of Publius, who, though he +took no pupils, by explaining points to those who consulted him, gave +great assistance to students. The year after, when Sulla and Pompey were +Consuls, I learned what oratory really means by listening to Publius +Sulpicius, who as tribune was daily making harangues. It was then that +Philo, the Chief of the Academy, with other leading philosophers of +Athens, had been put to flight by the war with Mithridates, and had come +to Rome. To him I devoted myself entirely, stirred up by a wonderful +appetite for acquiring the Greek philosophy. But in that, though the +variety of the pursuit and its greatness charmed me altogether, yet it +seemed to me that the very essence of judicial conclusion was altogether +suppressed. In that year Sulpicius perished, and in the next, three of +our greatest orators, Quintus Catulus, Marcus Antonius, and Caius +Julius, were cruelly killed." This was the time of the civil war between +Marius and Sulla. "In the same year I took lessons from Molo the +Rhodian, a great pleader and master of the art." In the next chapter he +tells us that he passed his time also with Diodatus the Stoic, who +afterward lived with him, and died in his house. Here we have an +authentic description of the manner in which Cicero passed his time as a +youth at Rome, and one we can reduce probably to absolute truth by +lessening the superlatives. Nothing in it, however, is more remarkable +than the confession that, while his young intellect rejoiced in the +subtle argumentation of the Greek philosophers, his clear common sense +quarrelled with their inability to reach any positive conclusion. + +But before these days of real study had come upon him he had given +himself up to juvenile poetry. He is said to have written a poem called +Pontius Glaucus when he was fourteen years old. This was no doubt a +translation from the Greek, as were most of the poems that he wrote, and +many portions of his prose treatises.[35] Plutarch tells us that the +poem was extant in his time, and declares that, "in process of time, +when he had studied this art with greater application, he was looked +upon as the best poet, as well as the greatest orator in Rome." The +English translators of Plutarch tell us that their author was an +indifferent judge of Latin poetry, and allege as proof of this that he +praised Cicero as a poet, a praise which he gave "contrary to the +opinion of Juvenal." But Juvenal has given no opinion of Cicero's +poetry, having simply quoted one unfortunate line noted for its egotism, +and declared that Cicero would never have had his head cut off had his +philippics been of the same nature.[36] The evidence of Quintus Mucius +Scævola as to Cicero's poetry was perhaps better, as he had the means, +at any rate, of reading it. He believed that the Marius, a poem written +by Cicero in praise of his great fellow-townsman, would live to +posterity forever. The story of the old man's prophecy comes to us, no +doubt, from Cicero himself, and is put into the mouth of his +brother;[37] but had it been untrue it would have been contradicted. + +The Glaucus was a translation from the Greek done by a boy, probably as +a boy's lesson It is not uncommon that such exercises should be +treasured by parents, or perhaps by the performer himself, and not +impossible that they should be made to reappear afterward as original +compositions. Lord Brougham tells us in his autobiography that in his +early youth he tried his hand at writing English essays, and even tales +of fiction.[38] "I find one of these," he says, "has survived the +waste-paper basket, and it may amuse my readers to see the sort of +composition I was guilty of at the age of thirteen. My tale was entitled +'Memnon, or Human Wisdom,' and is as follows." Then we have a fair +translation of Voltaire's romance, "Memnon," or "La Sagesse Humaine." +The old lord, when he was collecting his papers for his autobiography, +had altogether forgotten his Voltaire, and thought that he had composed +the story! Nothing so absurd as that is told of Cicero by himself or on +his behalf. + +It may be as well to say here what there may be to be said as to +Cicero's poetry generally. But little of it remains to us, and by that +little it has been admitted that he has not achieved the name of a great +poet; but what he did was too great in extent and too good in its nature +to be passed over altogether without notice. It has been his fate to be +rather ridiculed than read as a maker of verses, and that ridicule has +come from two lines which I have already quoted. The longest piece which +we have is from the Phænomena of Aratus, which he translated from the +Greek when he was eighteen years old, and which describes the heavenly +bodies. It is known to us best by the extracts from it given by the +author himself in his treatise, De Naturâ Deorum. It must be owned that +it is not pleasant reading. But translated poetry seldom is pleasant, +and could hardly be made so on such a subject by a boy of eighteen. The +Marius was written two years after this, and we have a passage from it, +quoted by the author in his De Divinatione, containing some fine lines. +It tells the story of the battle of the eagle and the serpent. Cicero +took it, no doubt (not translated it, however), from the passage in the +Iliad, lib, xii, 200, which has been rendered by Pope with less than his +usual fire, and by Lord Derby with no peculiar charm. Virgil has +reproduced the picture with his own peculiar grace of words. His version +has been translated by Dryden, but better, perhaps, by Christopher Pitt. +Voltaire has translated Cicero's lines with great power, and Shelley has +reproduced the same idea at much greater length in the first canto of +the Revolt of Islam, taking it probably from Cicero, but, if not, from +Voltaire.[39] I venture to think that, of the nine versions, Cicero's is +the best, and that it is the most melodious piece of Latin poetry we +have up to that date. Twenty-seven years afterward, when Lucretius was +probably at work on his great poem, Cicero wrote an account of his +consulship in verse. Of this we have fifty or sixty lines, in which the +author describes the heavenly warnings which were given as to the +affairs of his own consular year. The story is not a happy one, but the +lines are harmonious. It is often worth our while to inquire how poetry +has become such as it is, and how the altered and improved phases of +versification have arisen. To trace our melody from Chaucer to Tennyson +is matter of interest to us all. Of Cicero as a poet we may say that he +found Latin versification rough, and left it smooth and musical. Now, as +we go on with the orator's life and prose works, we need not return to +his poetry. + +The names of many masters have been given to us as those under whom +Cicero's education was carried on. Among others he is supposed, at a +very early age, to have been confided to Archias. Archias was a Greek, +born at Antioch, who devoted himself to letters, and, if we are to +believe what Cicero says, when speaking as an advocate, excelled all his +rivals of the day. Like many other educated Greeks, he made his way to +Rome, and was received as one of the household of Lucullus, with whom he +travelled, accompanying him even to the wars. He became a citizen of +Rome--so Cicero assures us--and Cicero's tutor. What Cicero owed to him +we do not know, but to Cicero Archias owed immortality. His claim to +citizenship was disputed; and Cicero, pleading on his behalf, made one +of those shorter speeches which are perfect in melody, in taste, and in +language. There is a passage in which speaking on behalf of so excellent +a professor in the art, he sings the praises of literature generally. I +know no words written in praise of books more persuasive or more +valuable. "Other recreations," he says, "do not belong to all seasons +nor to all ages, nor to all places. These pursuits nourish our youth and +delight our old age. They adorn our prosperity and give a refuge and a +solace to our troubles. They charm us at home, and they are not in our +way when we are abroad. They go to bed with us. They travel about with +us. They accompany us as we escape into the country."[40] Archias +probably did something for him in directing his taste, and has been +rewarded thus richly. As to other lessons, we know that he was +instructed in law by Scævola, and he has told us that he listened to +Crassus and Antony. At sixteen he went through the ceremony of putting +off his boy's dress, the toga prætexta, and appearing in the toga +virilis before the Prætor, thus assuming his right to go about a man's +business. At sixteen the work of education was _not_ finished--no more +than it is with us when a lad at Oxford becomes "of age" at twenty-one; +nor was he put beyond his father's power, the "patria potestas," from +which no age availed to liberate a son; but, nevertheless, it was a very +joyful ceremony, and was duly performed by Cicero in the midst of his +studies with Scævola. + +At eighteen he joined the army. That doctrine of the division of labor +which now, with us, runs through and dominates all pursuits, had not as +yet been made plain to the minds of men at Rome by the political +economists of the day. It was well that a man should know something of +many things--that he should especially, if he intended to be a leader of +men, be both soldier and orator. To rise to be Consul, having first been +Quæstor, Ædile, and Prætor, was the path of glory. It had been the +special duty of the Consuls of Rome, since the establishment of consular +government, to lead the armies of the Republic. A portion of the duty +devolved upon the Prætors, as wars became more numerous; and latterly +the commanders were attended by Quæstors. The Governors of the +provinces, Proconsuls, or Proprætors with proconsular authority, always +combined military with civil authority. The art of war was, therefore, a +necessary part of the education of a man intended to rise in the service +of the State. Cicero, though, in his endeavor to follow his own tastes, +he made a strong effort to keep himself free from such work, and to +remain at Rome instead of being sent abroad as a Governor, had at last +to go where fighting was in some degree necessary, and, in the saddest +phase of his life, appeared in Italy with his lictors, demanding the +honors of a triumph. In anticipation of such a career, no doubt under +the advice of his friends, he now went out to see, if not a battle, +something, at any rate, of war. It has already been said how the +citizenship of Rome was conferred on some of the small Italian States +around, and not on others. Hence, of course, arose jealousy, which was +increased by the feeling on the part of those excluded that they were +called to furnish soldiers to Rome, as well as those who were included. +Then there was formed a combination of Italian cities, sworn to remedy +the injury thus inflicted on them. Their purpose was to fight Rome in +order that they might achieve Roman citizenship; and hence arose the +first civil war which distracted the Empire. Pompeius Strabo, father of +Pompey the Great, was then Consul (B.C. 89), and Cicero was sent out to +see the campaign under him. Marius and Sulla, the two Romans who were +destined soon to bathe Rome in blood, had not yet quarrelled, though +they had been brought to hate each other--Marius by jealousy, and Sulla +by rivalry. In this war they both served under the Consuls, and Cicero +served with Sulla. We know nothing of his doings in that campaign. There +are no tidings even of a misfortune such as that which happened to +Horace when he went out to fight, and came home from the battle-field +"relicta non bene parmula." + +Rome trampled on the rebellious cities, and in the end admitted them to +citizenship. But probably the most important, certainly the most +notorious, result of the Italian war, was the deep antagonism of Marius +and Sulla. Sulla had made himself conspicuous by his fortune on the +occasion, whereas Marius, who had become the great soldier of the +Republic, and had been six times Consul, failed to gather fresh laurels. +Rome was falling into that state of anarchy which was the cause of all +the glory and all the disgrace of Cicero's life, and was open to the +dominion of any soldier whose grasp might be the least scrupulous and +the strongest. Marius, after a series of romantic adventures with which +we must not connect ourselves here, was triumphant only just before his +death, while Sulla went off with his army, pillaged Athens, plundered +Asia Minor generally, and made terms with Mithridates, though he did not +conquer him. With the purport, no doubt, of conquering Mithridates, but +perhaps with the stronger object of getting him out of Rome, the army +had been intrusted to him, with the consent of the Marian faction. + +Then came those three years, when Sulla was in the East and Marius dead, +of which Cicero speaks as a period of peace, in which a student was able +to study in Rome. "Triennium fere fuit urbs sine armis."[41] These must +have been the years 86, 85, and 84 before Christ, when Cicero was +twenty-one, twenty-two, and twenty-three years old; and it was this +period, in truth, of which he speaks, and not of earlier years, when he +tells us of his studies with Philo, and Molo, and Diodatus. Precocious +as he was in literature, writing one poem--or translating it--when he +was fourteen, and another when he was eighteen, he was by no means in a +hurry to commence the work of his life. He is said also to have written +a treatise on military tactics when he was nineteen; which again, no +doubt, means that he had exercised himself by translating such an essay +from the Greek. This, happily, does not remain. But we have four books, +Rhetoricorum ad C. Herennium, and two books De Inventione, attributed to +his twentieth and twenty-first years, which are published with his +works, and commence the series. Of all that we have from him, they are +perhaps the least worth reading; but as they are, or were, among his +recognized writings, a word shall be said of them in their proper place. + +The success of the education of Cicero probably became a commonplace +among Latin school-masters and Latin writers. In the dialogue De +Oratoribus, attributed to Tacitus, the story of it is given by Messala +when he is praising the orators of the earlier age. "We know well," says +Messala, "that book of Cicero which is called Brutus, in the latter part +of which he describes to us the beginning and the progress of his own +eloquence, and, as it were, the bringing up on which it was founded. He +tells us that he had learned civil law under Q. Mutius Scævola; that he +had exhausted the realm of philosophy--learning that of the Academy +under Philo, and that of the Stoics under Diodatus; that, not content +with these treatises, he had travelled through Greece and Asia, so as to +embrace the whole world of art. And thus it had come about that in the +works of Cicero no knowledge is wanting--neither of music, nor of +grammar, nor any other liberal accomplishment. He understood the +subtilty of logic, the purpose of ethics, the effects and causes of +things." Then the speaker goes on to explain what may be expected from +study such as that. "Thus it is, my good friends--thus, that from the +acquirement of many arts, and from a general knowledge of all things, +eloquence that is truly admirable is created in its full force; for the +power and capacity of an orator need not be hemmed in, as are those of +other callings, by certain narrow bounds; but that man is the true +orator who is able to speak on all subjects with dignity and grace, so +as to persuade those who listen, and to delight them, in a manner suited +to the nature of the subject in hand and the convenience of the +time."[42] + +We might fancy that we were reading words from Cicero himself! Then the +speaker in this imaginary conversation goes on to tell us how far +matters had derogated in his time, pointing out at the same time that +the evils which he deplores had shown themselves even before Cicero, but +had been put down, as far as the law could put them down, by its +interference. He is speaking of those schools of rhetoric in which Greek +professors of the art gave lessons for money, which were evil in their +nature, and not, as it appears, efficacious even for the purpose in +hand. "But now," continues Messala, "our very boys are brought into the +schools of those lecturers who are called 'rhetores,' who had sprung up +before Cicero, to the displeasure of our ancestors, as is evident from +the fact that when Crassus and Domitius were Censors they were ordered +to shut up their school of impudence, as Cicero calls it. Our boys, as I +was going to say, are taken to these lecture-rooms, in which it is hard +to say whether the atmosphere of the place, or the lads they are thrown +among, or the nature of the lessons taught, are the most injurious. In +the place itself there is neither discipline nor respect. All who go +there are equally ignorant. The boys among the boys, the lads among the +lads, utter and listen to just what words they please. Their very +exercises are, for the most part, useless. Two kinds are in vogue with +these 'rhetores,' called 'suasoriæ' and 'controversiæ,'" tending, we may +perhaps say, to persuade or to refute. "Of these, the 'suasoriæ,' as +being the lighter and requiring less of experience, are given to the +little boys, the 'controversiæ' to the bigger lads. But--oh heavens, +what they are--what miserable compositions!" Then he tells us the +subjects selected. Rape, incest, and other horrors are subjected to the +lads for their declamation, in order that they may learn to be orators. + +Messala then explains that in those latter days--his days, that +is--under the rule of despotic princes, truly large subjects are not +allowed to be discussed in public--confessing, however, that those large +subjects, though they afford fine opportunities to orators, are not +beneficial to the State at large. But it was thus, he says, that Cicero +became what he was, who would not have grown into favor had he defended +only P. Quintius and Archias, and had had nothing to do with Catiline, +or Milo, or Verres, or Antony--showing, by-the-way, how great was the +reputation of that speech, Pro Milone, with which we shall have to deal +farther on. + +The treatise becomes somewhat confused, a portion of it having +probably been lost. From whose mouth the last words are supposed to +come is not apparent. It ends with a rhapsody in favor of imperial +government--suitable, indeed, to the time of Domitian, but very unlike +Tacitus. While, however, it praises despotism, it declares that only by +the evils which despotism had quelled could eloquence be maintained. +"Our country, indeed, while it was astray in its government; while it +tore itself to pieces by parties and quarrels and discord; while there +was no peace in the Forum, no agreement in the Senate, no moderation on +the judgment-seat, no reverence for letters, no control among the +magistrates, boasted, no doubt, a stronger eloquence." + +From what we are thus told of Cicero, not what we hear from himself, we +are able to form an idea of the nature of his education. With his mind +fixed from his early days on the ambition of doing something noble with +himself, he gave himself up to all kinds of learning. It was Macaulay, I +think, who said of him that the idea of conquering the "omne +scibile,"--the understanding of all things within the reach of human +intellect--was before his eyes as it was before those of Bacon. The +special preparation which was, in Cicero's time, employed for students +at the bar is also described in the treatise from which I have +quoted--the preparation which is supposed to have been the very opposite +of that afforded by the "rhetores." "Among ourselves, the youth who was +intended to achieve eloquence in the Forum, when already trained at home +and exercised in classical knowledge, was brought by his father or his +friends to that orator who might then be considered to be the leading +man in the city. It became his daily work to follow that man, to +accompany him, to be conversant with all his speeches, whether in the +courts of law or at public meetings, so that he might learn, if I might +say so, to fight in the very thick of the throng." It was thus that +Cicero studied his art. A few lines farther down, the pseudo-Tacitus +tells us that Crassus, in his nineteenth year, held a brief against +Carbo; that Cæsar did so in his twenty-first against Dolabella; and +Pollio, in his twenty-second year, against Cato.[43] In this precocity +Cicero did not imitate Crassus, or show an example to the Romans who +followed him. He was twenty-six when he pleaded his first cause. Sulla +had then succeeded in crushing the Marian faction, and the Sullan +proscriptions had taken place, and were nominally over. Sulla had been +declared Dictator, and had proclaimed that there should be no more +selections for death. The Republic was supposed to be restored. +"Recuperata republica * * * tum primum nos ad causas et privatas et +publicas adire c[oe]pimus,"[44] "The Republic having been restored, I then +first applied myself to pleadings, both private and public." + +Of Cicero's politics at that time we are enabled to form a fair +judgment. Marius had been his townsman; Sulla had been his captain. But +the one thing dear to him was the Republic--what he thought to be the +Republic. He was neither Marian nor Sullan. The turbulence in which so +much noble blood had flowed--the "crudelis interitus oratorum," the +crushing out of the old legalized form of government--was abominable to +him. It was his hope, no doubt his expectation, that these old forms +should be restored in all their power. There seemed to be more +probability of this--there was more probability of it--on the side of +Sulla than the other. On Sulla's side was Pompey, the then rising man, +who, being of the same age with Cicero, had already pushed himself into +prominence, who was surnamed the Great, and who "triumphed" during these +very two years in which Cicero began his career; who through Cicero's +whole life was his bugbear, his stumbling-block, and his mistake. But on +that side were the "optimates," the men who, if they did not lead, ought +to lead the Republic; those who, if they were not respectable, ought to +be so; those who, if they did not love their country, ought to love it. +If there was a hope, it was with them. The old state of things--that +oligarchy which has been called a Republic--had made Rome what it was; +had produced power, civilization, art, and literature. It had enabled +such a one as Cicero was himself to aspire to lead, though he had been +humbly born, and had come to Rome from an untried provincial family. To +him the Republic--as he fancied that it had been, as he fancied that it +might be--was all that was good, all that was gracious, all that was +beneficent. On Sulla's side lay what chance there was of returning to +the old ways. When Sulla was declared Dictator, it was presumed that the +Republic was restored. But not on this account should it be supposed +that Cicero regarded the proscriptions of Sulla with favor, or that he +was otherwise than shocked by the wholesale robberies for which the +proscription paved the way. This is a matter with which it will be +necessary to deal more fully when we come in our next chapter to the +first speeches made by Cicero; in the very first of which, as I place +them, he attacks the Sullan robberies with an audacity which, when we +remember that Sulla was still in power, rescues, at any rate, in regard +to this period of his life, the character of the orator from that charge +of cowardice which has been imputed to him. + +It is necessary here, in this chapter devoted to the education of +Cicero, to allude to his two first speeches, because that education was +not completed till afterward--so that they may be regarded as +experiments, or trials, as it were, of his force and sufficiency. "Not +content with these teachers"--teachers who had come to Rome from Greece +and Asia--"he had travelled through Greece and Asia, so as to embrace +the whole world of art." These words, quoted a few pages back from the +treatise attributed to Tacitus, refer to a passage in the Brutus in +which Cicero makes a statement to that effect. "When I reached +Athens,[45] I passed six months with Antiochus, by far the best known +and most erudite of the teachers of the old Academy, and with him, as my +great authority and master, I renewed that study of philosophy which I +had never abandoned--which from my boyhood I had followed with always +increasing success. At the same time I practised oratory laboriously +with Demetrius Syrus, also at Athens, a well-known and by no means +incapable master of the art of speaking. After that I wandered over all +Asia, and came across the best orators there, with whom I practised, +enjoying their willing assistance." There is more of it, which need not +be repeated verbatim, giving the names of those who aided him in Asia: +Menippus of Stratonice--who, he says, was sweet enough to have belonged +himself to Athens--with Dionysius of Magnesia, with [OE]schilus of Cnidos, +and with Xenocles of Adramyttium. Then at Rhodes he came across his old +friend Molo, and applied himself again to the teaching of his former +master. Quintilian explains to us how this was done with a purpose, so +that the young orator, when he had made a first attempt with his +half-fledged wings in the courts, might go back to his masters for +awhile[46]. + +He was twenty-eight when he started on this tour. It has been suggested +that he did so in fear of the resentment of Sulla, with whose favorites +and with whose practices he had dealt very plainly. There is no reason +for alleging this, except that Sulla was powerful, that Sulla was +blood-thirsty, and that Sulla must have been offended. This kind of +argument is often used. It is supposed to be natural, or at least +probable, that in a certain position a man should have been a coward or +a knave, ungrateful or cruel; and in the presumption thus raised the +accusation is brought against him. "Fearing Sulla's resentment," +Plutarch says, "he travelled into Greece, and gave out that the recovery +of his health was the motive." There is no evidence that such was his +reason for travelling; and, as Middleton says in his behalf, it is +certain that he "continued for a year after this in Rome without any +apprehension of danger." It is best to take a man's own account of his +own doings and their causes, unless there be ground for doubting the +statement made. It is thus that Cicero himself speaks of his journey: +"Now," he says, still in his Brutus[47], "as you wish to know what I +am--not simply what mark I may have on my body from my birth, or with +what surroundings of childhood I was brought up--I will include some +details which might perhaps seem hardly necessary. At this time I was +thin and weak, my neck being long and narrow--a habit and form of body +which is supposed to be adverse to long life; and those who loved me +thought the more of this, because I had taken to speaking without +relaxation, without recreation with all the powers of my voice, and with +much muscular action. When my friends and the doctors desired me to give +up speaking, I resolved that, rather than abandon my career as an +orator, I would face any danger. But when it occurred to me that by +lowering my voice, by changing my method of speaking, I might avoid the +danger, and at the same time learn to speak with more elegance, I +accepted that as a reason for going into Asia, so that I might study how +to change my mode of elocution. Thus, when I had been two years at work +upon causes, and when my name was already well known in the Forum, I +took my departure, and left Rome." + +During the six months that he was at Athens he renewed an early +acquaintance with one who was destined to become the most faithful, and +certainly the best known, of his friends. This was Titus Pomponius, +known to the world as that Atticus to whom were addressed something more +than half the large body of letters which were written by Cicero, and +which have remained for our use.[48] He seems to have lived much with +Atticus, who was occupied with similar studies, though with altogether +different results. Atticus applied himself to the practices of the +Epicurean school, and did in truth become "Epicuri de grege porcus." To +enjoy life, to amass a fortune, to keep himself free from all turmoils +of war or state, to make the best of the times, whether they were bad or +good, without any attempt on his part to mend them--this was the +philosophy of Titus Pomponius, who was called Atticus because Athens, +full of art and literature, easy, unenergetic, and luxurious, was dear +to him. To this philosophy, or rather to this theory of life, Cicero was +altogether opposed. He studied in all the schools--among the Platonists, +the Stoics, even with the Epicureans enough to know their dogmas so that +he might criticise them--proclaiming himself to belong to the new +Academy, or younger school of Platonists, but in truth drawing no system +of morals or rule of life from any of them. To him, and also to Atticus, +no doubt, these pursuits afforded an intellectual pastime. Atticus found +himself able to justify to himself the bent of his disposition by the +name of a philosopher, and therefore became an Epicurean. Cicero could +in no way justify to himself any deviation from the energy of public +life, from its utility, from its ambition, from its loves, or from its +hatred; and from the Greek philosophers whom he named of this or the +other school, received only some assistance in that handling of +so-called philosophy which became the chief amusement of his future +life. This was well understood by the Latin authors who wrote of Cicero +after his own time. Quintilian, speaking of Cicero and Brutus as writers +of philosophy, says of the latter, "Suffecit ponderi rerum; scias enim +sentire quæ dicit."[49]--"He was equal to the weight of the subject, for +you feel that he believes what he writes." He leaves the inference, of +course, that Cicero wrote on such matters only for the exercise of his +ingenuity, as a school-boy writes. + +When at Athens, Cicero was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries--as +to which Mr. Collins, in his little volume on Cicero, in the Ancient +Classics for English Readers, says that they "contained under this veil +whatever faith in the Invisible and Eternal rested in the mind of an +enlightened pagan." In this Mr. Collins is fully justified by what +Cicero himself has said although the character thus given to these +mysteries is very different from that which was attributed to them by +early Christian writers. They were to those pious but somewhat +prejudiced theologists mysterious and pagan, and therefore horrible.[50] +But Cicero declares in his dialogue with Atticus, De Legibus, written +when he was fifty-five years old, in the prime of his intellect, that +"of all the glories and divine gifts which your Athens has produced for +the improvement of men nothing surpasses these mysteries, by which the +harshness of our uncivilized life has been softened, and we have been +lifted up to humanity; and as they are called 'initia,'" by which +aspirants were initiated, "so we have in truth found in them the seeds +of a new life. Nor have we received from them only the means of living +with satisfaction, but also of dying with a better hope as to the +future."[51] + +Of what took place with Cicero and Atticus at their introduction to the +Eleusinian mysteries we know nothing. But it can hardly be that, with +such memories running in his mind after thirty years, expressed in such +language to the very friend who had then been his companion, they should +not have been accepted by him as indicating the commencement of some +great line of thought. The two doctrines which seem to mark most clearly +the difference between the men whom we regard, the one as a pagan and +the other as a Christian, are the belief in a future life and the duty +of doing well by our neighbors. Here they are both indicated, the former +in plain language, and the latter in that assurance of the softening of +the barbarity of uncivilized life, "Quibus ex agresti immanique vita +exculti ad humanitatem et mitigati sumus." + +Of the inner life of Cicero at this moment--how he ate, how he drank, +with what accompaniment of slaves he lived, how he was dressed, and how +lodged--we know very little; but we are told enough to be aware that he +could not have travelled, as he did in Greece and Asia, without great +expense. His brother Quintus was with him, so that cost, if not double, +was greatly increased. Antiochus, Demetrius Syrus, Molo, Menippus, and +the others did not give him their services for nothing. These were +gentlemen of whom we know that they were anxious to carry their wares to +the best market. And then he seems to have been welcomed wherever he +went, as though travelling in some sort "en prince." No doubt he had +brought with him the best introductions which Rome could afford; but +even with them a generous allowance must have been necessary, and this +must have come from his father's pocket. + +As we go on, a question will arise as to Cicero's income and the sources +whence it came. He asserts of himself that he was never paid for his +services at the bar. To receive such payment was illegal, but was usual. +He claims to have kept himself exempt from whatever meanness there may +have been in so receiving such fees--exempt, at any rate, from the fault +of having broken the law. He has not been believed. There is no evidence +to convict him of falsehood, but he has not been believed, because there +have not been found palpable sources of income sufficient for an +expenditure so great as that which we know to have been incident to the +life he led. But we do not know what were his father's means. Seeing the +nature of the education given to the lad, of the manner in which his +future life was prepared for him from his earliest days, of the promise +made to him from his boyhood of a career in the metropolis if he could +make himself fit for it, of the advantages which costly travel afforded +him, I think we have reason to suppose that the old Cicero was an +opulent man, and that the house at Arpinum was no humble farm, or +fuller's poor establishment. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +_THE CONDITION OF ROME._ + + +It is far from my intention to write a history of Rome during the +Ciceronian period. Were I to attempt such a work, I should have to +include the doings of Sertorius in Spain, of Lucullus and Pompey in the +East, Cæsar's ten years in Gaul, and the civil wars from the taking of +Marseilles to the final battles of Thapsus and Munda. With very many of +the great events which the period includes Cicero took but slight +concern--so slight that we can hardly fail to be astonished when we find +how little he had to say of them--he who ran through all the offices of +the State, who was the chosen guardian of certain allied cities, who has +left to us so large a mass of correspondence on public subjects, and who +was essentially a public man for thirty-four years. But he was a public +man who concerned himself personally with Rome rather than with the +Roman Empire. Home affairs, and not foreign affairs, were dear to him. +To Cæsar's great deeds in Gaul we should have had from him almost no +allusion, had not his brother Quintus been among Cæsar's officers, and +his young friend Trebatius been confided by himself to Cæsar's care. Of +Pharsalia we only learn from him that, in utter despair of heart, he +allowed himself to be carried to the war. Of the proconsular governments +throughout the Roman Empire we should not learn much from Cicero, were +it not that it has been shown to us by the trial of Verres how atrocious +might be the conduct of a Roman Governor, and by the narratives of +Cicero's own rule in Cilicia, how excellent. The history of the time has +been written for modern readers by Merivale and Mommsen, with great +research and truth as to facts, but, as I think with some strong +feeling. Now Mr. Froude has followed with his Cæsar, which might well +have been called Anti-Cicero. All these in lauding, and the two latter +in deifying, the successful soldier, have, I think, dealt hardly with +Cicero, attributing to his utterances more than they mean; doubting his +sincerity, but seeing clearly the failure of his political efforts. With +the great facts of the Roman Empire as they gradually formed themselves +from the fall of Carthage, when the Empire began,[52] to the +establishment of Augustus, when it was consummated, I do not pretend to +deal, although by far the most momentous of them were crowded into the +life of Cicero. But in order that I may, if possible, show the condition +of his mind toward the Republic--that I may explain what it was that he +hoped and why he hoped it--I must go back and relate in a few words what +it was that Marius and Sulla had done for Rome. + +Of both these men all the doings with which history is greatly concerned +were comprised within the early years of Cicero's life. Marius, indeed, +was nearly fifty years of age when his fellow-townsman was born, and had +become a distinguished soldier, and, though born of humble parents, had +pushed himself to the Consulate. His quarrel with Sulla had probably +commenced, springing from jealousy as to deeds done in the Jugurthine +war. But it is not matter of much moment, now that Marius had proved +himself to be a good and hardy soldier, excepting in this, that, by +making himself a soldier in early life, he enabled himself in his latter +years to become the master of Rome. + +Sulla, too, was born thirty-two years before Cicero--a patrician of the +bluest blood--and having gone, as we say, into public life, and having +been elected Quæstor, became a soldier by dint of office, as a man with +us may become head of the Admiralty. As Quæstor he was sent to join +Marius in Africa a few months before Cicero was born. Into his hands, as +it happened, not into those of Marius, Jugurtha was surrendered by his +father-in-law, Bocchus, who thought thus to curry favor with the Romans. +Thence came those internecine feuds, in which, some twenty-five years +later, all Rome was lying butchered. The cause of quarrelling between +these two men, the jealousies which grew in the heart of the elder, from +the renewed successes of the younger, are not much to us now; but the +condition to which Rome had been brought, when two such men could +scramble for the city, and each cut the throats of the relatives, +friends, and presumed allies of the other, has to be inquired into by +those who would understand what Rome had been, what it was, and what it +was necessarily to become. + +When Cicero was of an age to begin to think of these things, and had put +on the "toga virilis," and girt himself with a sword to fight under the +father of Pompey for the power of Rome against the Italian allies who +were demanding citizenship, the quarrel was in truth rising to its +bitterness. Marius and Sulla were on the same side in that war. But +Marius had then not only been Consul, but had been six times Consul; and +he had beaten the Teutons and the Cimbrians, by whom Romans had feared +that all Italy would be occupied. What was not within the power of such +a leader of soldiers? and what else but a leader of soldiers could +prevail when Italy and Rome, but for such a General, had been at the +mercy of barbaric hordes, and when they had been compelled to make that +General six times Consul? + +Marius seems to have been no politician. He became a soldier and then a +General; and because he was great as a soldier and General, the affairs +of the State fell into his hands with very little effort. In the old +days of Rome military power had been needed for defence, and successful +defence had of course produced aggressive masterhood and increased +territory. When Hannibal, while he was still lingering in Italy, had +been circumvented by the appearance of Scipio in Africa and the Romans +had tasted the increased magnificence of external conquest, the desire +for foreign domination became stronger than that of native rule. From +that time arms were in the ascendant rather than policy. Up to that time +a Consul had to become a General, because it was his business to look +after the welfare of the State. After that time a man became a Consul in +order that he might be a General. The toga was made to give way to the +sword, and the noise of the Forum to the trumpets. We, looking back now, +can see that it must have been so, and we are prone to fancy that a wise +man looking forward then might have read the future. In the days of +Marius there was probably no man so wise. Cæsar was the first to see it. +Cicero would have seen it, but that the idea was so odious to him that +he could not acknowledge to himself that it need be so. His life was one +struggle against the coming evil--against the time in which brute force +was to be made to dominate intellect and civilization. His "cedant arma +togæ" was a scream, an impotent scream, against all that Sulla had done +or Cæsar was about to do. The mischief had been effected years before +his time, and had gone too far ahead to be arrested even by his tongue. +Only, in considering these things, let us confess that Cicero saw what +was good and what was evil, though he was mistaken in believing that the +good was still within reach. + +Marius in his way was a Cæsar--as a soldier, undoubtedly a very +efficient Cæsar--having that great gift of ruling his own appetites +which enables those who possess it to conquer the appetites of others. +It may be doubted whether his quickness in stopping and overcoming the +two great hordes from the north, the Teutons and the Cimbrians, was not +equal in strategy to anything that Cæsar accomplished in Gaul. It is +probable that Cæsar learned much of his tactics from studying the +man[oe]uvres of Marius. But Marius was only a General. Though he became +hot in Roman politics, audacious and confident, knowing how to use and +how to disregard various weapons of political power as they had been +handed down by tradition and law, the "vetoes" and the auguries, and the +official dignities, he used them, or disregarded them, in quest only of +power for himself. He was able to perceive how vain was law in such a +period as that in which he lived; and that, having risen by force of +arms, he must by force of arms keep his place or lose his life. With +him, at least, there was no idea of Roman liberty, little probably of +Roman glory, except so far as military glory and military power go +together. + +Sulla was a man endowed with a much keener insight into the political +condition of the world around him. To make a dash for power, as a dog +might do, and keep it in his clutch as a dog would, was enough for +Marius. Sulla could see something of future events. He could understand +that, by reducing men around him to a low level, he could make fast his +own power over them, and that he could best do this by cutting off the +heads of all who stood a little higher than their neighbors. He might +thus produce tranquillity, and security to himself and others. Some +glimmer of an idea of an Augustan rule was present to him; and with the +view of producing it, he re-established many of the usages of the +Republic, not reproducing the liberty but the forms of liberty. It seems +to have been his idea that a Sullan party might rule the Empire by +adherence to these forms. I doubt if Marius had any fixed idea of +government. To get the better of his enemies, and then to grind them +into powder under his feet, to seize rank and power and riches, and then +to enjoy them, to sate his lust with blood and money and women, at last +even with wine, and to feed his revenge by remembering the hard things +which he was made to endure during the period of his overthrow--this +seems to have been enough for Marius.[53] With Sulla there was +understanding that the Empire must be ruled, and that the old ways would +be best if they could be made compatible with the newly-concentrated +power. + +The immediate effect upon Rome, either from one or from the other, was +nearly the same. In the year 87 B.C. Marius occupied himself in +slaughtering the Sullan party--during which, however, Sulla escaped from +Rome to the army of which he was selected as General, and proceeded to +Athens and the East with the object of conquering Mithridates; for, +during these personal contests, the command of this expedition had been +the chief bone of contention among them. Marius, who was by age +unfitted, desired to obtain it in order that Sulla might not have it. In +the next year, 86 B.C., Marius died, being then Consul for the seventh +time. Sulla was away in the East, and did not return till 83 B.C. In the +interval was that period of peace, fit for study, of which Cicero +afterward spoke. "Triennium fere fuit urbs sine armis."[54] Cicero was +then twenty-two or twenty-three years old, and must well have +understood, from his remembrance of the Marian massacres, what it was to +have the city embroiled by arms. It was not that men were fighting, but +that they were simply being killed at the pleasure of the slaughterer. +Then Sulla came back, 83 B.C., when Cicero was twenty-four; and if +Marius had scourged the city with rods, he scourged it with scorpions. +It was the city, in truth, that was scourged, and not simply the hostile +faction. Sulla began by proscribing 520 citizens declaring that he had +included in his list all that he remembered, and that those forgotten +should be added on another day. The numbers were gradually raised to +4,700! Nor did this merely mean that those named should be caught and +killed by some miscalled officers of justice.[55] All the public was +armed against the wretched, and any who should protect them were also +doomed to death. This, however, might have been comparatively +inefficacious to inflict the amount of punishment intended by Sulla. Men +generally do not specially desire to imbrue their hands in the blood of +other men. Unless strong hatred be at work, the ordinary man, even the +ordinary Roman, will hardly rise up and slaughter another for the sake +of the employment. But if lucre be added to blood, then blood can be +made to flow copiously. This was what Sulla did. Not only was the +victim's life proscribed, but his property was proscribed also; and the +man who busied himself in carrying out the great butcher's business +assiduously, ardently, and unintermittingly, was rewarded by the +property so obtained. Two talents[56] was to be the fee for mere +assassination; but the man who knew how to carry on well the work of an +informer could earn many talents. It was thus that fortunes were made in +the last days of Sulla. It was not only those 520 who were named for +killing. They were but the firstlings of the flock--the few victims +selected before the real workmen understood how valuable a trade +proscription and confiscation might be made. Plutarch tells us how a +quiet gentleman walking, as was his custom, in the Forum, one who took +no part in politics, saw his own name one day on the list. He had an +Alban villa, and at once knew that his villa had been his ruin. He had +hardly read the list, and had made his exclamation, before he was +slaughtered. Such was the massacre of Sulla, coming with an interval of +two or three years after those of Marius, between which was the blessed +time in which Rome was without arms. In the time of Marius, Cicero was +too young, and of no sufficient importance, on account of his birth or +parentage, to fear anything. Nor is it probable that Marius would have +turned against his townsmen. When Sulla's turn came, Cicero, though not +absolutely connected with the Dictator, was, so to say, on his side in +politics. In going back even to this period we may use the terms +Liberals and Conservatives for describing the two parties. Marius was +for the people; that is to say, he was opposed to the rule of the +oligarchy, dispersed the Senate, and loved to feel that his own feet +were on the necks of the nobility. Of liberty, or rights, or popular +institutions he recked nothing; but not the less was he supposed to be +on the people's side. Sulla, on the other hand, had been born a +patrician, and affected to preserve the old traditions of oligarchic +rule; and, indeed, though he took all the power of the State into his +own hands, he did restore, and for a time preserve, these old +traditions. It must be presumed that there was at his heart something of +love for old Rome. The proscriptions began toward the end of the year 82 +B.C., and were continued through eight or nine fearful months--up to the +beginning of June, 81 B.C. A day was fixed at which there should be no +more slaughtering--no more slaughtering, that is, without special order +in each case, and no more confiscation--except such as might be judged +necessary by those who had not as yet collected their prey from past +victims. Then Sulla, as Dictator, set himself to work to reorganize the +old laws. There should still be Consuls and Prætors, but with restricted +powers, lessened almost down to nothing. It seems hard to gather what +was exactly the Dictator's scheme as the future depositary of power when +he should himself have left the scene. He did increase the privileges of +the Senate; but thinking of the Senate of Rome as he must have thought +of it, esteeming those old men as lowly as he must have esteemed them, +he could hardly have intended that imperial power should be maintained +by dividing it among them. He certainly contemplated no follower to +himself, no heir to his power, as Cæsar did. When he had been +practically Dictator about three years--though he did not continue the +use of the objectionable name--he resigned his rule and walked down, as +it were, from his throne into private life. I know nothing in history +more remarkable than Sulla's resignation; and yet the writers who have +dealt with his name give no explanation of it. Plutarch, his biographer, +expresses wonder that he should have been willing to descend to private +life, and that he who made so many enemies should have been able to do +so with security. Cicero says nothing of it. He had probably left Rome +before it occurred, and did not return till after Sulla's death. It +seems to have been accepted as being in no especial way remarkable.[57] +At his own demand, the plenary power of Dictator had been given to +him--power to do all as he liked, without reference either to the Senate +or to the people, and with an added proviso that he should keep it as +long as he thought fit, and lay it down when it pleased him. He did lay +it down, flattering himself, probably, that, as he had done his work, he +would walk out from his dictatorship like some Camillus of old. There +had been no Dictator in Rome for more than a century and a quarter--not +since the time of Hannibal's great victories; and the old dictatorships +lasted but for a few months or weeks, after which the Dictator, having +accomplished the special task, threw up his office. Sulla now affected +to do the same; and Rome, after the interval of three years, accepted +the resignation in the old spirit. It was natural to them, though only +by tradition, that a Dictator should resign--so natural that it required +no special wonder. The salt of the Roman Constitution was gone, but the +remembrance of the savor of it was still sweet to the minds of the +Romans. + +It seems certain that no attempt was made to injure Sulla when he ceased +to be nominally at the head of the army, but it is probable that he did +not so completely divest himself of power as to be without protection. +In the year after his abdication he died, at the age of sixty-one, +apparently strong as regards general health, but, if Plutarch's story be +true, affected with a terrible cutaneous disease. Modern writers have +spoken of Sulla as though they would fain have praised him if they +dared, because, in spite of his demoniac cruelty, he recognized the +expediency of bringing the affairs of the Republic again into order. +Middleton calls him the "only man in history in whom the odium of the +most barbarous cruelties was extinguished by the glory of his great +acts." Mommsen, laying the blame of the proscriptions on the head of the +oligarchy, speaks of Sulla as being either a sword or a pen in the +service of the State, as a sword or a pen would be required, and +declares that, in regard to the total "absence of political +selfishness--although it is true in this respect only--Sulla deserves to +be named side by side with Washington."[58] To us at present who are +endeavoring to investigate the sources and the nature of Cicero's +character, the attributes of this man would be but of little moment, +were it not that Cicero was probably Cicero because Sulla had been +Sulla. Horrid as the proscriptions and confiscations were to Cicero--and +his opinion of them was expressed plainly enough when it was dangerous +to express them[59]--still it was apparent to him that the cause of +order (what we may call the best chance for the Republic) lay with the +Senate and with the old traditions and laws of Rome, in the +re-establishment of which Sulla had employed himself. Of these +institutions Mommsen speaks with a disdain which we now cannot but feel +to be justified. "On the Roman oligarchy of this period," he says "no +judgment can be passed save one of inexorable and remorseless +condemnation; and, like everything connected with it, the Sullan +constitution is involved in that condemnation."[60] We have to admit +that the salt had gone out from it, and that there was no longer left +any savor by which it could be preserved. But the German historian seems +to err somewhat in this, as have also some modern English historians, +that they have not sufficiently seen that the men of the day had not the +means of knowing all that they, the historians, know. Sulla and his +Senate thought that by massacring the Marian faction they had restored +everything to an equilibrium. Sulla himself seems to have believed that +when the thing was accomplished Rome would go on, and grow in power and +prosperity as she had grown, without other reforms than those which he +had initiated. There can be no doubt that many of the best in Rome--the +best in morals, the best in patriotism, and the best in erudition--did +think that, with the old forms, the old virtue would come back. Pompey +thought so, and Cicero. Cato thought so, and Brutus. Cæsar, when he came +to think about it, thought the reverse. But even now to us, looking back +with so many things made clear to us, with all the convictions which +prolonged success produces, it is doubtful whether some other milder +change--some such change as Cicero would have advocated--might not have +prevented the tyranny of Augustus, the mysteries of Tiberius, the freaks +of Caligula, the folly of Claudius, and the madness of Nero. + +It is an uphill task, that of advocating the cause of a man who has +failed. The Cæsars of the world are they who make interesting stories. +That Cicero failed in the great purpose of his life has to be +acknowledged. He had studied the history of his country, and was aware +that hitherto the world had produced nothing so great as Roman power; +and he knew that Rome had produced true patriotism. Her Consuls, her +Censors, her Tribunes, and her Generals had, as a rule, been true to +Rome, serving their country, at any rate till of late years, rather than +themselves. And he believed that liberty had existed in Rome, though +nowhere else. It would be well if we could realize the idea of liberty +which Cicero entertained. Liberty was very dear to him--dear to him not +only as enjoying it himself, but as a privilege for the enjoyment of +others. But it was only the liberty of a few. Half the population of the +Roman cities were slaves, and in Cicero's time the freedom of the city, +which he regarded as necessary to liberty, belonged only to a small +proportion of the population of Italy. It was the liberty of a small +privileged class for which he was anxious. That a Sicilian should be +free under a Roman Proconsul, as a Roman citizen was entitled to be, was +abhorrent to his doctrine. The idea of cosmopolitan freedom--an idea +which exists with us, but is not common to very many even now--had not +as yet been born: that care for freedom which springs from a desire to +do to others as we would that they should do to us. It required Christ +to father that idea; and Cicero, though he was nearer to Christianity +than any who had yet existed, had not reached it. But this liberty, +though it was but of a few, was so dear to him that he spent his life in +an endeavor to preserve it. The kings had been expelled from Rome +because they had trampled on liberty. Then came the Republic, which we +know to have been at its best no more than an oligarchy; but still it +was founded on the idea that everything should be done by the votes of +the free people. For many years everything was done by the votes of the +free people. Under what inducements they had voted is another question. +Clients were subject to their patrons, and voted as they were told. We +have heard of that even in England, where many of us still think that +such a way of voting is far from objectionable. Perhaps compulsion was +sometimes used--a sort of "rattening" by which large bodies were driven +to the poll to carry this or the other measure. Simple eloquence +prevailed with some, and with others flattery. Then corruption became +rampant, as was natural, the rich buying the votes of the poor; and +votes were bought in various ways--by cheap food as well as by money, by +lavish expenditure in games, by promises of land, and other means of +bribery more or less overt. This was bad, of course. Every freeman +should have given a vote according to his conscience. But in what +country--the millennium not having arrived in any--has this been +achieved? Though voting in England has not always been pure, we have not +wished to do away with the votes of freemen and to submit everything to +personal rule. Nor did Cicero. + +He knew that much was bad, and had himself seen many things that were +very evil. He had lived through the dominations of Marius and Sulla, and +had seen the old practices of Roman government brought down to the +pretence of traditional forms. But still, so he thought, there was life +left in the old forms, if they could be revivified by patriotism, labor, +and intelligence. It was the best that he could imagine for the +State--infinitely better than the chance of falling into the bloody +hands of one Marius and one Sulla after another. Mommsen tells us that +nothing could be more rotten than the condition of oligarchical +government into which Rome had fallen; and we are inclined to agree with +Mommsen, because we have seen what followed. But that Cicero, living and +seeing it all as a present spectator, should have hoped better things, +should not, I think, cause us to doubt either Cicero's wisdom or his +patriotism. I cannot but think that, had I been a Roman of those days, I +should have preferred Cicero, with his memories of the past, to Cæsar, +with his ambition for the future. + +Looking back from our standing-point of to-day, we know how great Rome +was--infinitely greater, as far as power is concerned, than anything +else which the world has produced. It came to pass that "Urbis et orbis" +was not a false boast. Gradually growing from the little nest of robbers +established on the banks of the Tiber, the people of Rome learned how to +spread their arms over all the known world, and to conquer and rule, +while they drew to themselves all that the ingenuity and industry of +other people had produced. To do this, there must have been not only +courage and persistence, but intelligence, patriotism, and superior +excellence in that art of combination of which government consists. But +yet, when we look back, it is hard to say when were the palmy days of +Rome. When did those virtues shine by which her power was founded? When +was that wisdom best exhibited from which came her capacity for ruling? +Not in the time of her early kings, whose mythic virtues, if they +existed, were concerned but in small matters; for the Rome of the kings +claimed a jurisdiction extending as yet but a few miles from the city. +And from the time of their expulsion, Rome, though she was rising in +power, was rising slowly, and through such difficulties that the reader +of history, did he not know the future, would think from time to time +that the day of her destruction had come upon her. Not when Brennus was +at Rome with his Gauls, a hundred and twenty-five years after the +expulsion of the kings, could Rome be said to have been great; nor when, +fifty or sixty years afterward, the Roman army--the only army which Rome +then possessed--had to lay down its arms in the Caudine Forks and pass +under the Samnite yoke. Then, when the Samnite wars were ended, and Rome +was mistress in Italy--mistress, after all, of no more than Southern +Italy--the Punic wars began. It could hardly have been during that long +contest with Carthage, which was carried on for nearly fifty years, that +the palmy days of Rome were at their best. Hannibal seems always to be +the master. Trebia, Thrasymene and Cannæ, year after year, threaten +complete destruction to the State. Then comes the great Scipio; and no +doubt, if we must mark an era of Roman greatness, it would be that of +the battle of Zama and the submission of Carthage, 201 years before +Christ. But with Scipio there springs up the idea of personal ambition; +and in the Macedonian and Greek wars that follow, though the arm of Rome +is becoming stronger every day, and her shoulders broader, there is +already the glamour of her decline in virtue. Her dealings with +Antiochus, with Pyrrhus, and with the Achæans, though successful, were +hardly glorious. Then came the two Gracchi, and the reader begins to +doubt whether the glory of the Republic is not already over. They +demanded impossible reforms, by means as illegal as they were +impossible, and were both killed in popular riots. The war with Jugurtha +followed, in which the Romans were for years unsuccessful, and during +which German hordes from the north rushed into Gaul and destroyed an +army of 80,000 Romans. This brings us to Marius and to Sulla, of whom we +have already spoken, and to that period of Roman politics which the +German historian describes as being open to no judgment "save one of +inexorable and remorseless condemnation." + +But, in truth, the history of every people and every nation will be +subject to the same criticism, if it be regarded with the same severity. +In all that man has done as yet in the way of government, the seeds of +decay are apparent when looked back upon from an age in advance. The +period of Queen Elizabeth was very great to us; yet by what dangers were +we enveloped in her days! But for a storm at sea, we might have been +subjected to Spain. By what a system of falsehood and petty tyrannies +were we governed through the reigns of James I. and Charles I.! What +periods of rottenness and danger there have been since! How little +glorious was the reign of Charles II.! how full of danger that of +William! how mean those of the four Georges, with the dishonesty of +ministers such as Walpole and Newcastle! And to-day, are there not many +who are telling us that we are losing the liberties which our +forefathers got for us, and that no judgment can be passed on us "save +one of inexorable and remorseless condemnation?" We are a great nation, +and the present threatenings are probably vain. Nevertheless, the seeds +of decay are no doubt inherent in our policies and our practices--so +manifestly inherent that future historians will pronounce upon them with +certainty. + +But Cicero, not having the advantage of distance, having simply in his +mind the knowledge of the greatness which had been achieved, and in his +heart a true love for the country which had achieved it, and which was +his own, encouraged himself to think that the good might be recovered +and the bad eliminated. Marius and Sulla--Pompey also, toward the end of +his career, if I can read his character rightly--Cæsar, and of course +Augustus, being all destitute of scruple, strove to acquire, each for +himself, the power which the weak hands of the Senate were unable to +grasp. However much, or however little, the country of itself might have +been to any of them, it seemed good to him, whether for the country's +sake or for his own, that the rule should be in his own hands. Each had +the opportunity, and each used it, or tried to use it. With Cicero there +is always present the longing to restore the power to the old +constitutional possessors of it. So much is admitted, even by his bitter +enemies; and I am sometimes at a loss whether to wonder most that a man +of letters, dead two thousand years ago, should have enemies so bitter +or a friend so keenly in earnest about him as I am. Cicero was aware +quite as well as any who lived then, if he did not see the matter +clearer even than any others, that there was much that was rotten in the +State. Men who had been murderers on behalf of Marius, and then others +who had murdered on behalf of Sulla--among whom that Catiline, of whom +we have to speak presently, had been one--were not apt to settle +themselves down as quiet citizens. The laws had been set aside. Even the +law courts had been closed. Sulla had been law, and the closets of his +favorites had been the law courts. Senators had been cowed and obedient. +The Tribunes had only been mock Tribunes. Rome, when Cicero began his +public life, was still trembling. The Consuls of the day were men chosen +at Sulla's command. The army was Sulla's army. The courts were now again +opened by Sulla's permission. The day fixed by Sulla when murderers +might no longer murder--or, at any rate, should not be paid for +murdering--had arrived. There was not, one would say, much hope for good +things. But Sulla had reproduced the signs of order, and the best hope +lay in that direction. Consuls, Prætors, Quæstors, Ædiles, even +Tribunes, were still there. Perhaps it might be given to him, to Cicero, +to strengthen the hands of such officers. At any rate, there was no +better course open to him by which he could serve his country. + +The heaviest accusation brought against Cicero charges him with being +insincere to the various men with whom he was brought in contact in +carrying out the purpose of his life, and he has also been accused of +having changed his purpose. It has been alleged that, having begun life +as a democrat, he went over to the aristocracy as soon as he had secured +his high office of State. As we go on, it will be my object to show that +he was altogether sincere in his purpose, that he never changed his +political idea, and that, in these deviations as to men and as to means, +whether, for instance, he was ready to serve Cæsar or to oppose him, he +was guided, even in the insincerity of his utterances, by the sincerity +of his purpose. I think that I can remember, even in Great Britain, even +in the days of Queen Victoria, men sitting check by jowl on the same +Treasury bench who have been very bitter to each other with anything but +friendly words. With us fidelity in friendship is, happily, a virtue. In +Rome expediency governed everything. All I claim for Cicero is, that he +was more sincere than others around him. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +_HIS EARLY PLEADINGS.--SEXTUS ROSCIUS AMERINUS.--HIS INCOME._ + + +[Sidenote: B.C. 80, ætat. 27.] + +We now come to the beginning of the work of Cicero's life. This at first +consisted in his employment as an advocate, from which he gradually rose +into public or political occupation, as so often happens with a +successful barrister in our time. We do not know with absolute certainty +even in what year Cicero began his pleadings, or in what cause. It may +probably have been in 81 B.C., when he was twenty-five, or in his +twenty-sixth year. Of the pleadings of which we know the particulars, +that in the defence of Sextus Roscius Amerinus, which took place +undoubtedly in the year 80 B.C., ætat twenty-seven, was probably the +earliest. As to that, we have his speech nearly entire, as we have also +one for Publius Quintius, which has generally been printed first among +the orator's works. It has, however, I think, been made clear that that +spoken for Sextus Roscius came before it. It is certain that there had +been others before either of them. In that for Sextus he says that he +had never spoken before in any public cause,[61] such as was the +accusation in which he was now engaged, from which the inference has to +be made that he had been engaged in private causes; and in that for +Quintius he declares that there was wanting to him in that matter an aid +which he had been accustomed to enjoy in others.[62] No doubt he had +tried his 'prentice hand in cases of less importance. That of these two +the defence of Sextus Roscius came first, is also to be found in his own +words. More than once, in pleading for Quintius, he speaks of the +proscriptions and confiscations of Sulla as evils then some time past. +These were brought nominally to a close in June, 81; but it has been +supposed by those who have placed this oration first that it was spoken +in that very year. This seems to have been impossible. "I am most +unwilling," says he, "to call to mind that subject, the very memory of +which should be wiped out from our thoughts."[63] When the tone of the +two speeches is compared, it will become evident that that for Sextus +Roscius was spoken the first. It was, as I have said, spoken in his +twenty-seventh year, B.C. 80, the year after the proscription lists had +been closed, when Sulla was still Dictator, and when the sales of +confiscated goods, though no longer legal, were still carried on under +assumed authority. As to such violation of Sulla's own enactment, Cicero +excuses the Dictator in this very speech, likening him to Great Jove the +Thunderer. Even "Jupiter Optimus Maximus," as he is whose nod the +heavens, the earth, and seas obey--even he cannot so look after his +numerous affairs but that the winds and the storms will be too strong +sometimes, or the heat too great, or the cold too bitter. If so, how can +we wonder that Sulla, who has to rule the State, to govern, in fact, the +world, should not be able himself to see to everything? Jove probably +found it convenient not to see many things. Such must certainly have +been the case with Sulla. + +I will venture, as other biographers have done before, to tell the story +of Sextus Roscius of Ameria at some length, because it is in itself a +tale of powerful romance, mysterious, grim, betraying guilt of the +deepest dye, misery most profound, and audacity unparalleled; because, +in a word, it is as interesting as any novel that modern fiction has +produced; and also, I will tell it, because it lets in a flood of light +upon the condition of Rome at the time. Our hair is made to stand on end +when we remember that men had to pick their steps in such a State as +this, and to live if it were possible, and, if not, then to be ready to +die. We come in upon the fag-end of the proscription, and see, not the +bloody wreath of Sulla as he triumphed on his Marian foes, not the cruel +persecution of the ruler determined to establish his order of things by +slaughtering every foe, but the necessary accompaniments of such +ruthless deeds--those attendant villanies for which the Jupiter Optimus +Maximus of the day had neither ears nor eyes. If in history we can ever +get a glimpse at the real life of the people, it is always more +interesting than any account of the great facts, however grand. + +The Kalends of June had been fixed by Sulla as the day on which the +slaughter legalized by the proscriptions should cease. In the September +following an old gentleman named Sextus Roscius was murdered in the +streets of Rome as he was going home from supper one night, attended by +two slaves. By whom he was murdered, probably more than one or two knew +then, but nobody knows now. He was a man of reputation, well acquainted +with the Metelluses and Messalas of the day, and passing rich. His name +had been down on no proscription list, for he had been a friend of +Sulla's friends. He was supposed, when he was murdered, to be worth +about six million of sesterces, or something between fifty and sixty +thousand pounds of our money. Though there was at that time much money +in Rome, this amounted to wealth; and though we cannot say who murdered +the man, we may feel sure that he was murdered for his money. + +Immediately on his death his chattels were seized and sold--or divided, +probably, without being sold--including his slaves, in whom, as with +every rich Roman, much of his wealth was invested; and his landed +estates--his farms, of which he had many--were also divided. As to the +actual way in which this was done, we are left much in the dark. Had the +name of Sextus Roscius been on one of the lists, even though the list +would then have been out of date, we could have understood that it +should have been so. Jupiter Optimus Maximus could not see everything, +and great advantages were taken. We must only suppose that things were +so much out of order that they who had been accustomed to seize upon the +goods of the proscribed were able to stretch their hands so as to grasp +almost anything that came in their way. They could no longer procure a +rich man's name to be put down on the list, but they could pretend that +it had been put down. At any rate, certain persons seized and divided +the chattels of the murdered man as though he had been proscribed. + +Old Roscius, when he was killed, had one son, of whom we are told that +he lived always in the country at Ameria, looking after his father's +farms, never visiting the capital, which was distant from Ameria +something under fifty miles; a rough, uncouth, and probably honest +man--one, at any rate, to whom the ways of the city were unknown, and +who must have been but partially acquainted with the doings of the +time.[64] As we read the story, we feel that very much depends on the +character of this man, and we are aware that our only description of him +comes from his own advocate. Cicero would probably say much which, +though beyond the truth, could not be absolutely refuted, but would +state as facts nothing that was absolutely false. Cicero describes him +as a middle-aged man, who never left his farm, doing his duty well by +his father, as whose agent he acted on the land--a simple, unambitious, +ignorant man, to whom one's sympathies are due rather than our +antipathy, because of his devotion to agriculture. He was now accused of +having murdered his father. The accusation was conducted by one Erucius, +who in his opening speech--the speech made before that by Cicero--had +evidently spoken ill of rural employments. Then Cicero reminds him, and +the judges, and the Court how greatly agriculture had been honored in +the old days, when Consuls were taken from the ploughs. The imagination, +however, of the reader pictures to itself a man who could hardly have +been a Consul at any time--one silent, lonely, uncouth, and altogether +separate from the pleasant intercourses of life. Erucius had declared of +him that he never took part in any festivity. Cicero uses this to show +that he was not likely to have been tempted by luxury to violence. Old +Roscius had had two sons, of whom he had kept one with him in Rome--the +one, probably, whose society had been dearest to him. He, however, had +died, and our Roscius--Sextus Roscius Amerinus, as he came to be called +when he was made famous by the murder--was left on one of the farms down +in the country. The accusation would probably not have been made, had he +not been known to be a man sullen, silent, rough, and unpopular--as to +whom such a murder might be supposed to be credible. + +Why should any accusation have been made unless there was clear evidence +as to guilt? That is the first question which presents itself. This son +received no benefit from his father's death. He had in fact been +absolutely beggared by it--had lost the farm, the farming utensils, +every slave in the place, all of which had belonged to his father, and +not to himself. They had been taken, and divided; taken by persons +called "Sectores," informers or sequestrators, who took possession of +and sold--or did not sell--confiscated goods. Such men in this case had +pounced down upon the goods of the murdered man at once and swallowed +them all up, not leaving an acre or a slave to our Roscius. Cicero tells +us who divided the spoil among them. There were two other Rosciuses, +distant relatives, probably, both named Titus; Titus Roscius Magnus, who +sojourned in Rome, and who seems to have exercised the trade of informer +and assassin during the proscriptions, and Titus Roscius Capito, who, +when at home, lived at Ameria, but of whom Cicero tells us that he had +become an apt pupil of the other during this affair. They had got large +shares, but they shared also with one Chrysogonus, the freedman and +favorite of Sulla, who did the dirty work for Jupiter Optimus Maximus +when Jupiter Optimus Maximus had not time to do it himself. We presume +that Chrysogonus had the greater part of the plunder. As to Capito, the +apt pupil, we are told again and again that he got three farms for +himself. + +Again, it is necessary to say that all these facts come from Cicero, +who, in accordance with the authorized practice of barristers, would +scruple at saying nothing which he found in his instructions. How +instructions were conveyed to an advocate in those days we do not quite +know. There was no system of attorneys. But the story was probably made +out for the "patronus" or advocate by an underling, and in some way +prepared for him. That which was thus prepared he exaggerated as the +case might seem to require. It has to be understood of Cicero that he +possessed great art and, no doubt, great audacity in such exaggeration; +in regard to which we should certainly not bear very heavily upon him +now, unless we are prepared to bear more heavily upon those who do the +same thing in our own enlightened days. But Cicero, even as a young man, +knew his business much too well to put forward statements which could be +disproved. The accusation came first; then the speech in defence; after +that the evidence, which was offered only on the side of the accuser, +and which was subject to cross-examination. Cicero would have no +opportunity of producing evidence. He was thus exempted from the +necessity of proving his statements, but was subject to have them all +disproved. I think we may take it for granted that the property of the +murdered man was divided as he tells us. + +If that was so, why should any accusation have been made? Our Sextus +seems to have been too much crushed by the dangers of his position to +have attempted to get back any part of his father's wealth. He had +betaken himself to the protection of a certain noble lady, one Metella, +whose family had been his father's friends, and by her and her friends +the defence was no doubt managed. "You have my farms," he is made to say +by his advocate; "I live on the charity of another. I abandon everything +because I am placid by nature, and because it must be so. My house, +which is closed to me, is open to you: I endure it. You have possessed +yourself of my whole establishment; I have not one single slave. I +suffer all this, and feel that I must suffer it. What do you want more? +Why do you persecute me further? In what do you think that I shall hurt +you? How do I interfere with you? In what do I oppose you? Is it your +wish to kill a man for the sake of plunder? You have your plunder. If +for the sake of hatred, what hatred can you feel against him of whose +land you have taken possession before you had even known him?"[65] Of +all this, which is the advocate's appeal to pity, we may believe as +little as we please. Cicero is addressing the judge, and desires only an +acquittal. But the argument shows that no overt act in quest of +restitution had as yet been made. Nevertheless, Chrysogonus feared such +action, and had arranged with the two Tituses that something should be +done to prevent it. What are we to think of the condition of a city in +which not only could a man be murdered for his wealth walking home from +supper--that, indeed, might happen in London if there existed the means +of getting at the man's money when the man was dead--but in which such a +plot could be concerted in order that the robbery might be consummated? +"We have murdered the man and taken his money under the false plea that +his goods had been confiscated. Friends, we find, are interfering--these +Metellas and Metelluses, probably. There is a son who is the natural +heir. Let us say that he killed his own father. The courts of law, which +have only just been reopened since the dear days of proscription, +disorder, and confiscation, will hardly yet be alert enough to acquit a +man in opposition to the Dictator's favorite. Let us get him convicted, +and, as a parricide, sewed up alive in a bag and thrown into the +river"--as some of us have perhaps seen cats drowned, for such was the +punishment--"and then he at least will not disturb us." It must have +thus been that the plot was arranged. + +It was a plot so foul that nothing could be fouler; but not the less was +it carried out persistently with the knowledge and the assistance of +many. Erucius, the accuser, who seems to have been put forward on the +part of Chrysogonus, asserted that the man had caused his father to be +murdered because of hatred. The father was going to disinherit the son, +and therefore the son murdered the father. In this there might have been +some probability, had there been any evidence of such an intention on +the father's part. But there was none. Cicero declares that the father +had never thought of disinheriting his son. There had been no quarrel, +no hatred. This had been assumed as a reason--falsely. There was in +fact no cause for such a deed; nor was it possible that the son should +have done it. The father was killed in Rome when, as was evident, the +son was fifty miles off. He never left his farm. Erucius, the accuser, +had said, and had said truly, that Rome was full of murderers.[66] But +who was the most likely to have employed such a person: this rough +husbandman, who had no intercourse with Rome, who knew no one there, who +knew little of Roman ways, who had nothing to get by the murder when +committed, or they who had long been concerned with murderers, who knew +Rome, and who were now found to have the property in their hands? + +The two slaves who had been with the old man when he was killed, surely +they might tell something? Here there comes out incidentally the fact +that slaves when they were examined as witnesses were tortured, quite as +a matter of course, so that their evidence might be extracted. This is +spoken of with no horror by Cicero, nor, as far as I can remember, by +other Roman writers. It was regarded as an established rule of life that +a slave, if brought into a court of law, should be made to tell the +truth by such appliances. This was so common that one is tempted to +hope, and almost to suppose that the "question" was not ordinarily +administered with circumstances of extreme cruelty. We hear, indeed, of +slaves having their liberty given them in order that, being free, they +may not be forced by torture to tell the truth;[67] but had the cruelty +been of the nature described by Scott in "Old Mortality," when the poor +preacher's limbs were mangled, I think we should have heard more of it. +Nor was the torture always applied, but only when the expected evidence +was not otherwise forth-coming. Cicero explains, in the little dialogue +given below, how the thing was carried on.[68] "You had better tell the +truth now, my friend: Was it so and so?" The slave knows that, if he +says it was so, there is the cross for him, or the "little horse;" but +that, if he will say the contrary, he will save his joints from racking. +And yet the evidence went for what it was worth. + +In this case of Roscius there had certainly been two slaves present; but +Cicero, who, as counsel for the defence, could call no witnesses, had +not the power to bring them into court; nor could slaves have been made +to give evidence against their masters. These slaves, who had belonged +to the murdered man, were now the property either of Chrysogonus or of +the two Tituses. There was no getting at their evidence but by +permission of their masters, and this was withheld. Cicero demands that +they shall be produced, knowing that the demand will have no effect. +"The man here," he says, pointing to the accused, "asks for it, prays +for it. What will you do in this case? Why do you refuse?"[69] + +By this time the reader is brought to feel that the accused person +cannot possibly have been guilty; and if the reader, how much more the +hearer? Then Cicero goes on to show who in truth were guilty. "Doubt now +if you can, judges, by whom Roscius was killed: whether by him who, by +his father's death, is plunged into poverty and trouble--who is +forbidden even to investigate the truth--or by those who are afraid of +real evidence, who themselves possess the plunder, who live in the midst +of murder, and on the proceeds of murder."[70] + +Then he addresses one of the Tituses, Titus Magnus, who seems to have +been sitting in the court, and who is rebuked for his impudence in doing +so: "Who can doubt who was the murderer--you who have got all the +plunder, or this man who has lost everything? But if it be added to this +that you were a pauper before--that you have been known as a greedy +fellow, as a dare-devil, as the avowed enemy of him who has been +killed--then need one ask what has brought you to do such a deed as +this?"[71] + +He next tells what took place, as far as it was known, immediately after +the murder. The man had been killed coming home from supper, in +September, after it was dark, say at eight or nine o'clock, and the fact +was known in Ameria before dawn. Travelling was not then very quick; but +a messenger, one Mallius Glaucia, a man on very close terms with Titus +Magnus, was sent down at once in a light gig to travel through the night +and take the information to Titus Capito Why was all this hurry? How did +Glaucia hear of the murder so quickly? What cause to travel all through +the night? Why was it necessary that Capito should know all about it at +once? "I cannot think," says Cicero, "only that I see that Capito has +got three of the farms out of the thirteen which the murdered man +owned!" But Capito is to be produced as a witness, and Cicero gives us +to understand what sort of cross-examination he will have to undergo. + +In all this the reader has to imagine much, and to come to conclusions +as to facts of which he has no evidence. When that hurried messenger was +sent, there was probably no idea of accusing the son. The two real +contrivers of the murder would have been more on their guard had they +intended such a course. It had been conceived that when the man was dead +and his goods seized, the fear of Sulla's favorite, the still customary +dread of the horrors of the time, would cause the son to shrink from +inquiry. Hitherto, when men had been killed and their goods taken, even +if the killing and the taking had not been done strictly in accordance +with Sulla's ordinance, it had been found safer to be silent and to +endure; but this poor wretch, Sextus, had friends in Rome--friends who +were friends of Sulla--of whom Chrysogonus and the Tituses had probably +not bethought themselves. When it came to pass that more stir was made +than they had expected, then the accusation became necessary. + +But, in order to obtain the needed official support and aid, Chrysogonus +must be sought. Sulla was then at Volaterra, in Etruria perhaps 150 +miles north-west from Rome, and with him was his favorite Chrysogonus. +In four days from the time of this murder the news was earned thither, +and, so Cicero states, by the same messenger--by Glaucia--who had taken +it to Ameria. Chrysogonus immediately saw to the selling of the goods, +and from this Cicero implies that Chrysogonus and the two Tituses were +in partnership. + +But it seems that when the fact of the death of old Roscius was known at +Ameria--at which place he was an occasional resident himself, and the +most conspicuous man in the place--the inhabitants, struck with horror, +determined to send a deputation to Sulla. Something of what was being +done with their townsman's property was probably known, and there seems +to have been a desire for justice. Ten townsmen were chosen to go to +Sulla, and to beg that he would personally look into the matter. Here, +again, we are very much in the dark, because this very Capito, to whom +these farms were allotted as his share, was not only chosen to be one of +the ten, but actually became their spokesman and their manager. The +great object was to keep Sulla himself in the dark, and this Capito +managed to do by the aid of Chrysogonus. None of the ten were allowed to +see Sulla. They are hoaxed into believing that Chrysogonus himself will +look to it, and so they go back to Ameria, having achieved nothing. We +are tempted to believe that the deputation was a false deputation, each +of whom probably had his little share, so that in this way there might +be an appearance of justice. If it was so, Cicero has not chosen to tell +that part of the story, having, no doubt, some good advocate's reason +for omitting it. + +So far the matter had gone with the Tituses, and with Chrysogonus who +had got his lion's share. Our poor Roscius, the victim, did at first +abandon his property, and allow himself to be awed into silence. We +cannot but think that he was a poor creature, and can fancy that he had +lived a wretched life during all the murders of the Sullan +proscriptions. But in his abject misery he had found his way up among +the great friends of his family at Rome, and had there been charged with +the parricide, because Chrysogonus and the Tituses began to be afraid of +what these great friends might do. + +This is the story as Cicero has been able to tell it in his speech. +Beyond that, we only know that the man was acquitted. Whether he got +back part of his father's property there is nothing to inform us. +Whether further inquiry was made as to the murder; whether evil befell +those two Tituses or Chrysogonus was made to disgorge, there has been no +one to inform us. The matter was of little importance in Rome, where +murders and organized robberies of the kind were the common incidents of +every-day life. History would have meddled with nothing so ordinary had +not it happened that the case fell into the hands of a man so great a +master of his language that it has been worth the while of ages to +perpetuate the speech which he made in the matter. But the story, as a +story of Roman life, is interesting, and it gives a slight aid to +history in explaining the condition of things which Sulla had produced. + +The attack upon Chrysogonus is bold, and cannot but have been offensive +to Sulla, though Sulla is by name absolved from immediate blame. +Chrysogonus himself, the favorite, he does not spare, saying words so +bitter of tone that one would think that the judges--Sulla's +judges--would have stopped him, had they been able. "Putting aside +Sextus Roscius," he says, "I demand, first of all, why the goods of an +esteemed citizen were sold; then, why have the goods been sold of one +who had not himself been proscribed, and who had not been killed while +defending Sulla's enemies? It is against those only that the law is +made. Then I demand why they were sold when the legal day for such sales +had passed, and why they were sold for such a trifle."[72] Then he gives +us a picture of Chrysogonus flaunting down the streets. "You have seen +him, judges, how, his locks combed and perfumed, he swims along the +Forum"--he, a freedman, with a crowd of Roman citizens at his heels, +that all may see that he thinks himself inferior to none--"the only +happy man of the day, the only one with any power in his hands."[73] + +This trial was, as has been said, a "causa publica," a criminal +accusation of such importance as to demand that it should be tried +before a full bench of judges. Of these the number would be uncertain, +but they were probably above fifty. The Prætor of the day--the Prætor to +whom by lot had fallen for that year that peculiar duty--presided, and +the judges all sat round him. Their duty seems to have consisted in +listening to the pleadings, and then in voting. Each judge could +vote[74] "guilty," "acquitted," or "not proven," as they do in Scotland. +They were, in fact, jurymen rather than judges. It does not seem that +any amount of legal lore was looked for specially in the judges, who at +different periods had been taken from various orders of the citizens, +but who at this moment, by a special law enacted by Sulla, were selected +only from the Senators. We have ample evidence that at this period the +judges in Rome were most corrupt. They were tainted by a double +corruption: that of standing by their order instead of standing by the +public--each man among them feeling that his turn to be accused might +come--and that also of taking direct bribes. Cicero on various +occasions--on this, for instance, and notably in the trial of Verres, to +which we shall come soon--felt very strongly that his only means of +getting a true verdict from the majority of judges was to frighten them +into temporary honesty by the magnitude of the occasion. If a trial +could be slurred through with indifferent advocates, with nothing to +create public notice, with no efforts of genius to attract admiration, +and a large attendance and consequent sympathy the judgment would, as a +matter of course, be bought. In such a case as this of Sextus Roscius, +the poor wretch would be condemned, sewed up in his bag, and thrown into +the sea, a portion of the plunder would be divided among the judges, and +nothing further would be said about it. But if an orator could achieve +for himself such a reputation that the world would come and listen to +him, if he could so speak that Rome should be made to talk about the +trial, then might the judges be frightened into a true verdict. It may +be understood, therefore, of what importance it was to obtain the +services of a Cicero, or of a Hortensius, who was unrivalled at the +Roman bar when Cicero began to plead. + +There were three special modes of oratory in which Cicero displayed his +powers. He spoke either before the judges--a large body of judges who +sat collected round the Prætor, as in the case of Sextus Roscius--or in +cases of civil law before a single judge, selected by the Prætor, who +sat with an assessor, as in the case of Roscius the actor, which shall +be mentioned just now. This was the recognized work of his life, in +which he was engaged, at any rate, in his earlier years; or he spoke to +the populace, in what was called the Concio, or assembly of the +people--speeches made before a crowd called together for a special +purpose, as were the second and third orations against Catiline; or in +the Senate, in which a political rather than a judicial sentence was +sought from the votes of the Senators. There was a fourth mode of +address, which in the days of the Emperors became common, when the +advocate spoke "ad Principem;" that is, to the Emperor himself, or to +some ruler acting for him as sole judge. It was thus that Cicero pleaded +before Cæsar for Ligarius and for King Deiotarus, in the latter years of +his life. In each of these a separate manner and a distinct line had to +be adopted, in all of which he seems to have been equally happy, and +equally powerful. In judging of his speeches, we are bound to remember +that they were not probably uttered with their words arranged as we read +them. Some of those we have were never spoken at all, as was the case +with the five last Verrene orations, and with the second, by far the +longest of the Philippics. Some, as was specially the case with the +defence of Milo, the language of which is perhaps as perfect as that of +any oration which has reached us from ancient or modern days, were only +spoken in part; so that that which we read bears but small relation to +that which was heard. All were probably retouched for publication.[75] +That words so perfect in their construction should have flowed from a +man's mouth, often with but little preparation, we cannot conceive. But +we know from the evidence of the day, and from the character which +remained of him through after Roman ages, how great was the immediate +effect of his oratory. We can imagine him, in this case of Sextus +Roscius, standing out in the open air in the Forum, with the movable +furniture of the court around him, the seats on which the judges sat +with the Prætor in the midst of them, all Senators in their white robes, +with broad purple borders. There too were seated, we may suppose on +lower benches, the friends of the accused and the supporters of the +accusation, and around, at the back of the orator, was such a crowd as +he by the character of his eloquence may have drawn to the spot. Cicero +was still a young man; but his name had made itself known and we can +imagine that some tidings had got abroad as to the bold words which +would be spoken in reference to Sulla and Chrysogonus. The scene must +have been very different from that of one of our dingy courts, in which +the ermine is made splendid only by the purity and learning of the man +who wears it. In Rome all exterior gifts were there. Cicero knew how to +use them, so that the judges who made so large a part in the pageant +should not dare to disgrace themselves because of its publicity. +Quintilian gives his pupils much advice as to the way in which they +should dress themselves[76] and hold their togas--changing the folds of +the garment so as to suit the different parts of the speech--how they +should move their arms, and hold their heads, and turn their necks; even +how they should comb their hair when they came to stand in public and +plead at the bar. All these arts, with many changes, no doubt, as years +rolled on, had come down to him from days before Cicero; but he always +refers to Cicero as though his were the palmy days of Roman eloquence. +We can well believe that Cicero had studied many of these arts by his +twenty-seventh year--that he knew how to hold his toga and how to drop +it--how to make the proper angle with his elbow--how to comb his hair, +and yet not be a fop--and to add to the glory of his voice all the +personal graces which were at his command. + +Sextus Roscius Amerinus, with all his misfortunes, injustices, and +miseries, is now to us no more than the name of a fable; but to those +who know it, the fable is, I think, more attractive than most novels. + +We know that Cicero pleaded other causes before he went to Greece in the +year 79 B.C., especially those for Publius Quintius, of which we have +his speech, and that for a lady of Arretium, in which he defended her +right to be regarded as a free woman of that city. In this speech he +again attacked Sulla, the rights of the lady in question having been +placed in jeopardy by an enactment made by the Dictator; and again +Cicero was successful. This is not extant. Then he started on his +travels, as to which I have already spoken. While he was absent Sulla +died, and the condition of the Republic during his absence was anything +but hopeful. Lepidus was Consul during these two years, than whom no +weaker officer ever held rule in Rome--or rebelled against Rome; and +Sertorius, who was in truth a great man, was in arms against Rome in +Spain, as a rebel, though he was in truth struggling to create a new +Roman power, which should be purer than that existing in Italy. What +Cicero thought of the condition of his country at this time we have no +means of knowing. If he then wrote letters, they have not been +preserved. His spoken words speak plainly enough of the condition of the +courts of law, and let us know how resolved he was to oppose himself to +their iniquities. A young man may devote himself to politics with as +much ardor as a senior, but he cannot do so if he be intent on a +profession. It is only when his business is so well grasped by him as to +sit easily on him, that he is able to undertake the second occupation. + +There is a rumor that Cicero, when he returned home from Greece, thought +for awhile of giving himself up to philosophy, so that he was called +Greek and Sophist in ridicule. It is not, however, to be believed that +he ever for a moment abandoned the purpose he had formed for his own +career. It will become evident as we go on with his life, that this +so-called philosophy of the Greeks was never to him a matter of more +than interesting inquiry. A full, active, human life, in which he might +achieve for himself all the charms of high rank, gilded by intelligence, +erudition, and refined luxury, in which also he might serve his country, +his order, and his friends--just such a life as our leading men propose +to themselves here, to-day, in our country--this is what Cicero had +determined to achieve from his earliest years, and it was not likely +that he should be turned from it by the pseudo logic of Greek +philosophers. That the logic even of the Academy was false to him we +have ample evidence, not only in his life but in his writings. There is +a story that, during his travels, he consulted the oracle at Delphi as +to his future career, and that on being told that he must look to his +own genius and not to the opinion of the world at large, he determined +to abandon the honors of the Republic. That he should have talked among +the young men of the day of his philosophic investigations till they +laughed at him and gave him a nickname, may be probable, but it cannot +have been that he ever thought of giving up the bar. + +In the year of his return to Rome, when he was thirty, he married +Terentia, a noble lady, of whom we are informed that she had a good +fortune, and that her sister was one of the Vestal Virgins.[77] Her +nobility is inferred from the fact that the virgins were, as a rule, +chosen from the noble families, though the law required only that they +should be the daughters of free parents, and of persons engaged in no +mean pursuits. As to the more important question of Terentia's fortune +there has never been a doubt. Plutarch, however, does not make it out to +have been very great, assuming a sum which was equal to about £4200 of +our money. He tells us at the same time that Cicero's own fortune was +less than £4000. But in both of these statements, Plutarch, who was +forced to take his facts where he could get them, and was not very +particular in his authority, probably erred. The early education of +Cicero, and the care taken to provide him with all that money could +purchase, is, I think, conclusive of his father's wealth; and the mode +of life adopted by Cicero shows that at no period did he think it +necessary to live as men do live with small incomes. + +We shall find, as we go on, that he spent his money freely, as men did +at Rome who had the command of large means. We are aware that he was +often in debt. We find that from his letters. But he owed money not as a +needy man does, but as one who is speculative, sanguine, and quite +confident of his own resources. The management of incomes was not so +fixed a thing then as it is with us now. Speculation was even more +rampant, and rising men were willing and were able to become indebted +for enormous sums, having no security to offer but the promise of their +future career. Cæsar's debts during various times of his life were +proverbial. He is said to have owed over £300,000 before he reached his +first step in the public employment. Cicero rushed into no such danger +as this. We know, indeed, that when the time came to him for public +expenditure on a great scale, as, for instance, when he was filling the +office of Ædile, he kept within bounds, and he did not lavish money +which he did not possess. We know also that he refrained, altogether +refrained, from the iniquitous habits of making large fortunes which +were open to the great politicians of the Republic. To be Quæstor that +he might be Ædile, Ædile that he might be Prætor and Consul, and Prætor +and Consul that he might rob a province--pillage Sicily, Spain, or Asia, +and then at last come back a rich man, rich enough to cope with all his +creditors, and to bribe the judges should he be accused for his +misdeeds--these were the usual steps to take by enterprising Romans +toward power, wealth, and enjoyment. But it will be observed, in this +sequence of circumstances, the robbery of the province was essential to +success. This was sometimes done after so magnificent a fashion as to +have become an immortal fact in history. The instance of Verres will be +narrated in the next chapter but one. Something of moderation was more +general, so that the fleeced provincial might still live, and prefer +sufferance to the doubtful chances of recovery. A Proconsul might rob a +great deal, and still return with hands apparently clean, bringing with +him a score of provincial Deputies to laud his goodness before the +citizens at home. But Cicero robbed not at all. Even they who have been +most hard upon his name, accusing him of insincerity and sometimes of +want of patriotism, because his Roman mode of declaring himself without +reserve in his letters has been perpetuated for us by the excellence of +their language, even they have acknowledged that he kept his hands +studiously clean in the service of his country, when to have clean hands +was so peculiar as to be regarded as absurd. + +There were other means in which a noble Roman might make money, and +might do so without leaving the city. An orator might be paid for his +services as an advocate. Cicero, had such a trade been opened to him, +might have made almost any sum to which his imagination could have +stretched itself. Such a trade was carried on to a very great extent. It +was illegal, such payment having been forbidden by the "Lex Cincia De +Muneribus," passed more than a century before Cicero began his +pleadings.[78] But the law had become a dead letter in the majority of +cases. There can be no doubt that Hortensius, the predecessor and great +rival of Cicero, took presents, if not absolute payment. Indeed, the +myth of honorary work, which is in itself absurd, was no more +practicable in Rome than it has been found to be in England, where every +barrister is theoretically presumed to work for nothing. That the "Lex +Cincia," as far as the payment of advocates went, was absurd, may be +allowed by us all. Services for which no regular payment can be exacted +will always cost more than those which have a defined price. But Cicero +would not break the law. It has been hinted rather than stated that he, +like other orators of the day, had his price. He himself tells us that +he took nothing; and no instance has been adduced that he had ever done +so. He is free enough in accusing Hortensius of having accepted a +beautiful statuette, an ivory sphinx of great value. What he knew of +Hortensius, Hortensius would have known of him, had it been there to +know; and what Hortensius or others had heard would certainly have been +told. As far as we can learn, there is no ground for accusing Cicero of +taking fees or presents beyond the probability that he would do so. I +think we are justified in believing that he did not do so, because those +who watched his conduct closely found no opportunity of exposing him. +That he was paid by different allied States for undertaking their +protection in the Senate, is probable, such having been a custom not +illegal. We know that he was specially charged with the affairs of +Dyrrachium, and had probably amicable relations with other allied +communities. This, however, must have been later in life, when his name +was sufficiently high to insure the value of his services, and when he +was a Senator. + +Noble Romans also--noble as they were, and infinitely superior to the +little cares of trade--were accustomed to traffic very largely in usury. +We shall have a terrible example of such baseness on the part of +Brutus--that Brutus whom we have been taught to regard as almost on a +par with Cato in purity. To lend money to citizens, or more profitably +to allied States and cities, at enormous rates of interest, was the +ordinary resource of a Roman nobleman in quest of revenue. The allied +city, when absolutely eaten to the bone by one noble Roman, who had +plundered it as Proconsul or Governor, would escape from its immediate +embarrassment by borrowing money from another noble Roman, who would +then grind its very bones in exacting his interest and his principal. +Cicero, in the most perfect of his works--the treatise De Officiis, an +essay in which he instructs his son as to the way in which a man should +endeavor to live so as to be a gentleman--inveighs both against trade +and usury. When he tells us that they are to be accounted mean who buy +in order that they may sell, we, with our later lights, do not quite +agree with him, although he founds his assertion on an idea which is too +often supported by the world's practice, namely, that men cannot do a +retail business profitably without lying.[79] The doctrine, however, has +always been common that retail trade is not compatible with noble +bearing, and was practised by all Romans who aspired to be considered +among the upper classes. That other and certainly baser means of making +money by usury was, however, only too common. Crassus, the noted rich +man of Rome in Cæsar's day, who was one of the first Triumvirate, and +who perished ignominiously in Parthia, was known to have gathered much +of his wealth by such means. But against this Cicero is as staunchly +severe as against shopkeeping. "First of all," he says, "these profits +are despicable which incur the hatred of men, such as those of gatherers +of custom and lenders of money on usury."[80] + +Again, we are entitled to say that Cicero did not condescend to enrich +himself by the means which he himself condemns, because, had he done so, +the accusations made against him by his contemporaries would have +reached our ears. Nor is it probable that a man in addressing his son as +to rules of life would have spoken against a method of gathering riches +which, had he practised it himself, must have been known to his son. His +rules were severe as compared with the habits of the time. His dear +friend Atticus did not so govern his conduct, or Brutus, who, when he +wrote the De Officiis, was only less dear to him than Atticus. But +Cicero himself seems to have done so faithfully. We learn from his +letter that he owned house-property in Rome to a considerable extent, +having probably thus invested his own money or that of his wife. He +inherited also the family house at Arpinum. He makes it a matter for +boasting that he had received in the course of his life by legacies +nearly £200,000 (twenty million sesterces), in itself a source of great +income, and one common with Romans of high position.[81] Of the extent +of his income it is impossible to speak, or even make a guess. But we do +know that he lived always as a rich man--as one who regards such a +condition of life as essentially proper to him; and that though he was +often in debt, as was customary with noble Romans, he could always write +about his debts in a vein of pleasantry, showing that they were not a +heavy burden to him; and we know that he could at all times command for +himself villas, books, statues, ornaments, columns, galleries, charming +shades, and all the delicious appendages of mingled wealth and +intelligence. He was as might be some English marquis, who, though up to +his eyes in mortgages, is quite sure that he will never want any of the +luxuries befitting a marquis. Though we have no authority to tell us how +his condition of life became what it was, it is necessary that we should +understand that condition if we are to get a clear insight into his +life. Of that condition we have ample evidence. He commenced his career +as a youth upon whose behalf nothing was spared, and when he settled +himself in Rome, with the purport of winning for himself the highest +honors of the Republic, he did so with the means of living like a +nobleman. + +But the point on which it is most necessary to insist is this: that +while so many--I may almost say all around him in his own order--were +unscrupulous as to their means of getting money, he kept his hands +clean. The practice then was much as it is now. A gentleman in our days +is supposed to have his hands clean; but there has got abroad among us a +feeling that, only let a man rise high enough, soil will not stick to +him. To rob is base; but if you rob enough, robbery will become heroism, +or, at any rate, magnificence. With Cæsar his debts have been accounted +happy audacity; his pillage of Gaul and Spain, and of Rome also, have +indicated only the success of the great General; his cruelty, which in +cold-blooded efficiency has equalled if not exceeded the +blood-thirstiness of any other tyrant, has been called clemency.[82] I +do not mean to draw a parallel between Cæsar and Cicero. No two men +could have been more different in their natures or in their career. But +the one has been lauded because he was unscrupulous, and the other has +incurred reproach because, at every turn and twist in his life, scruples +dominated him. I do not say that he always did what he thought to be +right. A man who doubts much can never do that. The thing that was right +to him in the thinking became wrong to him in the doing. That from which +he has shrunk as evil when it was within his grasp, takes the color of +good when it has been beyond his reach. Cicero had not the stuff in him +to rule the Rome and the Romans of his period; but he was a man whose +hands were free from all stain, either of blood or money; and for so +much let him, at any rate, have the credit. + +Between the return of Cicero to Rome in 77 B.C. and his election as +Quæstor in 75, in which period he married Terentia, he made various +speeches in different causes, of which only one remains to us, or +rather, a small part of one. This is notable as having been spoken in +behalf of that Roscius, the great comic actor, whose name has become +familiar to us on account of his excellence, almost as have those of +Garrick, of Siddons, and of Talma. It was a pleading as to the value of +a slave, and the amount of pecuniary responsibility attaching to Roscius +on account of the slave, who had been murdered when in his charge. As to +the murder, no question is made. The slave was valuable, and the injury +done to his master was a matter of importance. He, having been a slave, +could have no stronger a claim for an injury done to himself than would +a dog or a horse. The slave, whose name was Panurge--a name which has +since been made famous as having been borrowed by Rabelais, probably +from this occurrence, and given to his demon of mischief--showed +aptitude for acting, and was therefore valuable. Then one Flavius killed +him; why or how we do not know; and, having killed him, settled with +Roscius for the injury by giving him a small farm. But Roscius had only +borrowed or hired the man from one Chærea--or was in partnership with +Chærea as to the man--and on that account paid something out of the +value of the farm for the loss incurred; but the owner was not +satisfied, and after a lapse of time made a further claim. Hence arose +the action, in pleading which Cicero was successful. In the fragment we +have of the speech there is nothing remarkable except the studied +clearness of the language; but it reminds us of the opinion which Cicero +had expressed of this actor in the oration which he made for Publius +Quintius, who was the brother-in-law of Roscius. "He is such an actor," +says Cicero, "that there is none other on the stage worthy to be seen; +and such a man that among men he is the last that should have become an +actor."[83] The orator's praise of the actor is not of much importance. +Had not Roscius been great in his profession, his name would not have +come down to later ages. Nor is it now matter of great interest that the +actor should have been highly praised as a man by his advocate; but it +is something for us to know that the stage was generally held in such +low repute as to make it seem to be a pity that a good man should have +taken himself to such a calling. + +In the year 76 B.C. Cicero became father of a daughter, whom we shall +know as Tullia--who, as she grew up, became the one person whom he loved +best in all the world--and was elected Quæstor. Cicero tells us of +himself that in the preceding year he had solicited the Quæstorship, +when Cotta was candidate for the Consulship and Hortensius for the +Prætorship. There are in the dialogue De Claris Oratoribus--which has +had the name of Brutus always given to it--some passages in which the +orator tells us more of himself than in any other of his works. I will +annex a translation of a small portion because of its intrinsic +interest; but I will relegate it to an appendix, because it is too long +either for insertion in the text or for a note.[84] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +_CICERO AS QUÆSTOR._ + + +Cicero was elected Quæstor in his thirtieth year, B.C. 76. He was then +nearly thirty-one. His predecessors and rivals at the bar, Cotta and +Hortensius, were elected Consul and Prætor, respectively, in the same +year. To become Quæstor at the earliest age allowed by the law (at +thirty-one, namely) was the ambition of the Roman advocate who purposed +to make his fortune by serving the State. To act as Quæstor in his +thirty-second year, Ædile in his thirty-seventh, Prætor in his +forty-first, and Consul in his forty-fourth year, was to achieve, in the +earliest succession allowed by law, all the great offices of trust, +power, and future emolument. The great reward of proconsular rapine did +not generally come till after the last step, though there were notable +instances in which a Proprætor with proconsular authority could make a +large fortune, as we shall learn when we come to deal with Verres, and +though Ædiles, and even Quæstors, could find pickings. It was therefore +a great thing for a man to begin as early as the law would permit, and +to lose as few years as possible in reaching the summit. Cicero lost +none. As he himself tells us in the passage to which I have referred in +the last chapter, and which is to be found in the Appendix, he gained +the good-will of men--that is, of free Romans who had the suffrage, and +who could therefore vote either for him or against him--by the assiduity +of his attention to the cases which he undertook, and by a certain +brilliancy of speech which was new to them.[85] Putting his hand +strenuously to the plough, allowing himself to be diverted by none of +those luxuries to which Romans of his day were so wont to give way, he +earned his purpose by a resolution to do his very best. He was "Novus +Homo"--a man, that is, belonging to a family of which no member had as +yet filled high office in the State. Against such there was a strong +prejudice with the aristocracy, who did not like to see the good things +of the Republic dispersed among an increased number of hands. The power +of voting was common to all Roman male citizens; but the power of +influencing the electors had passed very much into the hands of the +rich. The admiration which Cicero had determined to elicit would not go +very far, unless it could be produced in a very high degree. A Verres +could get himself made Prætor; a Lepidus some years since could receive +the Consulship; or now an Antony, or almost a Catiline. The candidate +would borrow money on the security of his own audacity, and would thus +succeed--perhaps with some minor gifts of eloquence, if he could achieve +them. With all this, the borrowing and the spending of money, that is, +with direct bribery, Cicero would have nothing to do; but of the art of +canvassing--that art by which he could at the moment make himself +beloved by the citizens who had a vote to give--he was a profound +master. + +There is a short treatise, De Petitione Consulatus, on canvassing for +the Consulship, of which mention may be made here, because all the +tricks of the trade were as essential to him, when looking to be +Quæstor, as when he afterward desired to be Consul, and because the +political doings of his life will hurry us on too quickly in the days of +his Consulship to admit of our referring to these lessons. This little +piece, of which we have only a fragment, is supposed to have been +addressed to Cicero by his brother Quintus, giving fraternal advice as +to the then coming great occasion. The critics say that it was retouched +by the orator himself. The reader who has studied Cicero's style will +think that the retouching went to a great extent, or that the two +brothers were very like each other in their power of expression. + +The first piece of advice was no doubt always in Cicero's mind, not only +when he looked for office, but whenever he addressed a meeting of his +fellow-citizens. "Bethink yourself what is this Republic; what it is you +seek to be in it, and who you are that seek it. As you go down daily to +the Forum, turn the answer to this in your mind: 'Novus sum; consulatum +peto; Roma est'--'I am a man of an untried family. It is the Consulship +that I seek. It is Rome in which I seek it.'" Though the condition of +Rome was bad, still to him the Republic was the greatest thing in the +world, and to be Consul in that Republic the highest honor which the +world could give. + +There is nobility in that, but there is very much that is ignoble in the +means of canvassing which are advocated. I cannot say that they are as +yet too ignoble for our modern use here in England, but they are too +ignoble to be acknowledged by our candidates themselves, or by their +brothers on their behalf. Cicero, not having progressed far enough in +modern civilization to have studied the beauty of truth, is held to be +false and hypocritical. We who know so much more than he did, and have +the doctrine of truth at our fingers' ends, are wise enough to declare +nothing of our own shortcomings, but to attribute such malpractices only +to others. "It is a good thing to be thought worthy of the rank we seek +by those who are in possession of it." Make yourself out to be an +aristocrat, he means. "Canvass them, and cotton to them. Make them +believe that in matters of politics you have always been with the +aristocracy, never with the mob;" that if "you have at all spoken a word +in public to tickle the people, you have done so for the sake of gaining +Pompey." As to this, it is necessary to understand Pompey's peculiar +popularity at the moment, both with the Liberals and with the +Conservatives. "Above all, see that you have with you the 'jeunesse +dorée.' They carry so much! There are many with you already. Take care +that they shall know how much you think of them." + +He is especially desired to make known to the public the iniquities of +Catiline, his opponent, as to whom Quintus says that, though he has +lately been acquitted in regard to his speculations in Africa, he has +had to bribe the judges so highly that he is now as poor as they were +before they got their plunder. At every word we read we are tempted to +agree with Mommsen that on the Roman oligarchy of the period no judgment +can be passed save one, "of inexorable condemnation."[86] + +"Remember," says Quintus, "that your candidature is very strong in that +kind of friendship which has been created by your pleadings. Take care +that each of those friends shall know what special business is allotted +to him on the occasion; and as you have not troubled any of them yet, +make them understand that you have reserved for the present moment the +payment of their debts." This is all very well; but the next direction +mingles so much of business with its truth, that no one but Machiavelli +or Quintus Cicero could have expressed it in words. "Men," says Quintus, +"are induced to struggle for us in these canvassings by three +motives--by memory of kindness done, by the hope of kindness to come, +and by community of political conviction. You must see how you are to +catch each of these. Small favors will induce a man to canvass for you; +and they who owe their safety to your pleadings, for there are many +such, are aware that if they do not stand by you now they will be +regarded by all the world as sorry fellows. Nevertheless, they should be +made to feel that, as they are indebted to you, you will be glad to have +an opportunity of becoming indebted to them. But as to those on whom you +have a hold only by hope--a class of men very much more numerous, and +likely to be very much more active--they are the men whom you should +make to understand that your assistance will be always at their +command." + +How severe, how difficult was the work of canvassing in Rome, we learn +from these lessons. It was the very essence of a great Roman's life that +he should live in public; and to such an extent was this carried that we +wonder how such a man as Cicero found time for the real work of his +life. The Roman patron was expected to have a levee every morning early +in his own house, and was wont, when he went down into the Forum, to be +attended by a crowd of parasites. This had become so much a matter of +course that a public man would have felt himself deserted had he been +left alone either at home or abroad. Rome was full of idlers--of men who +got their bread by the favors of the great, who lounged through their +lives--political quidnuncs, who made canvassing a trade--men without a +conviction, but who believed in the ascendency of this or the other +leader, and were ready to fawn or to fight in the streets, as there +might be need. These were the Quirites of the day--men who were in truth +fattened on the leavings of the plunder which was extracted from the +allies; for it was the case now that a Roman was content to live on the +industry of those whom his father had conquered. They would still fight +in the legions; but the work of Rome was done by slaves, and the wealth +of Rome was robbed from the Provinces. Hence it came about that there +was a numerous class, to whom the name "assectatores" was given, who of +course became specially prominent at elections. Quintus divides all such +followers into three kinds, and gives instructions as to the special +treatment to be applied to each. "There are those who come to pay their +respects to you at your own house"--"Salutatores" they were called; +"then those who go down with you into the Forum"--"Deductores;" "and +after these the third, the class of constant followers"--"Assectatores," +as they were specially named. "As to the first, who are the least in +consequence, and who, according to our present ways of living, come in +great numbers, you should take care to let them know that their doing +even so much as this is much esteemed by you. Let them perceive that you +note it when they come, and say as much to their friends, who will +repeat your words. Tell themselves often if it be possible. In this way +men, when there are many candidates, will observe that there is one who +has his eyes open to these courtesies, and they will give themselves +heart and soul to him, neglecting all others. And mind you, when you +find that a man does but pretend, do not let him perceive that you have +perceived it. Should any one wish to excuse himself, thinking that he is +suspected of indifference, swear that you have never doubted him, nor +had occasion to doubt. + +"As to the work of the 'Deductores,' who go out with you--as it is much +more severe than that of those who merely come to pay their compliments, +let them understand that you feel it to be so, and, as far as possible, +be ready to go into town with them at fixed hours." Quintus here means +that the "Deductores" are not to be kept waiting for the patron longer +than can be helped. "The attendance of a daily crowd in taking you down +to the Forum gives a great show of character and dignity. + +"Then come the band of followers which accompanies you diligently +wherever you go. As to those who do this without special obligation, +take care that they should know how much you think of them. From those +who owe it to you as a duty, exact it rigorously. See that they who can +come themselves do come themselves, and that they who cannot, send +others in their places." What an idea does this give as to the labor of +a candidate in Rome! I can imagine it to be worse even than the +canvassing of an English borough, which to a man of spirit and honor is +the most degrading of all existing employments not held to be absolutely +disgraceful. + +Quintus then goes on from the special management of friends to the +general work of canvassing. "It requires the remembering of men's +names"--"nomenclationem," a happy word we do not possess--"flattery, +diligence, sweetness of temper, good report, and a high standing in the +Republic. Let it be seen that you have been at the trouble to remember +people, and practise yourself to it so that the power may increase with +you. There is nothing so alluring to the citizen as that. If there be a +softness which you have not by nature, so affect it that it shall seem +to be your own naturally. You have indeed a way with you which is not +unbecoming to a good-natured man; but you must caress men--which is in +truth vile and sordid at other times, but is absolutely necessary at +elections. It is no doubt a mean thing to flatter some low fellow, but +when it is necessary to make a friend it can be pardoned. A candidate +must do it, whose face and look and tongue should be made to suit those +he has to meet. What perseverance means I need not tell you. The word +itself explains itself. As a matter of course, you shall not leave the +city; but it is not enough for you to stick to your work in Rome and in +the Forum. You must seek out the voters and canvass them separately; and +take care that no one shall ask from another what it is that you want +from him. Let it have been solicited by yourself, and often solicited." +Quintus seems to have understood the business well, and the elder +brother no doubt profited by the younger brother's care. + +It was so they did it at Rome. That men should have gone through all +this in search of plunder and wealth does not strike us as being +marvellous, or even out of place. A vile object justifies vile means. +But there were some at Rome who had it in their hearts really to serve +their country, and with whom it was at the same time a matter of +conscience that, in serving their country, they would not dishonestly or +dishonorably enrich themselves. There was still a grain of salt left. +But even this could not make itself available for useful purpose without +having recourse to tricks such as these! + +[Sidenote: B.C. 75, ætat. 32.] + +In his proper year Cicero became Quæstor, and had assigned to him by lot +the duty of looking after the Western Division of Sicily. For Sicily, +though but one province as regarded general condition, being under one +governor with proconsular authority, retained separate modes of +government, or, rather, varied forms of subjection to Rome, especially +in matters of taxation, according as it had or had not been conquered +from the Carthaginians.[87] Cicero was quartered at Lilybæum, on the +west, whereas the other Quæstor was placed at Syracuse, in the east. +There were at that time twenty Quæstors elected annually, some of whom +remained in Rome; but most of the number were stationed about the +Empire, there being always one as assistant to each Proconsul. When a +Consul took the field with an army, he always had a Quæstor with him. +This had become the case so generally that the Quæstor became, as it +were, something between a private secretary and a senior lieutenant to a +governor. The arrangement came to have a certain sanctity attached to +it, as though there was something in the connection warmer and closer +than that of mere official life; so that a Quæstor has been called a +Proconsul's son for the time, and was supposed to feel that reverence +and attachment that a son entertains for his father. + +But to Cicero, and to young Quæstors in general, the great attraction of +the office consisted in the fact that the aspirant having once become a +Quæstor was a Senator for the rest of his life, unless he should be +degraded by misconduct. Gradually it had come to pass that the Senate +was replenished by the votes of the people, not directly, but by the +admission into the Senate of the popularly elected magistrates. There +were in the time of Cicero between 500 and 600 members of this body. The +numbers down to the time of Sulla had been increased or made up by +direct selection by the old Kings, or by the Censors, or by some +Dictator, such as was Sulla; and the same thing was done afterward by +Julius Cæsar. The years between Sulla's Dictatorship and that of Cæsar +were but thirty--from 79 to 49 B.C. These, however, were the years in +which Cicero dreamed that the Republic could be re-established by means +of an honest Senate, which Senate was then to be kept alive by the +constant infusion of new blood, accruing to it from the entrance of +magistrates who had been chosen by the people. Tacitus tells us that it +was with this object that Sulla had increased the number of +Quæstors.[88] Cicero's hopes--his futile hopes of what an honest Senate +might be made to do--still ran high, although at the very time in which +he was elected Quæstor he was aware that the judges, then elected from +the Senate, were so corrupt that their judgment could not be trusted. Of +this popular mode of filling the Senate he speaks afterward in his +treatise De Legibus. "From those who have acted as magistrates the +Senate is composed--a measure altogether in the popular interest, as no +one can now reach the highest rank"--namely, the Senate--"except by the +votes of the people, all power of selecting having been taken away from +the Censors."[89] In his pleadings for P. Sextus he makes the same boast +as to old times, not with absolute accuracy, as far as we can understand +the old constitution, but with the same passionate ardor as to the body. +"Romans, when they could no longer endure the rule of kings, created +annual magistrates, but after such fashion that the Council of the +Senate was set over the Republic for its guidance. Senators were chosen +for that work by the entire people, and the entrance to that order was +opened to the virtue and to the industry of the citizens at large."[90] +When defending Cluentius, he expatiates on the glorious privileges of +the Roman Senate. "Its high place, its authority, its splendor at home, +its name and fame abroad, the purple robe, the ivory chair, the appanage +of office, the fasces, the army with its command, the government of the +provinces!"[91] On that splendor "apud exteras gentes," he expatiates in +one of his attacks upon Verres.[92] From all this will be seen Cicero's +idea of the chamber into which he had made his way as soon as he had +been chosen Quæstor. + +In this matter, which was the pivot on which his whole life turned--the +character, namely, of the Roman Senate--it cannot but be observed that +he was wont to blow both hot and cold. It was his nature to do so, not +from any aptitude for deceit, but because he was sanguine and +vacillating--because he now aspired and now despaired. He blew hot and +cold in regard to the Senate, because at times he would feel it to be +what it was--composed, for the most part, of men who were time-serving +and corrupt, willing to sell themselves for a price to any buyer; and +then, again, at times he would think of the Senate as endowed with all +those privileges which he names, and would dream that under his +influence it would become what it should be--such a Senate as he +believed it to have been in its old palmy days. His praise of the +Senate, his description of what it should be and might be, I have given. +To the other side of the picture we shall come soon, when I shall have +to show how, at the trial of Verres, he declared before the judges +themselves how terrible had been the corruption of the judgment-seat in +Rome since, by Sulla's enactment, it had been occupied only by the +Senators. One passage I will give now, in order that the reader may see +by the juxtaposition of the words that he could denounce the Senate as +loudly as he would vaunt its privileges. In the column on the left hand +in the note I quote the words with which, in the first pleading against +Verres, he declared "that every base and iniquitous thing done on the +judgment-seat during the ten years since the power of judging had been +transferred to the Senate should be not only denounced by him, but also +proved;" and in that on the right I will repeat the noble phrases which +he afterward used in the speech for Cluentius when he chose to speak +well of the order.[93] + +It was on the Senate that they who wished well for Rome must depend--on +the Senate, chosen, refreshed, and replenished from among the people; on +a body which should be at the same time august and popular--as far +removed on the one side from the tyranny of individuals as on the other +from the violence of the mob; but on a Senate freed from its corruption +and dirt, on a body of noble Romans, fitted by their individual +character and high rank to rule and to control their fellow-citizens. +This was Cicero's idea, and this the state of things which he endeavored +to achieve. No doubt he dreamed that his own eloquence and his own +example might do more in producing this than is given to men to achieve +by such means. No doubt there was conceit in this--conceit and perhaps, +vanity. It has to be admitted that Cicero always exaggerated his own +powers. But the ambition was great, the purpose noble, and the course of +his whole life was such as to bring no disgrace on his aspirations. He +did not thunder against the judges for taking bribes, and then plunder a +province himself. He did not speak grandly of the duty of a patron to +his clients, and then open his hands to illicit payments. He did not +call upon the Senate for high duty, and then devote himself to luxury +and pleasure. He had a _beau ideal_ of the manner in which a Roman +Senator should live and work, and he endeavored to work and live up to +that ideal. There was no period after his Consulship in which he was not +aware of his own failure. Nevertheless, with constant labor, but with +intermittent struggles, he went on, till, at the end, in the last fiery +year of his existence, he taught himself again to think that even yet +there was a chance. How he struggled, and in struggling perished, we +shall see by-and-by. + +What Cicero did as Quæstor in Sicily we have no means of knowing. His +correspondence does not go back so far. That he was very active, and +active for good, we have two testimonies, one of which is serious, +convincing, and most important as an episode in his life. The other +consists simply of a good story, told by himself of himself; not +intended at all for his own glorification, but still carrying with it a +certain weight. As to the first: Cicero was Quæstor in Lilybæum in the +thirty-second year of his life. In the thirty-seventh year he was +elected Ædile, and was then called upon by the Sicilians to attack +Verres on their behalf. Verres was said to have carried off from Sicily +plunder to the amount of nearly £400,000,[94] after a misrule of three +years' duration. All Sicily was ruined. Beyond its pecuniary losses, its +sufferings had been excruciating; but not till the end had come of a +Governor's proconsular authority could the almost hopeless chance of a +criminal accusation against the tyrant be attempted. The tyrant would +certainly have many friends in Rome. The injured provincials would +probably have none of great mark. A man because he had been Quæstor was +not, necessarily, one having influence, unless he belonged to some great +family. This was not the case with Cicero. But he had made for himself +such a character during his year of office that the Sicilians declared +that, if they could trust themselves to any man at Rome, it would be to +their former Quæstor. It had been a part of his duty to see that the +proper supply of corn was collected in the island and sent to Rome. A +great portion of the bread eaten in Rome was grown in Sicily, and much +of it was supplied in the shape of a tax. It was the hateful practice of +Rome to extract the means of living from her colonies, so as to spare +her own laborers. To this, hard as it was, the Sicilians were well used. +They knew the amount required of them by law, and were glad enough when +they could be quit in payment of the dues which the law required; but +they were seldom blessed by such moderation on the part of their rulers. +To what extent this special tax could be stretched we shall see when we +come to the details of the trial of Verres. It is no doubt only from +Cicero's own words that we learn that, though he sent to Rome plenteous +supplies, he was just to the dealer, liberal to the pawns, and +forbearing to the allies generally; and that when he took his departure +they paid him honors hitherto unheard of.[95] But I think we may take it +for granted that this statement is true; firstly, because it has never +been contradicted; and then from the fact that the Sicilians all came to +him in the day of their distress. + +As to the little story to which I have alluded, it has been told so +often since Cicero told it himself, that I am almost ashamed to repeat +it. It is, however, too emblematic of the man, gives us too close an +insight both into his determination to do his duty and to his +pride--conceit, if you will--at having done it, to be omitted. In his +speech for Plancius[96] he tells us that by chance, coming direct from +Sicily after his Quæstorship, he found himself at Puteoli just at the +season when the fashion from Rome betook itself to that delightful +resort. He was full of what he had done--how he had supplied Rome with +corn, but had done so without injury to the Sicilians, how honestly he +had dealt with the merchants, and had in truth won golden opinions on +all sides--so much so that he thought that when he reached the city the +citizens in a mob would be ready to receive him. Then at Puteoli he met +two acquaintances. "Ah," says one to him, "when did you leave Rome? What +news have you brought?" Cicero, drawing his head up, as we can see him, +replied that he had just returned from his province. "Of course, just +back from Africa," said the other. "Not so," said Cicero, bridling in +anger--"stomachans fastidiose," as he describes it himself--"but from +Sicily." Then the other lounger, a fellow who pretended to know +everything, put in his word. "Do you not know that our Cicero has been +Quæstor at Syracuse?" The reader will remember that he had been Quæstor +in the other division of the island, at Lilybæum. "There was no use in +thinking any more about it," says Cicero. "I gave up being angry and +determined to be like any one else, just one at the waters." Yes, he had +been very conceited, and well understood his own fault of character in +that respect; but he would not have shown his conceit in that matter had +he not resolved to do his duty in a manner uncommon then among Quæstors, +and been conscious that he had done it. + +Perhaps there is no more certain way of judging a man than from his own +words, if his real words be in our possession. In doing so, we are bound +to remember how strong will be the bias of every man's mind in his own +favor, and for that reason a judicious reader will discount a man's +praise of himself. But the reader, to get at the truth, if he be indeed +judicious, will discount them after a fashion conformable with the +nature of the man whose character he is investigating. A reader will not +be judicious who imagines that what a man says of his own praises must +be false, or that all which can be drawn from his own words in his own +dispraise must be true. If a man praise himself for honor, probity, +industry, and patriotism, he will at any rate show that these virtues +are dear to him, unless the course of his life has proved him to be +altogether a hypocrite in such utterances. It has not been presumed that +Cicero was a hypocrite in these utterances. He was honest and +industrious; he did appreciate honor and love his country. So much is +acknowledged; and yet it is supposed that what good he has told us of +himself is false. If a man doubt of himself constantly; if in his most +private intercourse and closest familiar utterances he admit +occasionally his own human weakness; if he find himself to have failed +at certain moments, and says so, the very feelings that have produced +such confessions are proof that the highest points which have not been +attained have been seen and valued. A man will not sorrowfully regret +that he has won only a second place, or a third, unless he be alive to +the glory of the first. But Cicero's acknowledgments have all been taken +as proof against himself. All manner of evil is argued against him from +his own words, when an ill meaning can be attached to them; but when he +speaks of his great aspirations, he is ridiculed for bombast and vanity. +On the strength of some perhaps unconsidered expression, in a letter to +Atticus, he is condemned for treachery, whereas the sentences in which +he has thoughtfully declared the purposes of his very soul are counted +as clap-traps. + +No one has been so frequently condemned out of his mouth as Cicero, and +naturally. In these modern days we have contemporary records as to +prominent persons. Of the characters of those who lived in long-past +ages we generally fail to have any clear idea, because we lack those +close chronicles which are necessary for the purpose. What insight have +we into the personality of Alexander the Great, or what insight had +Plutarch, who wrote about him? As to Samuel Johnson, we seem to know +every turn of his mind, having had a Boswell. Alexander had no Boswell. +But here is a man belonging to those past ages of which I speak who was +his own Boswell, and after such a fashion that, since letters were +invented, no records have ever been written in language more clear or +more attractive. It is natural that we should judge out of his own mouth +one who left so many more words behind him than did any one else, +particularly one who left words so pleasant to read. And all that he +wrote was after some fashion about himself. His letters, like all +letters, are personal to himself. His speeches are words coming out of +his own mouth about affairs in which he was personally engaged and +interested. His rhetoric consists of lessons given by himself about his +own art, founded on his own experience, and on his own observation of +others. His so-called philosophy gives us the workings of his own mind. +No one has ever told the world so much about another person as Cicero +has told the world about Cicero. Boswell pales before him as a +chronicler of minutiæ. It may be a matter of small interest now to the +bulk of readers to be intimately acquainted with a Roman who was never +one of the world's conquerors. It may be well for those who desire to +know simply the facts of the world's history, to dismiss as unnecessary +the aspirations of one who lived so long ago. But if it be worth while +to discuss the man's character, it must be worth while to learn the +truth about it. + +"Oh that mine adversary had written a book!" Who does not understand the +truth of these words! It is always out of a man's mouth that you may +most surely condemn him. Cicero wrote many books, and all about himself. +He has been honored very highly. Middleton, in the preface to his own +biography, which, with all its charms, has become a bye-word for eulogy, +quotes the opinion of Erasmus, who tells us that he loves the writings +of the man "not only for the divine felicity of his style, but for the +sanctity of his heart and morals." This was the effect left on the mind +of an accurate thinker and most just man. But then also has Cicero been +spoken of with the bitterest scorn. From Dio Cassius, who wrote two +hundred and twenty years after Christ, down to Mr. Froude, whose Cæsar +has just been published, he has had such hard things said of him by men +who have judged him out of his own mouth, that the reader does not know +how to reconcile what he now reads with the opinion of men of letters +who lived and wrote in the century next after his death--with the +testimony of such a man as Erasmus, and with the hearty praises of his +biographer, Middleton. The sanctity of his heart and morals! It was thus +that Erasmus was struck in reading his works. It is a feeling of that +kind, I profess, that has induced me to take this work in hand--a +feeling produced altogether by the study of his own words. It has seemed +to be that he has loved men so well, has been so anxious for the true, +has been so capable of honesty when dishonesty was common among all +around him, has been so jealous in the cause of good government, has +been so hopeful when there has been but little ground for hope, as to +have deserved a reputation for sanctity of heart and morals. + +Of the speeches made by Cicero as advocate after his Quæstorship, and +before those made in the accusation of Verres, we have the fragment only +of the second of two spoken in defence of Marcus Tullius Decula, whom we +may suppose to have been distantly connected with his family. He does +not avow any relationship. "What," he says, in opening his argument, +"does it become me, a Tullius, to do for this other Tullius, a man not +only my friend, but my namesake?" It was a matter of no great +importance, as it was addressed to judges not so called, but to +"recuperatores," judges chosen by the Prætor, and who acted in lighter +cases. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +_VERRES._ + + +There are six episodes, or, as I may say, divisions in the life of +Cicero to which special interest attaches itself. The first is the +accusation against Verres, in which he drove the miscreant howling out +of the city. The second is his Consulship, in which he drove Catiline +out of the city, and caused certain other conspirators who were joined +with the arch rebel to be killed, either legally or illegally. The third +was his exile, in which he himself was driven out of Rome. The fourth +was a driving out, too, though of a more honorable kind, when he was +compelled, much against his will, to undertake the government of a +province. The fifth was Cæsar's passing of the Rubicon, the battle of +Pharsalia, and his subsequent adherence to Cæsar. The last was his +internecine combat with Antony, which produced the Philippics, and that +memorable series of letters in which he strove to stir into flames the +expiring embers of the Republic. The literary work with which we are +acquainted is spread, but spread very unequally, over his whole life. I +have already told the story of Sextus Roscius Amerinus, having taken it +from his own words. From that time onward he wrote continually; but the +fervid stream of his eloquence came forth from him with unrivalled +rapidity in the twenty last miserable months of his life. + +We have now come to the first of those episodes, and I have to tell the +way in which Cicero struggled with Verres, and how he conquered him. In +74 B.C. Verres was Prætor in Rome. At that period of the Republic there +were eight Prætors elected annually, two of whom remained in the city, +whereas the others were employed abroad, generally with the armies of +the Empire. In the next year, 73 B.C., Verres went in due course to +Sicily with proconsular or proprætorial authority, having the government +assigned to him for twelve months. This was usual and constitutional, +but it was not unusual, even if unconstitutional, that this period +should be prolonged. In the case of Verres it was prolonged, so that he +should hold the office for three years. He had gone through the other +offices of the State, having been Quæstor in Asia and Ædile afterward in +Rome, to the great misfortune of all who were subjected to his handling, +as we shall learn by-and-by. The facts are mentioned here to show that +the great offices of the Republic were open to such a man as Verres. +They were in fact more open to such a candidate than they would be to +one less iniquitous--to an honest man or a scrupulous one, or to one +partially honest, or not altogether unscrupulous. If you send a dog into +a wood to get truffles, you will endeavor to find one that will tear up +as many truffles as possible. A proconsular robber did not rob only for +himself; he robbed more or less for all Rome. Verres boasted that with +his three years of rule he could bring enough home to bribe all the +judges, secure all the best advocates, and live in splendid opulence for +the rest of his life. What a dog he was to send into a wood for +truffles! + +To such a condition as this had Rome fallen when the deputies from +Sicily came to complain of their late governor, and to obtain the +services of Cicero in seeking for whatever reparation might be possible. +Verres had carried on his plunder during the years 73, 72, 71 B.C. +During this time Cicero had been engaged sedulously as an advocate in +Rome. We know the names of some of the cases in which he was +engaged--those, for instance, for Publius Oppius, who, having been +Quæstor in Bithynia, was accused by his Proconsul of having endeavored +to rob the soldiers of their dues. We are told that the poor province +suffered greatly under these two officers, who were always quarrelling +as to a division of their plunder. In this case the senior officer +accused the younger, and the younger, by Cicero's aid, was acquitted. +Quintilian more than once refers to the speech made for Oppius. Cicero +also defended Varenus, who was charged with having murdered his brother, +and one Caius Mustius, of whom we only know that he was a farmer of +taxes. He was advocate also for Sthenius, a Sicilian, who was accused +before the Tribunes by Verres. We shall hear of Sthenius again among the +victims in Sicily. The special charge in this case was that, having been +condemned by Verres as Prætor in Sicily, he had run away to Rome, which +was illegal. He was, however, acquitted. Of these speeches we have only +some short fragments, which have been quoted by authors whose works have +come down to us, such as Quintilian; by which we know, at any rate, that +Cicero's writings had been so far carefully preserved, and that they +were commonly read in those days. I will translate here the concluding +words of a short paper written by M. du Rozoir in reference to Cicero's +life at this period: "The assiduity of our orator at the bar had +obtained for him a high degree of favor among the people, because they +had seen how strictly he had observed that Cincian law which forbade +advocates to take either money or presents for then pleadings--which +law, however, the advocates of the day generally did not scruple to +neglect."[97] It is a good thing to be honest when honesty is in vogue; +but to be honest when honesty is out of fashion is magnificent. + +In the affair with Verres, there are two matters to interest the +reader--indeed, to instruct the reader--if the story were sufficiently +well told. The iniquity of Verres is the first--which is of so +extravagant a nature as to become farcical by the absurdity of the +extent to which he was not afraid to go in the furtherance of his +avarice and lust. As the victims suffered two thousand years ago, we can +allow ourselves to be amused by the inexhaustible fertility of the man's +resources and the singular iniquity of his schemes. Then we are brought +face to face with the barefaced corruption of the Roman judges--a +corruption which, however, became a regular trade, if not ennobled, +made, at any rate, aristocratic by the birth, wealth high names, and +senatorial rank of the robbers. Sulla, for certain State purposes--which +consisted in the maintenance of the oligarchy--had transferred the +privileges of sitting on the judgment-seat from the Equites, or Knights, +to the Senators. From among the latter a considerable number--thirty, +perhaps, or forty, or even fifty--were appointed to sit with the Prætor +to hear criminal cases of importance, and by their votes, which were +recorded on tablets, the accused person was acquitted or condemned. To +be acquitted by the most profuse corruption entailed no disgrace on him +who was tried, and often but little on the judges who tried him. In +Cicero's time the practice, with all its chances, had come to be well +understood. The Provincial Governors, with their Quæstors and +lieutenants, were chosen from the high aristocracy, which also supplied +the judges. The judges themselves had been employed, or hoped to be +employed, in similar lucrative service. The leading advocates belonged +to the same class. If the proconsular thief, when he had made his bag, +would divide the spoil with some semblance of equity among his brethren, +nothing could be more convenient. The provinces were so large, and the +Greek spirit of commercial enterprise which prevailed in them so lively, +that there was room for plunder ample, at any rate, for a generation or +two. The Republic boasted that, in its love of pure justice, it had +provided by certain laws for the protection of its allied subjects +against any possible faults of administration on the part of its own +officers. If any injury were done to a province, or a city, or even to +an individual, the province, or city, or individual could bring its +grievance to the ivory chair of the Prætor in Rome and demand redress; +and there had been cases not a few in which a delinquent officer had +been condemned to banishment. Much, indeed, was necessary before the +scheme as it was found to exist by Verres could work itself into +perfection. Verres felt that in his time everything had been done for +security as well as splendor. He would have all the great officers of +State on his side. The Sicilians, if he could manage the case as he +thought it might be managed, would not have a leg to stand upon. There +was many a trick within his power before they could succeed in making +good even their standing before the Prætor. It was in this condition of +things that Cicero bethought himself that he might at one blow break +through the corruption of the judgment-seat, and this he determined to +do by subjecting the judges to the light of public opinion. If Verres +could be tried under a bushel, as it were, in the dark, as many others +had been tried, so that little or nothing should be said about the trial +in the city at large, then there would be no danger for the judges. It +could only be by shaming them, by making them understand that Rome would +become too hot to hold them, that they could be brought to give a +verdict against the accused. This it was that Cicero determined to +effect, and did effect. And we see throughout the whole pleadings that +he was concerned in the matter not only for the Sicilians, or against +Verres. Could something be done for the sake of Rome, for the sake of +the Republic, to redeem the courts of justice from the obloquy which was +attached to them? Might it be possible for a man so to address himself +not only to the judgment-seat, but to all Rome, as to do away with this +iniquity once and forever? Could he so fill the minds of the citizens +generally with horror at such proceedings as to make them earnest in +demanding reform? Hortensius, the great advocate of the day, was not +only engaged on behalf of Verres, but he was already chosen as Consul +for the next year. Metellus, who was elected Prætor for the next year, +was hot in defence of Verres. Indeed, there were three Metelluses among +the friends of the accused, who had also on his side the Scipio of the +day. The aristocracy of Rome was altogether on the side of Verres, as +was natural. But if Cicero might succeed at all in this which he +meditated, the very greatness of his opponents would help him. When it +was known that he was to be pitted against Hortensius as an advocate, +and that he intended to defy Hortensius as the coming Consul, then +surely Rome would be awake to the occasion; and if Rome could be made to +awake herself, then would this beautiful scheme of wealth from +provincial plunder be brought to an end. + +I will first speak of the work of the judges, and of the attempts made +to hinder Cicero in the business he had undertaken. Then I will endeavor +to tell something of the story of Verres and his doings. The subject +divides itself naturally in this way. There are extant seven so-called +orations about Verres, of which the two first apply to the manner in +which the case should be brought before the courts. These two were +really spoken, and were so effective that Verres--or probably +Hortensius, on his behalf--was frightened into silence. Verres pleaded +guilty, as we should say, which, in accordance with the usages of the +court, he was enabled to do by retiring and going into voluntary +banishment. This he did, sooner than stand his ground and listen to the +narration of his iniquities as it would be given by Cicero in the full +speech--the "perpetua oratio"--which would follow the examination of the +witnesses. What the orator said before the examination of the witnesses +was very short. He had to husband his time, as it was a part of the +grand scheme of Hortensius to get adjournment after adjournment because +of certain sacred rites and games, during the celebration of which the +courts could not sit. All this was arranged for in the scheme; but +Cicero, in order that he might baffle the schemers, got through his +preliminary work as quickly as possible, saying all that he had to say +about the manner of the trial, about the judges, about the scheme, but +dilating very little on the iniquities of the criminal. But having thus +succeeded, having gained his cause in a great measure by the unexpected +quickness of his operations, then he told his story. Then was made that +"perpetua oratio" by which we have learned the extent to which a Roman +governor could go on desolating a people who were intrusted to his +protection. This full narration is divided into five parts, each devoted +to a separate class of iniquity. These were never spoken, though they +appear in the form of speeches. They would have been spoken, if +required, in answer to the defence made by Hortensius on behalf of +Verres after the hearing of the evidence. But the defence broke down +altogether, in the fashion thus described by Cicero himself. "In that +one hour in which I spoke"--this was the speech which we designate as +the Actio Prima contra Verrem, the first pleading made against Verres, +to which we shall come just now--"I took away all hope of bribing the +judges from the accused--from this brazen-faced, rich, dissolute, and +abandoned man. On the first day of the trial, on the mere calling of the +names of the witnesses, the people of Rome were able to perceive that if +this criminal were absolved, then there could be no chance for the +Republic. On the second day his friends and advocates had not only lost +all hope of gaining their cause, but all relish for going on with it. +The third day so paralyzed the man himself that he had to bethink +himself not what sort of reply he could make, but how he could escape +the necessity of replying by pretending to be ill."[98] It was in this +way that the trial was brought to an end. + +But we must go back to the beginning. When an accusation was to be made +against some great Roman of the day on account of illegal public +misdoings, as was to be made now against Verres, the conduct of the +case, which would require probably great labor and expense, and would +give scope for the display of oratorical excellence, was regarded as a +task in which a young aspirant to public favor might obtain honor and by +which he might make himself known to the people. It had, therefore, come +to pass that there might be two or more accusers anxious to undertake +the work, and to show themselves off as solicitous on behalf of injured +innocence, or desirous of laboring in the service of the Republic. When +this was the case, a court of judges was called upon to decide whether +this man or that other was most fit to perform the work in hand. Such a +trial was called "Divinatio," because the judges had to get their lights +in the matter as best they could without the assistance of witnesses--by +some process of divination--with the aid of the gods, as it might be. +Cicero's first speech in the matter of Verres is called In Quintum +Cæcilium Divinatio, because one Cæcilius came forward to take the case +away from him. Here was a part of the scheme laid by Hortensius. To deal +with Cicero in such a matter would no doubt be awkward. His purpose, his +diligence, his skill, his eloquence, his honesty were known. There must +be a trial. So much was acknowledged; but if the conduct of it could be +relegated to a man who was dishonest, or who had no skill, no fitness, +no special desire for success, then the little scheme could be carried +through in that way. So Cæcilius was put forward as Cicero's competitor, +and our first speech is that made by Cicero to prove his own superiority +to that of his rival. + +Whether Cæcilius was or was not hired to break down in his assumed duty +as accuser, we do not know. The biographers have agreed to say that such +was the case,[99] grounding their assertion, no doubt, on extreme +probability. But I doubt whether there is any evidence as to this. +Cicero himself brings this accusation, but not in that direct manner +which he would have used had he been able to prove it. The Sicilians, at +any rate, said that it was so. As to the incompetency of the man, there +was probably no doubt, and it might be quite as serviceable to have an +incompetent as a dishonest accuser. Cæcilius himself had declared that +no one could be so fit as himself for the work. He knew Sicily well, +having been born there. He had been Quæstor there with Verres, and had +been able to watch the governor's doings. No doubt there was--or had +been in more pious days--a feeling that a Quæstor should never turn +against the Proconsul under whom he had served, and to whom he had held +the position almost of a son.[100] But there was less of that feeling +now than heretofore. Verres had quarrelled with his Quæstor. Oppius was +called on to defend himself against the Proconsul with whom he had +served. No one could know the doings of the governor of a province as +well as his own Quæstor; and, therefore, so said Cæcilius, he would be +the preferable accuser. As to his hatred of the man, there could be no +doubt as to that. Everybody knew that they had quarrelled. The purpose, +no doubt, was to give some colorable excuse to the judges for rescuing +Verres, the great paymaster, from the fangs of Cicero. + +Cicero's speech on the occasion--which, as speeches went in those days, +was very short--is a model of sagacity and courage. He had to plead his +own fitness, the unfitness of his adversary, and the wishes in the +matter of the Sicilians. This had to be done with no halting phrases. It +was not simply his object to convince a body of honest men that, with +the view of getting at the truth, he would be the better advocate of the +two. We may imagine that there was not a judge there, not a Roman +present, who was not well aware of that before the orator began. It was +needed that the absurdity of the comparison between them should be +declared so loudly that the judges would not dare to betray the +Sicilians, and to liberate the accused, by choosing the incompetent man. +When Cicero rose to speak, there was probably not one of them of his own +party, not a Consul, a Prætor, an Ædile, or a Quæstor, not a judge, not +a Senator, not a hanger-on about the courts, but was anxious that Verres +with his plunder should escape. Their hope of living upon the wealth of +the provinces hung upon it. But if he could speak winged words--words +that should fly all over Rome, that might fly also among subject +nations--then would the judges not dare to carry out this portion of the +scheme. + +"When," he says, "I had served as Quæstor in Sicily, and had left the +province after such a fashion that all the Sicilians had a grateful +memory of my authority there, though they had older friends on whom they +relied much, they felt that I might be a bulwark to them in their need. +These Sicilians, harassed and robbed, have now come to me in public +bodies, and have implored me to undertake their defence. 'The time has +come,' they say, 'not that I should look after the interest of this or +that man, but that I should protect the very life and well-being of the +whole province.' I am inclined by my sense of duty, by the faith which I +owe them, by my pity for them, by the example of all good Romans before +me, by the custom of the Republic, by the old constitution, to undertake +this task, not as pertaining to my own interests, but to those of my +close friends."[101] That was his own reason for undertaking the case. +Then he reminds the judges of what the Roman people wished--the people +who had felt with dismay the injury inflicted upon them by Sulla's +withdrawal of all power from the Tribunes, and by the putting the whole +authority of the bench into the hands of the Senators. "The Roman +people, much as they have been made to suffer, regret nothing of that +they have lost so much as the strength and majesty of the old judges. It +is with the desire of having them back that they demand for the Tribunes +their former power. It is this misconduct of the present judges that has +caused them to ask for another class of men for the judgment-seat. By +the fault and to the shame of the judges of to-day, the Censor's +authority, which has hitherto always been regarded as odious and stern, +even that is now requested by the people."[102] Then he goes on to show +that, if justice is intended, this case will be put into the hands of +him whom the Sicilians have themselves chosen. Had the Sicilians said +that they were unwilling to trust their affairs to Cæcilius because they +had not known him, but were willing to trust him, Cicero, whom they did +know, would not even that have been reasonable enough of itself? But the +Sicilians had known both of them, had known Cæcilius almost as well as +Cicero, and had expressed themselves clearly. Much as they desired to +have Cicero, they were as anxious not to have Cæcilius. Even had they +held their tongues about this, everybody would have known it; but they +had been far from holding their tongues. "Yet you offer yourself to +these most unwilling clients," he says, turning to Cæcilius. "Yet you +are ready to plead in a cause that does not belong to you! Yet you would +defend those who would rather have no defender than such a one as +you!"[103] Then he attacks Hortensius, the advocate for Verres. "Let him +not think that, if I am to be employed here, the judges can be bribed +without infinite danger to all concerned. In undertaking this cause of +the Sicilians, I undertake also the cause of the people of Rome at +large. It is not only that one wretched sinner should be crushed, which +is what the Sicilians want, but that this terrible injustice should be +stopped altogether, in compliance with the wishes of the people."[104] +When we remember how this was spoken, in the presence of those very +judges, in the presence of Hortensius himself, in reliance only on the +public opinion which he was to create by his own words, we cannot but +acknowledge that it is very fine. + +After that he again turns upon Cæcilius. "Learn from me," he says, "how +many things are expected from him who undertakes the accusation of +another. If there be one of those qualities in you, I will give up to +you all that you ask."[105] Cæcilius was probably even now in alliance +with Verres. He himself, when Quæstor, had robbed the people in the +collection of the corn dues, and was unable therefore to include that +matter in his accusation. "You can bring no charge against him on this +head, lest it be seen that you were a partner with him in the +business."[106] He ridicules him as to his personal insufficiency. +"What, Cæcilius! as to those practices of the profession without which +an action such as this cannot be carried on, do you think that there is +nothing in them? Need there be no skill in the business, no habit of +speaking, no familiarity with the Forum, with the judgment-seats, and +the laws?"[107] "I know well how difficult the ground is. Let me advise +you to look into yourself, and to see whether you are able to do that +kind of thing. Have you got voice for it, prudence, memory, wit? Are you +able to expose the life of Verres, as it must be done, to divide it into +parts and make everything clear? In doing all this, though nature should +have assisted you"--as it has not at all, is of course implied--"if from +your earliest childhood you had been imbued with letters; if you had +learned Greek at Athens instead of at Lilybæum--Latin in Rome instead of +in Sicily--still would it not be a task beyond your strength to +undertake such a case, so widely thought of, to complete it by your +industry, and then to grasp it in your memory; to make it plain by your +eloquence, and to support it with voice and strength sufficient? 'Have I +these gifts,' you will ask. Would that I had! But from my childhood I +have done all that I could to attain them."[108] + +Cicero makes his points so well that I would fain go through the whole +speech, were it not that a similar reason might induce me to give +abridgments of all his speeches. It may not be that the readers of these +orations will always sympathize with the orator in the matter which he +has in hand--though his power over words is so great as to carry the +reader with him very generally, even at this distance of time--but the +neatness with which the weapon is used, the effectiveness of the thrust +for the purpose intended, the certainty with which the nail is hit on +the head--never with an expenditure of unnecessary force, but always +with the exact strength wanted for the purpose--these are the +characteristics of Cicero's speeches which carry the reader on with a +delight which he will want to share with others, as a man when he has +heard a good story instantly wishes to tell it again. And with Cicero we +are charmed by the modernness, by the tone of to-day, which his language +takes. The rapid way in which he runs from scorn to pity, from pity to +anger, from anger to public zeal, and then instantly to irony and +ridicule, implies a lightness of touch which, not unreasonably, +surprises us as having endured for so many hundred years. That poetry +should remain to us, even lines so vapid as some of those in which Ovid +sung of love, seems to be more natural, because verses, though they be +light, must have been labored. But these words spoken by Cicero seem +almost to ring in our ears as having come to us direct from a man's +lips. We see the anger gathering on the brow of Hortensius, followed by +a look of acknowledged defeat. We see the startled attention of the +judges as they began to feel that in this case they must depart from +their intended purpose. We can understand how Cæcilius cowered, and +found consolation in being relieved from his task. We can fancy how +Verres suffered--Verres whom no shame could have touched--when all his +bribes were becoming inefficient under the hands of the orator. + +Cicero was chosen for the task, and then the real work began. The work +as he did it was certainly beyond the strength of any ordinary advocate. +It was necessary that he should proceed to Sicily to obtain the evidence +which was to be collected over the whole island. He must rate up, too, +all the previous details of the life of this robber. He must be +thoroughly prepared to meet the schemers on every point. He asked for a +hundred and ten days for the purpose of getting up his case, but he took +only fifty. We must imagine that, as he became more thoroughly versed in +the intrigues of his adversaries, new lights came upon him. Were he to +use the whole time allotted to him, or even half the time, and then make +such an exposition of the criminal as he would delight to do were he to +indulge himself with that "perpetua oratio" of which we hear, then the +trial would be protracted till the coming of certain public games, +during which the courts would not sit. There seem to have been three +sets of games in his way--a special set for this year, to be given by +Pompey, which were to last fifteen days; then the Ludi Romani, which +were continued for nine days. Soon after that would come the games in +honor of Victory--so soon that an adjournment over them would be +obtained as a matter of course. In this way the trial would be thrown +over into the next year, when Hortensius and one Metellus would be +Consuls, and another Metellus would be the Prætor, controlling the +judgment-seats. Glabrio was the Prætor for this present year. In Glabrio +Cicero could put some trust. With Hortensius and the two Metelluses in +power, Verres would be as good as acquitted. Cicero, therefore, had to +be on the alert, so that in this unexpected way, by sacrificing his own +grand opportunity for a speech, he might conquer the schemers. We hear +how he went to Sicily in a little boat from an unknown port, so as to +escape the dangers contrived for him by the friends of Verres.[109] If +it could be arranged that the clever advocate should be kidnapped by a +pirate, what a pleasant way would that be of putting an end to these +abominable reforms! Let them get rid of Cicero, if only for a time, and +the plunder might still be divided. Against all this he had to provide. +When in Sicily he travelled sometimes on foot, for the sake of +caution--never with the retinue to which he was entitled as a Roman +senator. As a Roman senator he might have demanded free entertainment at +any town he entered, at great cost to the town. But from all this he +abstained, and hurried back to Rome with his evidence so quickly that he +was able to produce it before the judges, so as to save the adjournments +which he feared. + +Verres retired from the trial, pleading guilty, after hearing the +evidence. Of the witnesses and of the manner in which they told the +story, we have no account. The second speech which we have--the +Divinatio, or speech against Cæcilius, having been the first--is called +the Actio Prima contra Verrem--"the first process against Verres." This +is almost entirely confined to an exhortation to the judges. Cicero had +made up his mind to make no speech about Verres till after the trial +should be over. There would not be the requisite time. The evidence he +must bring forward. And he would so appall these corrupt judges that +they should not dare to acquit the accused. This Actio Prima contains +the words in which he did appall the judges. As we read them, we pity +the judges. There were fourteen, whose names we know. That there may +have been many more is probable. There was the Prætor Urbanus of the +day, Glabrio. With him were Metellus, one of the Prætors for the next +year, and Cæsonius, who, with Cicero himself, was Ædile designate. There +were three Tribunes of the people and two military Tribunes. There was a +Servilius, a Catulus, a Marcellus. Whom among these he suspected we can +hardly say. Certainly he suspected Metellus. To Servilius[110] he paid +an ornate compliment in one of the written orations published after the +trial was over, from whence we may suppose that he was well inclined +toward him. Of Glabrio he spoke well. The body, as a body, was of such a +nature that he found it necessary to appall them. It is thus that he +begins: "Not by human wisdom, O ye judges, but by chance, and by the +aid, as it were, of the gods themselves, an event has come to pass by +which the hatred now felt for your order, and the infamy attached to the +judgment seat, may be appeased; for an opinion has gone abroad, +disgraceful to the Republic, full of danger to yourselves--which is in +the mouths of all men not only here in Rome but through all +nations--that by these courts as they are now constituted, a man, if he +be only rich enough, will never be condemned, though he be ever so +guilty." What an exordium with which to begin a forensic pleading before +a bench of judges composed of Prætors, Ædiles, and coming Consuls! And +this at a time, too, when men's minds were still full of Sulla's power; +when some were thinking that they too might be Sullas; while the idea +was still strong that a few nobles ought to rule the Roman Empire for +their own advantage and their own luxury! What words to address to a +Metellus, a Catulus, and a Marcellus! I have brought before you such a +wretch, he goes on to say, that by a just judgment upon him you can +recover your favor with the people of Rome, and your credit with other +nations. "This is a trial in which you, indeed, will have to judge this +man who is accused, but in which also the Roman people will have to +judge you. By what is done to him will be determined whether a man who +is guilty, and at the same time rich, can possibly be condemned in +Rome.[111]If the matter goes amiss here, all men will declare, not that +better men should be selected out of your order, which would be +impossible, but that another order of citizens must be named from which +to select the judges."[112] This short speech was made. The witnesses +were examined during nine days; then Hortensius, with hardly a struggle +at a reply, gave way, and Verres stood condemned by his own verdict. + +When the trial was over, and Verres had consented to go into exile, and +to pay whatever fine was demanded, the "perpetua oratio" which Cicero +thought good to make on the matter was published to the world. It is +written as though it was to have been spoken, with counterfeit tricks of +oratory--with some tricks so well done in the first part of it as to +have made one think that, when these special words were prepared, he +must have intended to speak them. It has been agreed, however, that such +was not the case. It consists of a narration of the villainies of +Verres, and is divided into what have been called five different +speeches, to which the following appellations are given: De Prætura +Urbana, in which we are told what Verres did when he was city Prætor, +and very many things also which he did before he came to that office, De +Jurisdictione Siciliensi, in which is described his conduct as a Roman +magistrate on the island; De Re Frumentaria, setting forth the +abomination of his exactions in regard to the corn tax; De Signis, +detailing the robberies he perpetuated in regard to statues and other +ornaments; and De Suppliciis, giving an account of the murders he +committed and the tortures he inflicted. A question is sometimes mooted +in conversation whether or no the general happiness of the world has +been improved by increasing civilization When the reader finds from +these stories, as told by a leading Roman of the day, how men were +treated under the Roman oligarchy--not only Greek allies but Romans +also--I think he will be inclined to answer the question in favour of +civilization. + +I can only give a few of the many little histories which have been +preserved for us in this Actio Secunda; but perhaps these few may +suffice to show how a great Roman officer could demean himself in his +government. Of the doings of Verres before he went to Sicily I will +select two. It became his duty on one occasion--a job which he seems to +have sought for purpose of rapine--to go to Lampsacus, a town in Asia, +as lieutenant, or legate, for Dolabella, who then had command in Asia. +Lampsacus was on the Hellespont, an allied town of specially good +repute. Here he is put up as a guest, with all the honors of a Roman +officer, at the house of a citizen named Janitor. But he heard that +another citizen, one Philodamus, had a beautiful daughter--an article +with which we must suppose that Janitor was not equally well supplied. +Verres, determined to get at the lady, orders that his creature Rubrius +shall be quartered at the house of Philodamus. Philodamus, who from his +rank was entitled to be burdened only with the presence of leading +Romans, grumbles at this; but, having grumbled, consents, and having +consented, does the best to make his house comfortable. He gives a great +supper, at which the Romans eat and drink, and purposely create a +tumult. Verres, we understand, was not there. The intention is that the +girl shall be carried away and brought to him. In the middle of their +cups the father is desired to produce his daughter; but this he refuses +to do. Rubrius then orders the doors to be closed, and proceeds to +ransack the house. Philodamus, who will not stand this, fetches his son, +and calls his fellow-citizens around him. Rubrius succeeds in pouring +boiling water over his host, but in the row the Romans get the worst of +it. At last one of Verres's lictors--absolutely a Roman lictor--is +killed, and the woman is not carried off. The man at least bore the +outward signs of a lictor, but, according to Cicero, was in the pay of +Verres as his pimp. + +So far Verres fails; and the reader, rejoicing at the courage of the +father who could protect his own house even against Romans, begins to +feel some surprise that this case should have been selected. So far the +lieutenant had not done the mischief he had intended, but he soon +avenges his failure. He induces Dolabella, his chief, to have Philodamus +and his son carried off to Laodicea, and there tried before Nero, the +then Proconsul, for killing the sham lictor. They are tried at Laodicea +before Nero, Verres himself sitting as one of the judges, and are +condemned. Then in the market place of the town, in the presence of each +other, the father and son are beheaded--a thing, as Cicero says, very +sad for all Asia to behold. All this had been done some years ago; and, +nevertheless, Verres had been chosen Prætor, and sent to Sicily to +govern the Sicilians. + +When Verres was Prætor at Rome--the year before he was sent to +Sicily--it became his duty, or rather privilege, as he found it, to see +that a certain temple of Castor in the city was given up in proper +condition by the executors of a defunct citizen who had taken a contract +for keeping it in repair. This man, whose name had been Junius, left a +son, who was a Junius also under age, with a large fortune in charge of +various trustees, tutors, as they were called, whose duty it was to +protect the heir's interests. Verres, knowing of old that no property +was so easily preyed on as that of a minor, sees at once that something +may be done with the temple of Castor. The heir took oath, and to the +extent of his property he was bound to keep the edifice in good repair. +But Verres, when he made an inspection, finds everything to be in more +than usually good order. There is not a scratch on the roof of which he +can make use. Nothing has been allowed to go astray. Then "one of his +dogs"--for he had boasted to his friend Ligur that he always went about +with dogs to search out his game for him--suggested that some of the +columns were out of the perpendicular. Verres does not know what this +means; but the dog explains. All columns are, in fact, by strict +measurement, more or less out of the perpendicular, as we are told that +all eyes squint a little, though we do not see that they squint. But as +columns ought to be perpendicular, here was a matter on which he might +go to work. He does go to work. The trustees knowing their man--knowing +also that in the present condition of Rome it was impossible to escape +from an unjust Prætor without paying largely--went to his mistress and +endeavored to settle the matter with her. Here we have an amusing +picture of the way in which the affairs of the city were carried on in +that lady's establishment; how she had her levee, took her bribes, and +drove a lucrative trade. Doing, however, no good with her, the trustees +settled with an agent to pay Verres two hundred thousand sesterces to +drop the affair. This was something under £2000. But Verres repudiated +the arrangement with scorn. He could do much better than that with such +a temple and such a minor. He puts the repairs up to auction; and +refusing a bid from the trustees themselves--the very persons who are +the most interested in getting the work done, if there were work to +do--has it knocked down to himself for five hundred and sixty thousand +sesterces, or about £5000.[113] Then we are told how he had the +pretended work done by the putting up of a rough crane. No real work is +done, no new stones are brought, no money is spent. That is the way in +which Verres filled his office as Prætor Urbanus; but it does not seem +that any public notice is taken of his iniquities as long as he confined +himself to little jobs such as this. + +Then we come to the affairs of Sicily--and the long list of robberies is +commenced by which that province was made desolate. It seems that +nothing gave so grand a scope to the greed of a public functionary who +was at the same time governor and judge as disputed wills. It was not +necessary that any of the persons concerned should dispute the will +among them. Given the facts that a man had died and left property behind +him, then Verres would find means to drag the heir into court, and +either frighten him into payment of a bribe or else rob him of his +inheritance. Before he left Rome for the province he heard that a large +fortune had been left to one Dio on condition that he should put up +certain statues in the market-place.[114] It was not uncommon for a man +to desire the reputation of adorning his own city, but to choose that +the expense should be borne by his heir rather than by himself. Failing +to put up the statues, the heir was required to pay a fine to Venus +Erycina--to enrich, that is, the worship of that goddess, who had a +favorite temple under Mount Eryx. The statues had been duly erected. +But, nevertheless, here there was an opening. So Verres goes to work, +and in the name of Venus brings an action against Dio. The verdict is +given, not in favor of Venus but in favor of Verres. + +This manner of paying honor to the gods, and especially to Venus, was +common in Sicily. Two sons[115] received a fortune from their father, +with a condition that, if some special thing were not done, a fine +should be paid to Venus. The man had been dead twenty years ago. But +"the dogs" which the Prætor kept were very sharp, and, distant as was +the time, found out the clause. Action is taken against the two sons, +who indeed gain their case; but they gain it by a bribe so enormous that +they are ruined men. There was one Heraclius,[116] the son of Hiero, a +nobleman of Syracuse, who received a legacy amounting to 3,000,000 +sesterces--we will say £24,000--from a relative, also a Heraclius. He +had, too, a house full of handsome silver plate, silk and hangings, and +valuable slaves. A man, "Dives equom, dives pictai vestis et auri." +Verres heard, of course. He had by this time taken some Sicilian dogs +into his service, men of Syracuse, and had learned from them that there +was a clause in the will of the elder Heraclius that certain statues +should be put up in the gymnasium of the city. They undertake to bring +forward servants of the gymnasium who should say that the statues were +never properly erected. Cicero tells us how Verres went to work, now in +this court, now in that, breaking all the laws as to Sicilian +jurisdiction, but still proceeding under the pretence of law, till he +got everything out of the wretch--not only all the legacies from +Heraclius, but every shilling, and every article left to the man by his +father. There is a pretence of giving some of the money to the town of +Syracuse; but for himself he takes all the valuables, the Corinthian +vases, the purple hangings, what slaves he chooses. Then everything else +is sold by auction. How he divided the spoil with the Syracusans, and +then quarrelled with them, and how he lied as to the share taken by +himself, will all be found in Cicero's narrative. Heraclius was of +course ruined. For the stories of Epicrates and Sopater I must refer the +reader to the oration. In that of Sopater there is the peculiarity that +Verres managed to get paid by everybody all round. + +The story of Sthenius is so interesting that I cannot pass it by. +Sthenius was a man of wealth and high standing, living at Therma in +Sicily, with whom Verres often took up his abode; for, as governor, he +travelled much about the island, always in pursuit of plunder. Sthenius +had had his house full of beautiful things. Of all these Verres +possessed himself--some by begging, some by demanding, and some by +absolute robbery. Sthenius, grieved as he was to find himself pillaged, +bore all this. The man was Roman Prætor, and injuries such as these had +to be endured. At Therma, however, in the public place of the city, +there were some beautiful statues. For these Verres longed, and desired +his host to get them for him. Sthenius declared that this was +impossible. The statues had, under peculiar circumstances, been +recovered by Scipio Africanus from Carthage, and been restored by the +Roman General to the Sicilians, from whom they had been taken, and had +been erected at Therma. There was a peculiarly beautiful figure of +Stesichorus, the poet, as an old man bent double, with a book in his +hand--a very glorious work of art; and there was a goat--in bronze +probably--as to which Cicero is at the pains of telling us that even he, +unskilled as he was in such matters, could see its charms. No one had +sharper eyes for such pretty ornaments than Cicero, or a more decided +taste for them. But as Hortensius, his rival and opponent in this case, +had taken a marble sphinx from Verres, he thought it expedient to show +how superior he was to such matters. There was probably something of +joke in this, as his predilections would no doubt be known to those he +was addressing.[117] + +In the matter Sthenius was incorruptible, and not even the Prætor could +carry them away without his aid. Cicero, who is very warm in praise of +Sthenius, declares that "here at last Verres had found one town, the +only one in the world, from which he was unable to carry away something +of the public property by force, or stealth, or open command, or +favor."[118] The governor was so disgusted with this that he abandoned +Sthenius, leaving the house which he had plundered of everything, and +betook himself to that of one Agathinus, who had a beautiful daughter, +Callidama, who, with her husband, Dorotheus, lived with her father They +were enemies of Sthenius, and we are given to understand that Verres +ingratiated himself with them partly for the sake of Callidama, who +seems very quickly to have been given up to him,[119] and partly that he +might instigate them to bring actions against Sthenius. This is done +with great success; so that Sthenius is forced to run away, and betake +himself, winter as it was, across the seas to Rome. It has already been +told that when he was at Rome an action was brought against him by +Verres for having run away when he was under judgment, in which Cicero +defended him, and in which he was acquitted. In the teeth of his +acquittal, Verres persecuted the man by every form of law which came to +his hands as Prætor, but always in opposition to the law. There is an +audacity about the man's proceedings, in his open contempt of the laws +which it was his special duty to carry out, making us feel how confident +he was that he could carry everything before him in Rome by means of his +money. By robbery and concealing his robberies, by selling his judgments +in such a way that he should maintain some reticence by ordinary +precaution, he might have made much money, as other governors had done. +But he resolved that it would pay him better to rob everywhere openly, +and then, when the day of reckoning came, to buy the judges wholesale. +As to shame at such doings, there was no such feelings left among +Romans. + +Before he comes to the story of Sthenius, Cicero makes a grandly +ironical appeal to the bench before him: "Yes, O judges, keep this man; +keep him in the State! Spare him, preserve him so that he, too, may sit +with us as a judge here so that he, too, may, with impartiality, advise +us, as a Senator, what may be best for us as to peace and war! Not that +we need trouble ourselves as to his senatorial duties. His authority +would be nothing. When would he dare, or when would he care, to come +among us? Unless it might be in the idle month of February, when would a +man so idle, so debauched, show himself in the Senate-house? Let him +come and show himself. Let him advise us to attack the Cretans; to +pronounce the Greeks of Byzantium free; to declare Ptolemy King.[120] +Let him speak and vote as Hortensius may direct. This will have but +little effect upon our lives or our property. But beyond this there is +something we must look to; something that would be distrusted; something +that every good man has to fear! If by chance this man should escape out +of our hands, he would have to sit there upon that bench and be a judge. +He would be called upon to pronounce on the lives of a Roman citizen. He +would be the right-hand officer in the army of this man here,[121] of +this man who is striving to be the lord and ruler of our judgment-seats. +The people of Rome at least refuse this! This at least cannot be +endured!" + +The third of these narratives tells us how Verres managed in his +province that provision of corn for the use of Rome, the collection of +which made the possession of Sicily so important to the Romans. He +begins with telling his readers--as he does too frequently--how great +and peculiar is the task he has undertaken; and he uses an argument of +which we cannot but admit the truth, though we doubt whether any modern +advocate would dare to put it forward. We must remember, however, that +Romans were not accustomed to be shamefaced in praising themselves. What +Cicero says of himself all others said also of themselves; only Cicero +could say it better than others. He reminds us that he who accuses +another of any crime is bound to be especially free from that crime +himself. "Would you charge any one as a thief? you must be clear from +any suspicion of even desiring another man's property. Have you brought +a man up for malice or cruelty? take care that you be not found +hard-hearted. Have you called a man a seducer or an adulterer? be sure +that your own life shows no trace of such vices. Whatever you would +punish in another, that you must avoid yourself. A public accuser would +be intolerable, or even a caviller, who should inveigh against sins for +which he himself is called in question. But in this man I find all +wickednesses combined. There is no lust, no iniquity, no shamelessness +of which his life does not supply with ample evidence." The nature of +the difficulty to which Cicero is thus subjected is visible enough. As +Verres is all that is bad, so must he, as accuser, be all that is good; +which is more, we should say, than any man would choose to declare of +himself! But he is equal to the occasion. "In regard to this man, O +judges, I lay down for myself the law as I have stated it. I must so +live that I must clearly seem to be, and always have been, the very +opposite of this man, not only in my words and deeds, but as to that +arrogance and impudence which you see in him." Then he shows how +opposite he is to Verres at any rate, in impudence! "I am not sorry to +see," he goes on to say, "that that life which has always been the life +of my own choosing, has now been made a necessity to me by the law which +I have laid down for myself."[122] Mr. Pecksniff spoke of himself in the +same way, but no one, I think, believed him. Cicero probably was +believed. But the most wonderful thing is, that his manner of life +justified what he said of himself. When others of his own order were +abandoned to lust, iniquity, and shamelessness, he lived in purity, with +clean hands, doing good as far as was in his power to those around him. +A laugh will be raised at his expense in regard to that assertion of his +that, even in the matter of arrogance, his conduct should be the +opposite of that of Verres. But this will come because I have failed to +interpret accurately the meaning of those words, "oris oculorumque illa +contumacia ac superbia quam videtis." Verres, as we can understand, had +carried himself during the trial with a bragging, brazen, bold face, +determined to show no shame as to his own doings. It is in this, which +was a matter of manner and taste, that Cicero declares that he will be +the man's opposite as well as in conduct. As to the ordinary boastings, +by which it has to be acknowledged that Cicero sometimes disgusts his +readers, it will be impossible for us to receive a just idea of his +character without remembering that it was the custom of a Roman to +boast. We wait to have good things said of us, or are supposed to wait. +The Roman said them of himself. The "veni, vidi, vici" was the ordinary +mode of expression in those times, and in earlier times among the +Greeks.[123] This is distasteful to us; and it will probably be +distasteful to those who come after us, two or three hundred years +hence, that this or that British statesman should have made himself an +Earl or a Knight of the Garter. Now it is thought by many to be proper +enough. It will shock men in future days that great peers or rich +commoners should have bargained for ribbons and lieutenancies and +titles. Now it is the way of the time. Though virtue and vice may be +said to remain the same from all time to all time, the latitudes allowed +and the deviations encouraged in this or the other age must be +considered before the character of a man can be discovered. The +boastings of Cicero have been preserved for us. We have to bethink +ourselves that his words are 2000 years old. There is such a touch of +humanity in them, such a feeling of latter-day civilization and almost +of Christianity, that we are apt to condemn what remains in them of +paganism, as though they were uttered yesterday. When we come to the +coarseness of his attacks, his descriptions of Piso by-and-by, his abuse +of Gabinius, and his invectives against Antony; when we read his altered +opinions, as shown in the period of Cæsar's dominion, his flattery of +Cæsar when in power, and his exultations when Cæsar has been killed; +when we find that he could be coarse in his language and a bully, and +servile--for it has all to be admitted--we have to reflect under what +circumstances, under what surroundings, and for what object were used +the words which displease us. Speaking before the full court at this +trial, he dared to say he knew how to live as a man and to carry himself +as a gentleman. As men and gentlemen were then, he was justified. + +The description of Verres's rapacity in regard to the corn tax is long +and complex, and need hardly be followed at length, unless by those who +desire to know how the iniquity of such a one could make the most of an +imposition which was in itself very bad, and pile up the burden till the +poor province was unable to bear it. There were three kinds of +imposition as to corn. The first, called the "decumanum," was simply a +tithe. + +The producers through the island had to furnish Rome with a tenth of +their produce, and it was the Prætor's duty, or rather that of the +Quæstor under the Prætor, to see that the tithe was collected. How +Verres saw to this himself, and how he treated the Sicilian husbandmen +in regard to the tithe, is so told that we are obliged to give the man +credit for an infinite fertility of resources. Then there is the +"emptum," or corn bought for the use of Rome, of which there were two +kinds. A second tithe had to be furnished at a price fixed by the Roman +Senate, which price was considered to be below that of its real value, +and then 800,000 bushels were purchased, or nominally purchased, at a +price which was also fixed by the Senate, but which was nearer to the +real value. Three sesterces a bushel for the first and four for the +last, were the prices fixed at this time. For making these payments vast +sums of money were remitted to Verres, of which the accounts were so +kept that it was hard to say whether any found its way into the hands of +the farmers who undoubtedly furnished the corn. The third corn tax was +the "æstimatum." This consisted of a certain fixed quantity which had to +be supplied to the Prætor for the use of his governmental +establishment--to be supplied either in grain or in money. What such a +one as Verres would do with his, the reader may conceive. + +All this was of vital importance to Rome. Sicily and Africa were the +granaries from which Rome was supplied with its bread. To get supplies +from a province was necessary. Rich men have servants in order that they +may live at ease themselves. So it was with the Romans to whom the +provinces acted as servants. It was necessary to have a sharp agent, +some Proconsul or Proprætor; but when there came one so sharp as Verres, +all power of recreating supplies would for a time be destroyed. Even +Cicero boasted that in a time of great scarcity, he, being then Quæstor +in Sicily, had sent extraordinary store of corn over to the city.[124] +But he had so done it as to satisfy all who were concerned. + +Verres, in his corn dealings with the Sicilians, had a certain friend, +companion, and minister--one of his favorite dogs, perhaps we may call +him--named Apronius, whom Cicero specially describes. The description I +must give, because it is so powerful; because it shows us how one man +could in those days speak of another in open court before all the world; +because it affords us an instance of the intensity of hatred which the +orator could throw into his words; but I must hide it in the original +language, as I could not translate it without offence.[125] + +Then we have a book devoted to the special pillage of statues and other +ornaments, which, for the genius displayed in story-telling, is perhaps +of all the Verrine orations the most amusing. The Greek people had +become in a peculiar way devoted to what we generally call Art. We are +much given to the collecting of pictures, china, bronze, and marbles, +partly from love of such things, partly from pride in ornamenting our +houses so as to excite the admiration of others, partly from a feeling +that money so invested is not badly placed with a view to future +returns. All these feelings operated with the Greeks to a much greater +extent. Investments in consols and railway shares were not open to them. +Money they used to lend at usury, no doubt, but with a great chance of +losing it. The Greek colonists were industrious, were covetous, and +prudent. From this it had come to pass that, as they made their way +about the world--to the cities which they established round the +Mediterranean--they collected in their new homes great store of +ornamental wealth. This was done with much profusion at Syracuse, a +Greek city in Sicily, and spread from them over the whole island. The +temples of the gods were filled with the works of the great Greek +artists, and every man of note had his gallery. That Verres, hog as he +is described to have been, had a passion for these things, is manifest +to us. He came to his death at last in defence of some favorite images. +He had returned to Rome by means of Cæsar's amnesty, and Marc Antony had +him murdered because he would not surrender some treasures of art. When +we read the De Signis--About Statues--we are led to imagine that the +search after these things was the chief object of the man throughout his +three years of office--as we have before been made to suppose that all +his mind and time had been devoted to the cheating of the Sicilians in +the matter of corn. But though Verres loved these trinkets, it was not +altogether for himself that he sought them. Only one third of his +plunder was for himself. Senators, judges, advocates, Consuls, and +Prætors could be bribed with articles of _vertu_ as well as with money. + +There are eleven separate stories told of these robberies. I will give +very shortly the details of one or two. There was one Marcus Heius, a +rich citizen of Messana, in whose house Verres took great delight. +Messana itself was very useful to him, and the Mamertines, as the people +of Messana were called were his best friends in all Sicily: for he made +Messana the depot of his plunder, and there he caused to be built at the +expense of the Government an enormous ship called the _Cybea_,[126] in +which his treasures were carried out of the island. He therefore +specially favored Messana, and the district of Messana was supposed to +have been scourged by him with lighter rods than those used elsewhere in +Sicily. But this man Heius had a chapel, very sacred, in which were +preserved four specially beautiful images. There was a Cupid by +Praxiteles, and a bronze Hercules by Myro, and two Can[oe]phræ by +Polycletus. These were treasures which all the world came to see, and +which were open to be seen by all the world. These Verres took away, and +caused accounts to be forged in which it was made to appear that he had +bought them for trifling sums. It seems that some forced assent had been +obtained from Heius as to the transaction. Now there was a plan in vogue +for making things pleasant for a Proconsul retiring from his government, +in accordance with which a deputation would proceed from the province to +Rome to declare how well and kindly the Proconsul had behaved in his +government. The allies, even when they had been, as it were, skinned +alive by their governor, were constrained to send their deputations. +Deputations were got up in Sicily from Messana and Syracuse, and with +the others from Messana came this man Heius. Heius did not wish to tell +about his statues; but he was asked questions, and was forced to answer. +Cicero informs us how it all took place. "He was a man," he said--this +is what Cicero tells us that Heius said--"who was well esteemed in his +own country, and would wish you"--you judges--"to think well of his +religious spirit and of his personal dignity. He had come here to praise +Verres because he had been required to do so by his fellow-citizens. He, +however, had never kept things for sale in his own house; and had he +been left to himself, nothing would have induced him to part with the +sacred images which had been left to him by his ancestors as the +ornaments of his own chapel.[127] Nevertheless, he had come to praise +Verres, and would have held his tongue had it been possible." + +Cicero finishes his catalogue by telling us of the manifold robberies +committed by Verres in Syracuse, especially from the temples of the +gods; and he begins his account of the Syracusan iniquities by drawing a +parallel between two Romans whose names were well known in that city: +Marcellus, who had besieged it as an enemy and taken it, and Verres, who +had been sent to govern it in peace. Marcellus had saved the lives of +the Syracusans; Verres had made the Forum to run with their blood. The +harbor which had held its own against Marcellus, as we may read in our +Livy, had been wilfully opened by Verres to Cilician pirates. This +Syracuse which had been so carefully preserved by its Roman conqueror, +the most beautiful of all the Greek cities on the face of the earth--so +beautiful that Marcellus had spared to it all its public ornaments--had +been stripped bare by Verres. There was the temple of Minerva from which +he had taken all the pictures. There were doors to this temple of such +beauty that books had been written about them. He stripped the ivory +ornaments from them, and the golden balls with which they had been made +splendid. He tore off from them the head of the Gorgon and carried it +away, leaving them to be rude doors, Goth that he was! + +And he took the Sappho from the Prytaneum, the work of Silanion! a thing +of such beauty that no other man can have the like of it in his own +private house; yet Verres has it--a man hardly fit to carry such a work +of art as a burden, not possess it as a treasure of his own. "What, +too!" he says, "have you not stolen Pæan from the temple of +Æsculapius--a statue so remarkable for its beauty, so well-known for the +worship attached to it, that all the world has been wont to visit it? +What! has not the image of Aristæus been taken by you from the temple of +Bacchus? Have you not even stolen the statue of Jupiter Imperator, so +sacred in the eyes of all men--that Jupiter which the Greeks call +Ourios? You have not hesitated to rob the temple of Proserpine of the +lovely head in Parian marble."[128] Then Cicero speaks of the worship +due to all these gods as though he himself believed in their godhead. As +he had begun this chapter with the Mamertines of Messana, so he ends it +with an address to them. "It is well that you should come, you alone out +of all the provinces, and praise Verres here in Rome. But what can you +say for him? Was it not your duty to have built a ship for the Republic? +You have built none such, but have constructed a huge private +transport-vessel for Verres. Have you not been exempted from your tax on +corn? Have you not been exempted in regard to naval and military +recruits? Have you not been the receptacle of all his stolen goods? They +will have to confess, these Mamertines, that many a ship laden with his +spoils has left their port, and especially this huge transport-ship +which they built for him!" + +In the De Suppliciis--the treatise about punishments, as the last +division of this process is called--Cicero tells the world how Verres +exacted vengeance from those who were opposed to him, and with what +horrid cruelty he raged against his enemies. The stories, indeed, are +very dreadful. It is harrowing to think that so evil a man should have +been invested with powers so great for so bad a purpose. But that which +strikes a modern reader most is the sanctity attached to the name of a +Roman citizen, and the audacity with which the Roman Proconsul +disregarded that sanctity. "Cives Romanus" is Cicero's cry from the +beginning to the end. No doubt he is addressing himself to Romans, and +seeking popularity, as he always did. But, nevertheless, the demands +made upon the outside world at large by the glory of that appellation +are astonishing, even when put forward on such an occasion as this. One +Gavius escapes from a prison in Syracuse, and, making his way to +Messana, foolishly boasts that he would be soon over in Italy, out of +the way of Prætor Verres and his cruelties. Verres, unfortunately, is in +Messana, and soon hears from some of his friends, the Mamertines, what +Gavius was saying. He at once orders Gavius to be flogged in public. +"Cives Romanus sum!" exclaims Gavius, no doubt truly. It suits Verres to +pretend to disbelieve this, and to declare that the man is a runagate +slave. The poor wretch still cries "Cives Romanus!" and trusts alone to +that appeal. Whereupon Verres puts up a cross on the sea-shore, and has +the man crucified in sight of Italy, so that he shall be able to see the +country of which he is so proud. Whether he had done anything to deserve +crucifixion, or flogging, or punishment at all, we are not told. The +accusation against Verres is not for crucifying the man, but for +crucifying the Roman. It is on this occasion that Cicero uses the words +which have become proverbial as to the iniquity of this proceeding.[129] +During the telling of this story he explains this doctrine, claiming for +the Roman citizen, all the world over, some such protection as +freemasons are supposed to give each other, whether known or unknown. +"Men of straw," he says, "of no special birth, go about the world. They +resort to places they have never seen before, where they know none, and +none know them. Here, trusting to their claim solely, they feel +themselves to be safe--not only where our magistrates are to be found, +who are bound both by law and by opinion, not only among other Roman +citizens who speak their language and follow the same customs, but +abroad, over the whole world, they find this to be sufficient +protection."[130] Then he goes on to say that if any Prætor may at his +will put aside this sanctity, all the provinces, all the kingdoms, all +the free states, all the world abroad, will very soon lose the feeling. + +But the most remarkable story is that told of a certain pirate captain. +Verres had been remiss in regard to the pirates--very cowardly, indeed, +if we are to believe Cicero. Piracy in the Mediterranean was at that +time a terrible drawback to trade--that piracy that a year or two +afterward Pompey was effectual in destroying. A governor in Sicily had, +among other special duties, to keep a sharp lookout for the pirates. +This Verres omitted so entirely that these scourges of the sea soon +learned that they might do almost as they pleased on the Sicilian +coasts. But it came to pass that on one day a pirate vessel fell by +accident into the hands of the governor's officers. It was not taken, +Cicero says, but was so overladen that it was picked up almost +sinking.[131] It was found to be full of fine, handsome men, of silver +both plated and coined, and precious stuffs. Though not "taken," it was +"found," and carried into Syracuse. Syracuse is full of the news, and +the first demand is that the pirates, according to Roman custom, shall +all be killed. But this does not suit Verres. The slave-markets of the +Roman Empire are open, and there are men among the pirates whom it will +suit him better to sell than to kill. There are six musicians, +"symphoniacos homines," whom he sends as a present to a friend at Rome. +But the people of Syracuse are very much in earnest. They are too sharp +to be put off with pretences, and they count the number of slaughtered +pirates. There are only some useless, weak, ugly old fellows beheaded +from day to day; and being well aware how many men it must have taken to +row and manage such a vessel, they demand that the full crew shall be +brought to the block. "There is nothing in victory more sweet," says +Cicero, "no evidence more sure, than to see those whom you did fear, but +have now got the better of, brought out to tortures or death."[132] +Verres is so much frightened by the resolution of the citizens that he +does not dare to neglect their wishes. There are lying in the prisons of +Syracuse a lot of prisoners, Roman citizens, of whom he is glad to rid +himself. He has them brought out, with their heads wrapped up so that +they shall not be known, and has them beheaded instead of the pirates! A +great deal is said, too, about the pirate captain--the arch-pirate, as +he is called. There seems to have been some money dealings personally +between him and Verres, on account of which Verres kept him hidden. At +any rate, the arch-pirate was saved. "In such a manner this celebrated +victory is managed.[133] The pirate ship is taken, and the chief pirate +is allowed to escape. The musicians are sent to Rome. The men who are +good-looking and young are taken to the Prætor's house. As many Roman +citizens as will fill their places are carried out as public enemies, +and are tortured and killed! All the gold and silver and precious stuffs +are made a prize of by Verres!" + +Such are the accusations brought against this wonderful man--the truth +of which has, I think, on the whole been admitted. The picture of Roman +life which it displays is wonderful, that such atrocities should have +been possible; and equally so of provincial subjection, that such +cruelties should have been endured. But in it all the greatest wonder is +that there should have risen up a man so determined to take the part of +the weak against the strong with no reward before him, apparently with +no other prospect than that of making himself odious to the party to +which he belonged. Cicero was not a Gracchus, anxious to throw himself +into the arms of the people; he was an oligarch by conviction, born to +oligarchy, bred to it, convinced that by it alone could the Roman +Republic be preserved. But he was convinced also that unless these +oligarchs could be made to do their duty the Republic could not stand. +Therefore it was that he dared to defy his own brethren, and to make the +acquittal of Verres an impossibility. I should be inclined to think that +the day on which Hortensius threw up the sponge, and Verres submitted to +banishment and fine, was the happiest in the orator's life. + +Verres was made to pay a fine which was very insufficient for his +crimes, and then to retire into comfortable exile. From this he returned +to Rome when the Roman exiles were amnestied, and was shortly afterward +murdered by Antony, as has been told before. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +_CICERO AS ÆDILE AND PRÆTOR._ + + +[Sidenote: B.C. 69, ætat. 38.] + +The year after the trial of Verres was that of Cicero's Ædileship. We +know but little of him in the performance of the duties of this office, +but we may gather that he performed them to the satisfaction of the +people. He did not spend much money for their amusements, although it +was the custom of Ædiles to ruin themselves in seeking popularity after +this fashion; and yet when, two years afterward, he solicited the +Prætorship from the people, he was three times elected as first Prætor +in all the comitia--three separate elections having been rendered +necessary by certain irregularities and factious difficulties. To all +the offices, one after another, he was elected in his first year--the +first year possible in accordance with his age--and was elected first in +honor, the first as Prætor, and then the first as Consul. This, no +doubt, was partly due to his compliance with those rules for canvassing +which his brother Quintus is said to have drawn out, and which I have +quoted; but it proves also the trust which was felt in him by the +people. The candidates, for the most part, were the candidates for the +aristocracy. They were put forward with the idea that thus might the +aristocratic rule of Rome be best maintained. Their elections were +carried on by bribery, and the people were for the most part indifferent +to the proceeding. Whether it might be a Verres, or an Antony, or a +Hortensius, they took the money that was going. They allowed themselves +to be delighted with the games, and they did as they were bid. But every +now and then there came up a name which stirred them, and they went to +the voting pens--ovilia--with a purpose of their own. When such a +candidate came forward, he was sure to be first. Such had been Marius, +and such had been the great Pompey, and such was Cicero. The two former +were men successful in war, who gained the voices of the people by their +victories. Cicero gained them by what he did inside the city. He could +afford not to run into debt and ruin himself during his Ædileship, as +had been common with Ædiles, because he was able to achieve his +popularity in another way. It was the chief duty of the Ædiles to look +after the town generally--to see to the temples of the gods, to take +care that houses did not tumble down, to look to the cleansing of the +streets, and to the supply of water. The markets were under them, and +the police, and the recurrent festivals. An active man, with +common-sense, such as was Cicero, no doubt did his duty as Ædile well. + +He kept up his practice as an advocate during his years of office. We +have left to us the part of one speech and the whole of another spoken +during this period. The former was in favor of Fonteius, whom the Gauls +prosecuted for plundering them as Proprætor, and the latter is a civil +case on behalf of Cæcina, addressed to the "Recuperatores," as had been +that for Marcus Tullius. The speech for Fonteius is remarkable as being +as hard against the provincial Gauls as his speech against Verres had +been favorable to the Sicilians. But the Gauls were barbarians, whereas +the Sicilians were Greeks. And it should be always remembered that +Cicero spoke as an advocate, and that the praise and censure of an +advocate require to be taken with many grains of salt. Nothing that +these wretched Gauls could say against a Roman citizen ought to be +accepted in evidence! "All the Romans," he says, "who have been in the +province wish well to Fonteius. Would you rather believe these +Gauls--led by what feeling? By the opinion of men! Is the opinion, then, +of your enemies of greater weight than that of your fellow-citizens, or +is it the greater credibility of the witnesses? Would you prefer, then, +unknown men to known--dishonest men to honest--foreigners to your own +countrymen--greedy men to those who come before you for nothing--men of +no religion to those who fear the gods--those who hate the Empire and +the name of Rome to allies and citizens who are good and faithful?"[134] +In every word of this he begs the question so as to convince us that his +own case was weak; and when he makes a final appeal to the pity of the +judges we are sure that Fonteius was guilty. He tells the judges that +the poor mother of the accused man has no other support than this son, +and that there is a sister, one of the virgins devoted to the service of +Vesta, who, being a vestal virgin, cannot have sons of her own, and is +therefore entitled to have her brother preserved for her. When we read +such arguments as these, we are sure that Fonteius had misused the +Gauls. We believe that he was acquitted, because we are told that he +bought a house in Rome soon afterward; but we feel that he escaped by +the too great influence of his advocate. We are driven to doubt whether +the power over words which may be achieved by a man by means of natural +gifts, practice, and erudition, may not do evil instead of good. A man +with such a tongue as that of Cicero will make the listener believe +almost whatever he will; and the advocate is restrained by no horror of +falsehood. In his profession alone it is considered honorable to be a +bulwark to deception, and to make the worse appear the better cause. +Cicero did so when the occasion seemed to him to require it, and has +been accused of hypocrisy in consequence. There is a passage in one of +the dialogues, De Oratore, which has been continually quoted against him +because the word "fibs" has been used with approval. The orator is told +how it may become him to garnish his good story with little white +lies--"mendaciunculis."[135] The advice does not indeed refer to facts, +or to evidence, or to arguments. It goes no farther than to suggest that +amount of exaggeration which is used by every teller of a good story in +order that the story may be good. Such "mendaciuncula" are in the mouth +of every diner-out in London, and we may pity the dinner-parties at +which they are not used. Reference is made to them now because the use +of the word by Cicero, having been misunderstood by some who have +treated his name with severity, has been brought forward in proof of his +falsehood. You shall tell a story about a very little man, and say that +he is only thirty-six inches. You know very well that he is more than +four feet high. That will be a "mendaciunculum," according to Cicero. +The phrase has been passed on from one enemy to another, till the little +fibs of Cicero's recommending have been supposed to be direct lies +suggested by him to all advocates, and therefore continually used by him +as an advocate. They have been only the garnishing of his drolleries. As +an advocate, he was about as false and about as true as an advocate of +our own day.[136] That he was not paid, and that our English barristers +are paid for the work they do, makes, I think, no difference either in +the innocency or the falseness of the practice. I cannot but believe +that, hereafter, an improved tone of general feeling will forbid a man +of honor to use arguments which he thinks to be untrue, or to make +others believe that which he does not believe himself. Such is not the +state of things now in London, nor was it at Rome in Cicero's time. +There are touches of eloquence in the plea for Fonteius, but the reader +will probably agree with me that the orator was well aware that the late +governor who was on his trial had misused those unfortunate Gauls. + +In the year following that of Cicero's Ædileship were written the first +of his epistles which have come to us. He was then not yet thirty-nine +years old--B.C. 68--and during that year and the next seven were written +eleven letters, all to Atticus. Those to his other friends--Ad +Familiares, as we have been accustomed to call them; Ad Diversos, they +are commonly called now--began only with the close of his consular year. +How it has come to pass that there have been preserved only those which +were written after a period of life at which most men cease to be free +correspondents, cannot be said with certainty. It has probably been +occasioned by the fact that he caused his letters to be preserved as +soon as he himself perceived how great would be their value. Of the +nature of their value it is hardly possible to speak too highly. I am +not prepared, indeed, to agree with the often quoted assertion of +Cornelius Nepos that he who has read his letters to Atticus will not +lack much of the history of those days.[137] + +A man who should have read them and nothing else, even in the days of +Augustus, would not have learned much of the preceding age. But if not +for the purpose of history, the letters generally have, if read aright, +been all but enough for the purpose of biography. With a view to the +understanding of the man's character, they have, I think, been enough. +From them such a flood of light has been turned upon the writer that all +his nobility and all his defects, all his aspirations and all his +vacillations, have been made visible. We know how human he was, and how, +too, he was only human--how he sighed for great events, and allowed +himself to think sometimes that they could be accomplished by small +man[oe]uvres--how like a man he could be proud of his work and +boast--how like a man he could despair and almost die. But I wish it to +be acknowledged, by those who read his letters in order that they may +also read his character, that they were, when written, private letters, +intended to tell the truth, and that if they are to be believed in +reference to his weaknesses, they are also to be believed in reference +to his strength. If they are singularly transparent as to the +man--opening, especially to Atticus, the doors of his soul more +completely than would even any girl of the nineteenth century when +writing to her bosom friend--they must be taken as being more honestly +true. To regard the aspirations as hypocritical, and only the meaner +effusions of his mind as emblematic of the true man, is both +unreasonable and uncharitable. Nor, I think, will that reader grasp the +way to see the truth who cannot teach himself what has in Cicero's case, +been the effect of daring to tell to his friend an unvarnished tale. +When with us some poor thought does make its way across our minds, we do +not sit down and write it to another, nor, if we did, would an +immortality be awarded to the letter. If one of us were to lose his +all--as Cicero lost his all when he was sent into exile--I think it +might well be that he should for a time be unmanned; but he would either +not write, or, in writing, would hide much of his feelings. On losing +his Tullia, some father of to-day would keep it all in his heart, would +not maunder out his sorrows. Even with our truest love for our friends, +some fear is mingled which forbids the use of open words. Whether this +be for good or for evil I will not say, but it is so. Cicero, whether he +did or did not know that his letters would live, was impeded by no such +fear. He said everything that there was within him--being in this, I +should say, quite as unlike to other Romans of the day as he was to +ourselves. In the collection as it has come to us there are about fifty +letters--not from Cicero--written to Cicero by his brother, by Decimus +Brutus, by Plancus, and others. It will, I think, be admitted that their +tone is quite different from that used by himself. There are none, +indeed, from Atticus--none written under terms of such easy friendship +as prevailed when many were written by Cicero himself. It will probably +be acknowledged that his manner of throwing himself open to his +correspondent was peculiar to him. If this be so, he should surely have +the advantage as well as the disadvantage of his own mode of utterance. +The reader who allows himself to think that the true character of the +man is to be read in the little sly things he said to Atticus, but that +the nobler ideas were merely put forth to cajole the public, is as +unfair to himself as he is to Cicero. + +In reading the entire correspondence--the letters from Cicero either to +Atticus or to others--it has to be remembered that in the ordinary +arrangement of them made by Grævius[138] they are often incorrectly +paced in regard to chronology. In subsequent times efforts have been +made to restore them to their proper position, and so they should be +read. The letters to Atticus and those Ad Diversos have generally been +published separately. For the ordinary purpose of literary pleasure they +may perhaps be best read in that way. The tone of them is different. The +great bulk of the correspondence is political, or quasi-political. The +manner is much more familiar, much less severe--though not on that +account indicating less seriousness--in those written to Atticus than in +the others. With one or two signal exceptions, those to Atticus are +better worth reading. The character of the writer may perhaps be best +gathered from divided perusal; but for a general understanding of the +facts of Cicero's life, the whole correspondence should be taken as it +was written. It has been published in this shape as well as in the +other, and will be used in this shape in my effort to portray the life +of him who wrote them.[139] + +[Sidenote: B.C. 68, ætat. 39.] + +We have three letters written when he was thirty-eight, in the year +after his Ædileship. In the first he tells his friend of the death of +his cousin, Lucius Cicero, who had travelled with him into Sicily, and +alludes to the disagreements which had taken place between Pomponia, the +sister of Atticus, and her husband, Quintus Cicero--our Cicero's +brother. Marcus, in all that he says of his brother, makes the best of +him. That Quintus was a scholar and a man of parts there can be no +doubt; one, too, who rose to high office in the Republic. But he was +arrogant, of harsh temper, cruel to those dependent on him, and +altogether unimbued with the humanity which was the peculiar +characteristic of his brother. "When I found him to be in the wrong," +says Cicero, in his first letter, "I wrote to him as to a brother whom +I loved; but as to one younger than myself, and whom I was bound to tell +of his fault." As is usual with correspondents, half the letter is taken +up with excuses for not writing sooner; then he gives commissions for +the purchase of statues for his Tusculan villa, of which we now hear for +the first time, and tells his friend how his wife, Terentia, sends her +love, though she is suffering from the gout. Tullia also, the dear +little Tullia, "deliciæ nostræ,"[140]sends her love. In the next, he +says how a certain house which Atticus had intended to purchase had been +secured by Fonteius for 130,000 sesterces--something over £1000, taking +the sesterce at 2 _d_. This no doubt was part of the plunder which +Fonteius had taken from the Gauls. Quintus is getting on better with his +wife. Then he tells his friend very abruptly that his father died that +year on the eighth day before the kalends of December--on the 24th of +November. Some question as to the date of the old man's death had +probably been asked. He gives further commissions as to statues, and +declares of his Tusculan villa that he is happy only when he is there. +In the third letter he promises that he will be ready to pay one Cincius +£170 on a certain day, the price probably of more statues, and gives +orders to his friend as to the buying of books. "All my prospect of +enjoying myself at my ease depends on your goodness." These were the +letters he wrote when he had just ceased to be Ædile. + +From the next two years five letters remain to us, chiefly noticeable +from the continued commissions given by Cicero to Atticus for statues. +Statues and more statues are wanted as ornaments for his Tusculanum. +Should there be more than are needed for that villa, he will begin to +decorate another that he has, the Formianum, near Caieta. He wants +whatever Atticus may think proper for his "palæstra" and "gymnasium." +Atticus has a library or collection of maps for sale, and Cicero engages +to buy them, though it seems that he has not at present quite got the +money. He reserves, he says, all his little comings-in, +"vindemiolas"--what he might make by selling his grapes as a lady in the +country might get a little income from her spare butter--in order that +he may have books as a resource for his old age. Again, he bids Atticus +not to be afraid but what he, Cicero, will be able to buy them some +day--which if he can do he will be richer than Crassus, and will envy no +one his mansions or his lawns. He also declares that he has betrothed +Tullia, then ten years old, to Caius Piso, son of Lucius Piso Frugi. The +proposed marriage, which after three years of betrothal was duly +solemnized, was considered to be in all respects desirable. Cicero +thought very highly of his son-in-law, who was related to Calpurnius +Piso, one of the Consuls of that year. So far everything was going well +with our orator. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 67, ætat. 40.] + +He was then candidate for the Prætorship, and was elected first, as has +been already said. It was in that year, too that a law was passed in +Rome, at the instance of one Gabinius, a tribune, authorizing Pompey to +exterminate the pirates in the Mediterranean, and giving him almost +unlimited power for this object. Pompey was not, indeed, named in this +law. A single general, one who had been Consul, was to be approved by +the Senate, with exclusive command by sea and for fifty miles on shore. +He was to select as his own officers a hitherto unheard-of number, all +of senatorial rank. It was well understood when the law was worded that +Pompey alone could fill the place. The Senate opposed the scheme with +all its power, although, seven years before, it had acknowledged the +necessity of some measure for extirpating the pirates. But jealousies +prevailed, and the Senate was afraid of Pompey. Gabinius, however, +carried his law by the votes of the people, and Pompey was appointed. + +Nothing tells us more clearly the wretched condition of things in Rome +at this time than this infliction of pirates, under which their commerce +was almost destroyed. Sulla had re-established the outside show of a +strong government--a government which was strong enough to enable rich +men to live securely in Rome; but he had done nothing to consolidate the +Empire. Even Lucullus in the East had only partially succeeded, leaving +Mithridates still to be dealt with by Pompey. Of what nature was the +government of the provinces under Sulla's aristocracy we learn from the +trials of Verres, and of Fonteius, and of Catiline. The Mediterranean +swarmed with pirates, who taught themselves to think that they had +nothing to fear from the hands of the Romans. Plutarch declares to +us--no doubt with fair accuracy, because the description has been +admitted by subsequent writers--how great was the horror of these +depredations.[141] It is marvellous to us now that this should have been +allowed--marvellous that pirates should reach such a pitch of importance +that Verres had found it worth his while to sacrifice Roman citizens in +their place. Pompey went forth with his officers, his fleets, and his +money, and cleared the Mediterranean in forty days, as Plutarch says. +Floras tells us that not a ship was lost by the Romans, and not a pirate +left on the seas.[142] + +In the history of Rome at this time we find men of mark whose +characters, as we read, become clear to us, or appear to become clear. +Of Marius and of Sulla we have a defined idea. Cæsar, with his +imperturbable courage, absence of scruples, and assurance of success, +comes home to us. Cicero, I think, we certainly may understand. +Catiline, Cato, Antony, and Brutus have left their portraits with us. Of +Pompey I must acknowledge for myself that I have but a vague conception. +His wonderful successes seem to have been produced by so very little +power of his own! He was not determined and venomous as was Marius; not +cold-blooded and ruthless as was Sulla; certainly not confident as was +Cæsar; not humane as was Cicero; not passionate as Catiline; not stoic +as was Cato; not reckless as was Antony, nor wedded to the idea of an +oligarchy as was Brutus. Success came in his way, and he found it--found +it again and again, till fortune seemed to have adopted him. Success +lifted him higher and higher, till at last it seemed to him that he must +be a Sulla whether he would or no.[143] But he could not endure the idea +of a rival Sulla. I doubt whether ambition would have prompted him to +fight for the empire of the Republic, had he not perceived that that +empire would fall into Cæsar's hands did he not grasp it himself. It +would have satisfied him to let things go, while the citizens called him +"Magnus," and regarded him as the man who could do a great thing if he +would, if only no rivalship had been forced upon him. Cæsar did force it +on him, and then, as a matter of course, he fell. He must have +understood warfare from his youth upward, knowing well the purposes of a +Roman legion and of Roman auxiliaries. He had destroyed Sertorius in +Spain, a man certainly greater than himself, and had achieved the honor +of putting an end to the Servile war when Spartacus, the leader of the +slaves and gladiators, had already been killed. He must have appreciated +at its utmost the meaning of those words, "Cives Romanus." He was a +handsome man, with good health, patient of labor, not given to luxury, +reticent, I should say ungenerous, and with a strong touch of vanity; a +man able to express but unable to feel friendship; with none of the +highest attributes of manhood, but with all the second-rate attributes +at their best; a capable, brave man, but one certain to fall crushed +beneath the heel of such a man as Cæsar, and as certain to leave such a +one as Cicero in the lurch. + +It is necessary that the reader should attempt to realize to himself the +personal characteristics of Pompey, as from this time forward Cicero's +political life--and his life now became altogether political--was +governed by that of Pompey. That this was the case to a great extent is +certain--to a sad extent, I think. The two men were of the same age; but +Pompey had become a general among soldiers before Cicero had ceased to +be a pupil among advocates. As Cicero was making his way toward the +front, Pompey was already the first among Romans. He had been Consul +seven years before his proper time, and had lately, as we have seen, +been invested with extraordinary powers in that matter of putting down +the pirates. In some sort the mantle of Sulla had fallen upon him. He +was the leader of what we may call the conservative party. If, which I +doubt, the political governance of men was a matter of interest to him, +he would have had them governed by oligarchical forms. Such had been the +forms in Rome, in which, though the votes of the people were the source +of all power, the votes hardly went further than the selection of this +or that oligarch. Pompey no doubt felt the expediency of maintaining the +old order of things, in the midst of which he had been born to high +rank, and had achieved the topmost place either by fortune or by merit. +For any heartfelt conviction as to what might be best for his country or +his countrymen, in what way he might most surely use his power for the +good of the citizens generally, we must, I think, look in vain to that +Pompey whom history has handed down to us. But, of all matters which +interested Cicero, the governance of men interested him the most. How +should the great Rome of his day rise to greater power than ever, and +yet be as poor as in the days of her comparative insignificance? How +should Rome be ruled so that Romans might be the masters of the world, +in mental gifts as well as bodily strength, in arts as well as in +arms--as by valor, so by virtue? He, too, was an oligarch by strongest +conviction. His mind could conceive nothing better than Consuls, +Prætors, Censors, Tribunes, and the rest of it; with, however, the +stipulation that the Consuls and the Prætors should be honest men. The +condition was no doubt an impossible one; but this he did not or would +not see. Pompey himself was fairly honest. Up to this time he had shown +no egregious lust for personal power. His hands were clean in the midst +of so much public plunder. He was the leader of the conservative party. +The "Optimates," or "Boni," as Cicero indifferently calls them--meaning, +as we should say, the upper classes, who were minded to stand by their +order--believed in him, though they did not just at that time wish to +confide to him the power which the people gave him. The Senate did not +want another Sulla; and yet it was Sulla who had reinstated the Senate. +The Senate would have hindered Pompey, if it could, from his command +against the pirates, and again from his command against Mithridates. But +he, nevertheless, was naturally their head, as came to be seen plainly +when, seventeen years afterward, Cæsar passed the Rubicon, and Cicero in +his heart acknowledged Pompey as his political leader while Pompey +lived. This, I think, was the case to a sad extent, as Pompey was +incapable of that patriotic enthusiasm which Cicero demanded. As we go +on we shall find that the worst episodes in Cicero's political career +were created by his doubting adherence to a leader whom he bitterly felt +to be untrue to himself, and in whom his trust became weaker and weaker +to the end. + +Then came Cicero's Prætorship. In the time of Cicero there were eight +Prætors, two of whom were employed in the city, and the six others in +the provinces. The "Prætor Urbanus" was confined to the city, and was +regarded as the first in authority. This was the office filled by +Cicero. His duty was to preside among the judges, and to name a judge or +judges for special causes. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 66, ætat. 41.] + +Cicero at this time, when he and Pompey were forty or forty-one, +believed thoroughly in Pompey. When the great General was still away, +winding up the affairs of his maritime war against the pirates, there +came up the continually pressing question of the continuation of the +Mithridatic war. Lucullus had been absent on that business nearly seven +years, and, though he had been at first grandly victorious, had failed +at last. His own soldiers, tired of their protracted absence, mutinied +against him, and Glabrio, a later Consul, who had been sent to take the +command out of his hands, had feared to encounter the difficulty. It was +essential that something should be done, and one Manilius, a Tribune, a +man of no repute himself, but whose name has descended to all posterity +in the oration Pro Lege Manilia, proposed to the people that Pompey +should have the command. Then Cicero first entered, as we may say, on +political life. Though he had been Quæstor and Ædile, and was now +Prætor, he had taken a part only in executive administration. He had had +his political ideas, and had expressed them very strongly in that matter +of the judges, which, in the condition of Rome, was certainly a +political question of great moment. But this he had done as an advocate, +and had interfered only as a barrister of to-day might do, who, in +arguing a case before the judges, should make an attack on some alleged +misuse of patronage. Now, for the first time, he made a political +harangue, addressing the people in a public meeting from the rostra. +This speech is the oration Pro Lego Manilia. This he explains in his +first words. Hitherto his addresses had been to the judges--Judices; now +it is to the people--Quirites: "Although, Quirites, no sight has ever +been so pleasant to me as that of seeing you gathered in +crowds--although this spot has always seemed to me the fittest in the +world for action and the noblest for speech--nevertheless, not my own +will, indeed, but the duties of the profession which I have followed +from my earliest years have hitherto hindered me from entering upon this +the best path to glory which is open to any good man." It is only +necessary for our purpose to say, in reference to the matter in +question, that this command was given to Pompey in opposition to the +Senate. + +As to the speech itself, it requires our attention on two points. It is +one of those choice morsels of polished Latinity which have given to +Cicero the highest rank among literary men, and have, perhaps, made him +the greatest writer of prose which the world has produced. I have +sometimes attempted to make a short list of his _chefs d'[oe]uvre_--of +his tidbits, as I must say, if I am bound to express myself in English. +The list would never allow itself to be short, and so has become almost +impossible; but, whenever the attempt has been made, this short oration +in its integrity has always been included in it. My space hardly permits +me to insert specimens of the author's style, but I will give in an +appendix[144] two brief extracts as specimens of the beauty of words in +Latin. I almost fancy that if properly read they would have a grace +about them even to the ears of those to whom Latin is unknown. I venture +to attach to them in parallel columns my own translation, acknowledging +in despair how impossible I have found it to catch anything of the +rhythm of the author. As to the beauty of the language I shall probably +find no opponent. But a serious attack has been made on Cicero's +character, because it has been supposed that his excessive praise was +lavished on Pompey with a view of securing the great General's +assistance in his candidature for the Consulship. Even Middleton repeats +this accusation, and only faintly repels it. M. Du Rozoir, the French +critic, declares that "in the whole oration there is not a word which +was not dictated to Cicero the Prætor by his desire to become Consul, +and that his own elevation was in his thoughts all through, and not that +of Pompey." The matter would be one to us but of little moment, were it +not that Cicero's character for honesty as a politician depends on the +truth or falsehood of his belief in Pompey. Pompey had been almost +miraculously fortunate up to this period of his life's career. He had +done infinitely valuable service to the State. He had already crushed +the pirates. There was good ground for believing that in his hands the +Roman arms would be more efficacious against Mithridates than in those +of any other General. All that Cicero says on this head, whatever might +have been his motive for saying it, was at any rate true. + +A man desirous of rising in the service of his country of course adheres +to his party. That Cicero was wrong in supposing that the Republic, +which had in fact already fallen, could be re-established by the +strength of any one man, could be bolstered up by any leader, has to be +admitted; that in trusting to Pompey as a politician he leaned on a +frail reed I admit; but I will not admit that in praising the man he was +hypocritical or unduly self-seeking. In our own political contests, when +a subordinate member of the Cabinet is zealously serviceable to his +chief, we do not accuse him of falsehood because by that zeal he has +also strengthened his own hands. How shall a patriot do the work of his +country unless he be in high place? and how shall he achieve that place +except by co-operation with those whom he trusts? They who have blamed +Cicero for speaking on behalf of Pompey on this occasion, seem to me to +ignore not only the necessities but the very virtues of political life. + +One other remarkable oration Cicero made during his Prætorship--that, +namely, in defence of Aulus Cluentius Habitus. As it is the longest, so +is it the most intricate, and on account of various legal points the +most difficult to follow of all his speeches. But there are none perhaps +which tell us more of the condition, or perhaps I should say the +possibilities, of life among the Romans of that day. The accusation +against Roscius Amerinus was accompanied by horrible circumstances. The +iniquities of Verres, as a public officer who had the power of blessing +or of cursing a whole people, were very terrible; but they do not shock +so much as the story here told of private life. That any man should have +lived as did Oppianicus, or any woman as did Sassia, seems to prove a +state of things worse than anything described by Juvenal a hundred and +fifty years later. Cicero was no doubt unscrupulous as an advocate, but +he could have gained nothing here by departing from verisimilitude. We +must take the picture as given us as true, and acknowledge that, though +law processes were common, crimes such as those of this man and of this +woman were not only possible, but might be perpetrated with impunity. +The story is too long and complicated to be even abridged; but it should +be read by those who wish to know the condition of life in Italy during +the latter days of the Republic. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 65, ætat. 42.] + +In the year after he was Prætor--in the first of the two years between +his Prætorship and Consulship, B.C. 65--he made a speech in defence of +one Caius Cornelius, as to which we hear that the pleadings in the case +occupied four days. This, with our interminable "causes célèbres," does +not seem much to us, but Cicero's own speech was so long that in +publishing it he divided it into two parts. This Cornelius had been +Tribune in the year but one before, and was accused of having misused +his power when in office. He had incurred the enmity of the aristocracy +by attempts made on the popular side to restrain the Senate; especially +by the stringency of a law proposed for stopping bribery at elections. +Cicero's speeches are not extant. We have only some hardly intelligible +fragments of them, which were preserved by Asconius,[145] a commentator +on certain of Cicero's orations; but there is ground for supposing that +these Cornelian orations were at the time matter of as great moment as +those spoken against Verres, or almost as those spoken against Catiline. +Cicero defended Cornelius, who was attacked by the Senate--by the rich +men who desired office and the government of provinces. The law proposed +for the restriction of bribery at elections no doubt attempted to do +more by the severity of its punishment than can be achieved by such +means: it was mitigated, but was still admitted by Cicero to be too +rigorous. The rancor of the Senate against Cornelius seems to have been +due to this attempt; but the illegality with which he was charged, and +for which he was tried, had reference to another law suggested by +him--for restoring to the people the right of pardon which had been +usurped by the Senate. Caius Cornelius seems to have been a man honest +and eager in his purpose to save the Republic from the greed of the +oligarchs, but--as had been the Gracchi--ready in his eagerness to push +his own authority too far in his attempt to restrain that of the Senate. +A second Tribune, in the interest of the Senate, attempted to exercise +an authority which undoubtedly belonged to him, by inhibiting the +publication or reading of the proposed law. The person whose duty it was +to read it was stopped; then Cornelius pushed aside the inferior +officer, and read it himself. There was much violence, and the men who +brought the accusation about Cornelius--two brothers named Cominii--had +to hide themselves, and saved their lives by escaping over the roofs of +the houses. + +This took place when Cicero was standing for the Prætorship, and the +confusion consequent upon it was so great that it was for awhile +impossible to carry on the election. In the year after his Prætorship +Cornelius was put upon his trial, and the two speeches were made. + +The matter seems to have been one of vital interest in Rome. The contest +on the part of the Senate was for all that made public life dear to such +a body. Not to bribe--not to be able to lay out money in order that +money might be returned ten-fold, a hundred-fold--would be to them to +cease to be aristocrats. The struggles made by the Gracchi, by Livius +Drusus, by others whose names would only encumber us here, by this +Cornelius, were the expiring efforts of those who really desired an +honest Republic. Such were the struggles made by Cicero himself; though +there was present always to him an idea, with which, in truth, neither +the demagogues nor the aristocrats sympathized, that the reform could be +effected, not by depriving the Senate of its power, but by teaching the +Senate to use it honestly. We can sympathize with the idea, but we are +driven to acknowledge that it was futile. + +Though we know that this was so, the fragments of the speeches, though +they have been made intelligible to us by the "argument" or story of +them prefixed by Asconius in his notes, cannot be of interest to +readers. They were extant in the time of Quintilian, who speaks of them +with the highest praise.[146] Cicero himself selects certain passages +out of these speeches as examples of eloquence or rhythm,[147] thus +showing the labor with which he composed them, polishing them by the +exercise of his ear as well as by that of his intellect. We know from +Asconius that this trial was regarded at the time as one of vital +interest. + +We have two letters from Cicero written in the year after his +Prætorship, both to Atticus, the first of which tells us of his probable +competition for the Consulship; the second informs his friend that a son +is born to him--he being then forty-two years old--and that he is +thinking to undertake the defence of Catiline, who was to be accused of +peculation as Proprætor in Africa. "Should he be acquitted," says +Cicero, "I should hope to have him on my side in the matter of my +canvass. If he should be convicted, I shall be able to bear that too." +There were to be six or seven candidates, of whom two, of course, would +be chosen. It would be much to Cicero "to run," as our phrase goes, with +the one who among his competitors would be the most likely to succeed. +Catiline, in spite of his then notorious character--in the teeth of the +evils of his government in Africa--was, from his birth, his connections, +and from his ability, supposed to have the best chance. It was open to +Cicero to defend Catiline as he had defended Fonteius, and we know from +his own words that he thought of doing so. But he did not; nor did +Cicero join himself with Catiline in the canvassing. It is probable that +the nature of Catiline's character and intentions were now becoming +clearer from day to day. Catiline was tried and acquitted, having, it is +said, bribed the judges. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +_CICERO AS CONSUL._ + + +Hitherto everything had succeeded with Cicero. His fortune and his fame +had gone hand-in-hand. The good-will of the citizens had been accorded +to him on all possible occasions. He had risen surely, if not quickly, +to the top of his profession, and had so placed himself there as to have +torn the wreath from the brow of his predecessor and rival, Hortensius. +On no memorable occasion had he been beaten. If now and then he had +failed to win a cause in which he was interested, it was as to some +matter in which, as he had said to Atticus in speaking of his +contemplated defence of Catiline, he was not called on to break his +heart if he were beaten. We may imagine that his life had been as happy +up to this point as a man's life may be. He had married well. Children +had been born to him, who were the source of infinite delight. He had +provided himself with houses, marbles, books, and all the intellectual +luxuries which well-used wealth could produce. Friends were thick around +him. His industry, his ability, and his honesty were acknowledged. The +citizens had given him all that it was in their power to give. Now at +the earliest possible day, with circumstances of much more than usual +honor, he was put in the highest place which his country had to offer, +and knew himself to be the one man in whom his country at this moment +trusted. Then came the one twelve-month, the apex of his fortunes; and +after that, for the twenty years that followed, there fell upon him one +misery after another--one trouble on the head of another trouble--so +cruelly that the reader, knowing the manner of the Romans, almost +wonders that he condescended to live. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 64, ætat. 43.] + +He was chosen Consul, we are told, not by the votes but by the unanimous +acclamation of the citizens. What was the exact manner of doing this we +can hardly now understand. The Consuls were elected by ballot, wooden +tickets having been distributed to the people for the purpose; but +Cicero tells us that no voting tickets were used in his case, but that +he was elected by the combined voice of the whole people.[148] + +He had stood with six competitors. Of these it is only necessary to +mention two, as by them only was Cicero's life affected, and as out of +the six, only they seem to have come prominently forward during the +canvassing. These were Catiline the conspirator, as we shall have to +call him in dealing with his name in the next chapter, and Caius +Antonius, one of the sons of Marc Antony, the great orator of the +preceding age, and uncle of the Marc Antony with whom we are all so well +acquainted, and with whom we shall have so much to do before we get to +the end of this work. Cicero was so easily the first that it may be said +of him that he walked over the course. Whether this was achieved by the +Machiavellian arts which his brother Quintus taught in his treatise De +Petitione Consulatus, or was attributable to his general popularity, may +be a matter of doubt. As far as we can judge from the signs which remain +to us of the public feeling of the period, it seems that he was at this +time regarded with singular affection by his countrymen. He had robbed +none, and had been cruel to no one. He had already abandoned the profit +of provincial government--to which he was by custom entitled after the +lapse of his year's duty as Prætor--in order that he might remain in +Rome among the people. Though one of the Senate himself--and full of the +glory of the Senate, as he had declared plainly enough in that passage +from one of the Verrine orations which I have quoted--he had generally +pleaded on the popular side. Such was his cleverness, that even when on +the unpopular side--as he may be supposed to have been when defending +Fonteius--he had given a popular aspect to the cause in hand. We cannot +doubt, judging from the loud expression of the people's joy at his +election, that he had made himself beloved But, nevertheless, he omitted +none of those cares which it was expected that a candidate should take. +He made his electioneering speech "in toga candida"--in a white robe, as +candidates did, and were thence so called. It has not come down to us, +nor do we regret it, judging from the extracts which have been collected +from the notes which Asconius wrote upon it. It was full of personal +abuse of Antony and Catiline, his competitors. Such was the practice of +Rome at this time, as it was also with us not very long since. We shall +have more than enough of such eloquence before we have done our task. +When we come to the language in which Cicero spoke of Clodius, his +enemy, of Piso and Gabinius, the Consuls who allowed him to be banished, +and of Marc Antony, his last great opponent--the nephew of the man who +was now his colleague--we shall have very much of it. It must again be +pleaded that the foul abuse which fell from other lips has not been +preserved and that Cicero, therefore, must not be supposed to have been +more foul mouthed than his rivals. We can easily imagine that he was +more bitter than others, because he had more power to throw into his +words the meaning which he intended them to convey. + +Antony was chosen as Cicero's colleague. It seems, from such evidence as +we are able to get on the subject, that Cicero trusted Antony no better +than he did Catiline, but, appreciating the wisdom of the maxim, "divide +et impera"--separate your enemies and you will get the better of them, +which was no doubt known as well then as now--he soon determined to use +Antony as his ally against Catiline, who was presumed to reckon Antony +among his fellow-conspirators. Sallust puts into the mouth of Catiline a +declaration to this effect,[149] and Cicero did use Antony for the +purpose. The story of Catiline's conspiracy is so essentially the story +of Cicero's Consulship, that I may be justified in hurrying over the +other events of his year's rule; but still there is something that must +be told. Though Catiline's conduct was under his eye during the whole +year, it was not till October that the affairs in which we shall have to +interest ourselves commenced. + +Of what may have been the nature of the administrative work done by the +great Roman officers of State we know very little; perhaps I might +better say that we know nothing. Men, in their own diaries, when they +keep them, or even in their private letters, are seldom apt to say much +of those daily doings which are matter of routine to themselves, and are +by them supposed to be as little interesting to others. A Prime-minister +with us, were he as prone to reveal himself in correspondence as was +Cicero with his friend Atticus, would hardly say when he went to the +Treasury Chambers or what he did when he got there. We may imagine that +to a Cabinet Minister even a Cabinet Council would, after many sittings, +become a matter of course. A leading barrister would hardly leave behind +him a record of his work in chambers. It has thus come to pass that, +though we can picture to ourselves a Cicero before the judges, or +addressing the people from the rostra, or uttering his opinion in the +Senate, we know nothing of him as he sat in his office and did his +consular work. We cannot but suppose that there must have been an office +with many clerks. There must have been heavy daily work. The whole +operation of government was under the Consul's charge, and to Cicero, +with a Catiline on his hands, this must have been more than usually +heavy. How he did it, with what assistance, sitting at what +writing-table, dressed in what robes, with what surroundings of archives +and red tape, I cannot make manifest to myself. I can imagine that there +must have been much of dignity, as there was with all leading Romans, +but beyond that I cannot advance even in fancying what was the official +life of a Consul. + +In the old days the Consul used, as a matter of course, to go out and do +the fighting. When there was an enemy here, or an enemy there, the +Consul was bound to hurry off with his army, north or south, to +different parts of Italy. But gradually this system became +impracticable. Distances became too great, as the Empire extended itself +beyond the bounds of Italy, to admit of the absence of the Consuls. Wars +prolonged themselves through many campaigns, as notably did that which +was soon to take place in Gaul under Cæsar. The Consuls remained at +home, and Generals were sent out with proconsular authority. This had +become so certainly the case, that Cicero on becoming Consul had no fear +of being called on to fight the enemies of his country. There was much +fighting then in course of being done by Pompey in the East; but this +would give but little trouble to the great officers at home, unless it +might be in sending out necessary supplies. + +The Consul's work, however, was severe enough. We find from his own +words, in a letter to Atticus written in the year but one after his +Consulship, 61 B.C., that as Consul he made twelve public addresses. +Each of them must have been a work of labor, requiring a full mastery +over the subject in hand, and an arrangement of words very different in +their polished perfection from the generality of parliamentary speeches +to which we are accustomed. The getting up of his cases must have taken +great time. Letters went slowly and at a heavy cost. Writing must have +been tedious when that most common was done with a metal point on soft +wax. An advocate who was earnest in a case had to do much for himself. +We have heard how Cicero made his way over to Sicily, creeping in a +little boat through the dangers prepared for him, in order that he might +get up the evidence against Verres. In defending Aulus Cluentius when he +was Prætor, Cicero must have found the work to have been immense. In +preparing the attack upon Catiline it seems that every witness was +brought to himself. There were four Catiline speeches made in the year +of his Consulship, but in the same year many others were delivered by +him. He mentions, as we shall see just now, twelve various speeches made +in the year of his Consulship. + +I imagine that the words spoken can in no case have been identical with +those which have come to us--which were, as we may say, prepared for the +press by Tiro, his slave and secretary. We have evidence as to some of +them, especially as to the second Catiline oration, that time did not +admit of its being written and learned by heart after the occurrence of +the circumstances to which it alludes. It needs must have been +extemporary, with such mental preparation as one night may have sufficed +to give him. How the words may have been taken down in such a case we do +not quite know; but we are aware that short-hand writers were employed, +though there can hardly have been a science of stenography perfected as +is that with us.[150] The words which we read were probably much +polished before they were published, but how far this was done we do not +know. What we do know is that the words which he spoke moved, convinced, +and charmed those who heard them, as do the words we read move, convince +and charm us. Of these twelve consular speeches Cicero gives a special +account to his friend. "I will send you," he says, "the speechlings[151] +which you require, as well as some others, seeing that those which I +have written out at the request of a few young men please you also. It +was an advantage to me here to follow the example of that fellow-citizen +of yours in those orations which he called his Philippics. In these he +brightened himself up, and discarded his 'nisi prius' way of speaking, +so that he might achieve something more dignified, something more +statesman-like. So I have done with these speeches of mine which may be +called 'consulares,'" as having been made not only in his consular year +but also with something of consular dignity. "Of these, one, on the new +land laws proposed, was spoken in the Senate on the kalends of January. +The second, on the same subject, to the people. The third was respecting +Otho's law.[152] The fourth was in defence of Rabirius.[153] The fifth +was in reference to the children of those who had lost their property +and their rank under Sulla's proscription.[154] The sixth was an address +to the people, and explained why I renounced my provincial +government.[155] The seventh drove Catiline out of the city. The eighth +was addressed to the people the day after Catiline fled. The ninth was +again spoken to the people, on the day on which the Allobroges gave +their evidence. Then, again, the tenth was addressed to the Senate on +the fifth of December"--also respecting Catiline. "There are also two +short supplementary speeches on the Agrarian war. You shall have the +whole body of them. As what I write and what I do are equally +interesting to you, you will gather from the same documents all my +doings and all my sayings." + +It is not to be supposed that in this list are contained all the +speeches which he made in his consular year, but those only which he +made as Consul--those to which he was desirous of adding something of +the dignity of statesmanship, something beyond the weight attached to +his pleadings as a lawyer. As an advocate, Consul though he was, he +continued to perform his work; from whence we learn that no State +dignity was so high as to exempt an established pleader from the duty of +defending his friends. Hortensius, when Consul elect, had undertaken to +defend Verres. Cicero defended Murena when he was Consul. He defended C. +Calpurnius Piso also, who was accused, as were so many, of proconsular +extortion; but whether in this year or in the preceding is not, I think, +known.[156] Of his speech on that occasion we have nothing remaining. Of +his pleading for Murena we have, if not the whole, the material part, +and, though nobody cares very much for Murena now, the oration is very +amusing. It was made toward the end of the year, on the 20th of +November, after the second Catiline oration, and before the third, at +the very moment in which Cicero was fully occupied with the evidence on +which he intended to convict Catiline's fellow-conspirators. As I read +it I am carried away by wonder, rather than admiration, at the energy of +the man who could at such a period of his life give up his time to +master the details necessary for the trial of Murena. + +Early in the year Cicero had caused a law to be passed--which, after +him, was called the Lex Tullia--increasing the stringency of the +enactments against bribery on the part of consular candidates. His +intention had probably been to hinder Catiline, who was again about to +become a candidate. But Murena, who was elected, was supposed to have +been caught in the meshes of the net, and also Silanus, the other Consul +designate. Cato, the man of stern nature, the great Stoic of the day, +was delighted to have an opportunity of proceeding against some one, and +not very sorry to attack Murena with weapons provided from the armory of +Murena's friend, Cicero. Silanus, however, who happened to be cousin to +Cato, was allowed to pass unmolested. Sulpicius, who was one of the +disappointed candidates, Cato, and Postumius were the accusers. +Hortensius, Crassus, and Cicero were combined together for the defence +of Murena. But as we read the single pleading that has come to us, we +feel that, unlike those Roman trials generally, this was carried on +without any acrimony on either side. I think it must have been that Cato +wished to have an opportunity of displaying his virtue, but it had been +arranged that Murena was to be acquitted. Murena was accused, among +other things, of dancing! Greeks might dance, as we hear from Cornelius +Nepos,[157] but for a Roman Consul it would be disgraceful in the +highest extreme. A lady, indeed, might dance, but not much. Sallust +tells us of Sempronia--who was, indeed, a very bad female if all that he +says of her be true--that she danced more elegantly than became an +honest woman.[158] She was the wife of a Consul. But a male Roman of +high standing might not dance at all. Cicero defends his friend by +showing how impossible it was--how monstrous the idea. "No man would +dance unless drunk or mad." Nevertheless, I imagine that Murena had +danced. + +Cicero seizes an opportunity of quizzing Cato for his stoicism, and uses +it delightfully. Horace was not more happy when, in defence of +Aristippus, he declared that any philosopher would turn up his nose at +cabbage if he could get himself asked to the tables of rich men.[159] +"There was one Zeno," Cicero says, "who laid down laws. No wise man +would forgive any fault. No man worthy of the name of man would allow +himself to be pitiful. Wise men are beautiful, even though deformed; +rich though penniless; kings though they be slaves. We who are not wise +are mere exiles, runagates, enemies of our country, and madmen. Any +fault is an unpardonable crime. To kill an old cock, if you do not want +it, is as bad as to murder your father!"[160] And these doctrines, he +goes on to say, which are used by most of us merely as something to talk +about, this man Cato absolutely believes, and tries to live by them. I +shall have to refer back to this when I speak of Cicero's philosophy +more at length; but his common-sense crops up continually in the +expressions which he uses for defending the ordinary conditions of a +man's life, in opposition to that impossible superiority to mundane +things which the philosophers professed to teach their pupils. He turns +to Cato and asks him questions, which he answers himself with his own +philosophy: "Would you pardon nothing? Well, yes; but not all things. +Would you do nothing for friendship? Sometimes, unless duty should stand +in the way. Would you never be moved to pity? I would maintain my habit +of sincerity, but something must no doubt be allowed to humanity. It is +good to stick to your opinion, but only until some better opinion shall +have prevailed with you." In all this the humanity of our Cicero, as +opposed equally to the impossible virtue of a Cato or the abominable +vice of a Verres, is in advance of his age, and reminds us of what +Christ has taught us. + +But the best morsel in the whole oration is that in which he snubs the +lawyers. It must be understood that Cicero did not pride himself on +being a lawyer. He was an advocate, and if he wanted law there were +those of an inferior grade to whom he could go to get it. In truth, he +did understand the law, being a man of deep research, who inquired into +everything. As legal points had been raised, he thus addresses +Sulpicius, who seems to have affected a knowledge of jurisprudence, who +had been a candidate for the Consulship, and who was his own intimate +friend: "I must put you out of your conceit," he says; "it was your +other gifts, not a knowledge of the laws--your moderation, your wisdom, +your justice--which, in my opinion, made you worthy of being loved. I +will not say you threw away your time in studying law, but it was not +thus you made yourself worthy of the Consulship.[161] That power of +eloquence, majestic and full of dignity which has so often availed in +raising a man to the Consulship, is able by its words to move the minds +of the Senate and the people and the judges.[162] But in such a poor +science as that of law what honor can there be? Its details are taken up +with mere words and fragments of words.[163] They forget all equity in +points of law, and stick to the mere letter."[164] He goes through a +presumed scene of chicanery, which, Consul as he was, he must have acted +before the judges and the people, no doubt to the extreme delight of +them all. At last he says, "Full as I am of business, if you raise my +wrath I will make myself a lawyer, and learn it all in three days."[165] +From these and many other passages in Cicero's writings and speeches, +and also from Quintilian, we learn that a Roman advocate was by no +means the same as an English barrister. The science which he was +supposed to have learned was simply that of telling his story in +effective language. It no doubt came to pass that he had much to do in +getting up the details of his story--what we may call the evidence--but +he looked elsewhere, to men of another profession, for his law. The +"juris consultus" or the "juris peritus" was the lawyer, and as such was +regarded as being of much less importance than the "patronus" or +advocate, who stood before the whole city and pleaded the cause. In this +trial of Murena, who was by trade a soldier, it suited Cicero to +belittle lawyers and to extol the army. When he is telling Sulpicius +that it was not by being a lawyer that a man could become Consul, he +goes on to praise the high dignity of his client's profession. "The +greatest glory is achieved by those who excel in battle. All our empire, +all our republic, is defended and made strong by them."[166] It was thus +that the advocate could speak! This comes from the man who always took +glory to himself in declaring that the "toga" was superior to helmet and +shield. He had already declared that they erred who thought that they +were going to get his own private opinion in speeches made in law +courts.[167] He knew how to defend his friend Murena, who was a soldier, +and in doing so could say very sharp things, though yet in joke, against +his friend Sulpicius, the lawyer. But in truth few men understood the +Roman law better than did Cicero. + +But we must go back to that agrarian law respecting which, as he tells +us, four of his consular speeches were made. This had been brought +forward by Rullus, one of the Tribunes, toward the end of the last year. +The Tribunes came into office in December, whereas at this period of the +Republic the Consuls were in power only on and from January 1st. Cicero, +who had been unable to get the particulars of the new law till it had +been proclaimed, had but a few days to master its details. It was, to +his thinking, altogether revolutionary. We have the words of many of the +clauses; and though it is difficult at this distance of time to realize +what would have been its effect, I think we are entitled to say that it +was intended to subvert all property. Property, speaking of it +generally, cannot be destroyed The land remains, and the combined +results of man's industry are too numerous, too large, and too lasting +to become a wholesale prey to man's anger or madness. Even the elements +when out of order can do but little toward perfecting destruction. A +deluge is wanted--or that crash of doom which, whether it is to come or +not, is believed by the world to be very distant. But it is within human +power to destroy possession, and redistribute the goods which industry, +avarice, or perhaps injustice has congregated. They who own property are +in these days so much stronger than those who have none, that an idea of +any such redistribution does not create much alarm among the possessors. +The spirit of communism does not prevail among people who have learned +that it is, in truth, easier to earn than to steal. But with the Romans +political economy had naturally not advanced so far as with us. A +subversion of property had to a great extent taken place no later than +in Sulla's time. How this had been effected the story of the property of +Roscius Amerinus has explained to us. Under Sulla's enactments no man +with a house, with hoarded money, with a family of slaves, with rich +ornaments, was safe. Property had been made to change hands recklessly, +ruthlessly, violently, by the illegal application of a law promulgated +by a single individual, who, however, had himself been instigated by no +other idea than that of re-establishing the political order of things +which he approved. Rullus, probably with other motives, was desirous of +effecting a subversion which, though equally great, should be made +altogether in a different direction. The ostensible purpose was +something as follows: as the Roman people had by their valor and wisdom +achieved for Rome great victories, and therefore great wealth, they, as +Roman citizens, were entitled to the enjoyment of what they had won; +whereas, in fact, the sweets of victory fell to the lot only of a few +aristocrats. For the reform of this evil it should be enacted that all +public property which had been thus acquired, whether land or chattels, +should be sold, and with the proceeds other lands should be bought fit +for the use of Roman citizens, and be given to those who would choose to +have it. It was specially suggested that the rich country called the +Campania--that in which Naples now stands with its adjacent +isles--should be bought up and given over to a great Roman colony. For +the purpose of carrying out this law ten magistrates should be +appointed, with plenipotentiary power both as to buying and selling. +There were many underplots in this. No one need sell unless he chose to +sell; but at this moment much land was held by no other title than that +of Sulla's proscriptions. The present possessors were in daily fear of +dispossession, by some new law made with the object of restoring their +property to those who had been so cruelly robbed. These would be very +glad to get any price in hand for land of which their tenure was so +doubtful; and these were the men whom the "decemviri," or ten +magistrates, would be anxious to assist. We are told that the +father-in-law of Rullus himself had made a large acquisition by his use +of Sulla's proscriptions. And then there would be the instantaneous +selling of the vast districts obtained by conquest and now held by the +Roman State. When so much land would be thrown into the market it would +be sold very cheap and would be sold to those whom the "decemviri" might +choose to favor. We can hardly now hope to unravel all the intended +details, but we may be sure that the basis on which property stood would +have been altogether changed by the measure. The "decemviri" were to +have plenary power for ten years. All the taxes in all the provinces +were to be sold, or put up to market. Everything supposed to belong to +the Roman State was to be sold in every province, for the sake of +collecting together a huge sum of money, which was to be divided in the +shape of land among the poorer Romans. Whatever may have been the +private intentions of Rullus, whether good or bad, it is evident, even +at this distance of time, that a redistribution of property was intended +which can only be described as a general subversion. To this the new +Consul opposed himself vehemently, successfully, and, we must needs say, +patriotically. + +The intense interest which Cicero threw into his work is as manifest in +these agrarian orations as in those subsequently made as to the Catiline +conspiracy. He ascends in his energy to a dignity of self-praise which +induces the reader to feel that a man who could so speak of himself +without fear of contradiction had a right to assert the supremacy of his +own character and intellect. He condescends, on the other hand, to a +virulence of personal abuse against Rullus which, though it is to our +taste offensive, is, even to us, persuasive, making us feel that such a +man should not have undertaken such a work. He is describing the way in +which the bill was first introduced: "Our Tribunes at last enter upon +their office. The harangue to be made by Rullus is especially expected. +He is the projector of the law, and it was expected that he would carry +himself with an air of special audacity. When he was only Tribune elect +he began to put on a different countenance, to speak with a different +voice, to walk with a different step. We all saw how he appeared with +soiled raiment, with his person uncared for, and foul with dirt, with +his hair and beard uncombed and untrimmed."[168] In Rome men under +afflictions, particularly if under accusation, showed themselves in +soiled garments so as to attract pity, and the meaning here is that +Rullus went about as though under grief at the condition of his poor +fellow-citizens, who were distressed by the want of this agrarian law. +No description could be more likely to turn an individual into ridicule +than this of his taking upon himself to represent in his own person the +sorrows of the city. The picture of the man with the self-assumed +garments of public woe, as though he were big enough to exhibit the +grief of all Rome, could not but be effective. It has been supposed that +Cicero was insulting the Tribune because he was dirty. Not so. He was +ridiculing Rullus because Rullus had dared to go about in +mourning--"sordidatus"--on behalf of his country. + +But the tone in which Cicero speaks of himself is magnificent. It is so +grand as to make us feel that a Consul of Rome, who had the cares of +Rome on his shoulders, was entitled to declare his own greatness to the +Senate and to the people. There are the two important orations--that +spoken first in the Senate, and then the speech to the people from which +I have already quoted the passage personal to Rullus. In both of them he +declares his own idea of a Consul, and of himself as Consul. He has been +speaking of the effect of the proposed law on the revenues of the State, +and then proceeds: "But I pass by what I have to say on that matter and +reserve it for the people. I speak now of the danger which menaces our +safety and our liberty. For what will there be left to us untouched in +the Republic, what will remain of your authority and freedom, when +Rullus, and those whom you fear much more than Rullus,[169] with this +band of ready knaves, with all the rascaldom of Rome, laden with gold +and silver, shall have seized on Capua and all the cities round? To all +this, Senators"--Patres conscripti he calls them--"I will oppose what +power I have. As long as I am Consul I will not suffer them to carry out +their designs against the Republic. + +"But you, Rullus, and those who are with you, have been mistaken +grievously in supposing that you will be regarded as friends of the +people in your attempts to subvert the Republic in opposition to a +Consul who is known in very truth to be the people's friend I call upon +you, I invite you to meet me in the assembly. Let us have the people of +Rome as a judge between us. Let us look round and see what it is that +the people really desire. We shall find that there is nothing so dear to +them as peace and quietness and ease. You have handed over the city to +me full of anxiety, depressed with fear, disturbed by these projected +laws and seditious assemblies." (It must be remembered that he had only +on that very day begun his Consulship) "The wicked you have filled with +hope, the good with fear. You have robbed the Forum of loyalty and the +Republic of dignity. But now, when in the midst of these troubles of +mind and body, when in this great darkness the voice and the authority +of the Consul has been heard by the people--when he shall have made it +plain that there is no cause for fear, that no strange army shall enroll +itself, no bands collect themselves; that there shall be no new +colonies, no sale of the revenue, no altered empire, no royal +'decemvirs,' no second Rome, no other centre of rule but this; that while +I am Consul there shall be perfect peace, perfect ease--do you suppose +that I shall dread the superior popularity of your new agrarian law? +Shall I, do you think, be afraid to hold my own against you in an +assembly of the citizens when I shall have exposed the iniquity of your +designs, the fraud of this law, the plots which your Tribunes of the +people, popular as they think themselves, have contrived against the +Roman people? Shall I fear--I who have determined to be Consul after +that fashion in which alone a man may do so in dignity and freedom, +reaching to ask nothing for myself which any Tribune could object to +have given to me?"[170] + +This was to the Senate, but he is bolder still when he addresses the +people. He begins by reminding them that it has always been the custom +of the great officers of state, who have enjoyed the right of having in +their houses the busts and images of their ancestors, in their first +speech to the people to join with thanks for the favors done to +themselves some records of the noble deeds done by their forefathers. +[171] He, however, could do nothing of the kind: he had no such right: +none in his family had achieved such dignity. To speak of himself might +seem too proud, but to be silent would be ungrateful. Therefore would he +restrain himself, but would still say something, so that he might +acknowledge what he had received. Then he would leave it for them to +judge whether he had deserved what they had done for him. + +"It is long ago--almost beyond the memory of us now here--since you last +made a new man Consul.[172] That high office the nobles had reserved for +themselves, and defended it, as it were, with ramparts. You have secured +it for me, so that in future it shall be open to any who may be worthy +of it. Nor have you only made me a Consul, much as that is, but you have +done so in such a fashion that but few among the old nobles have been so +treated, and no new man--'novus ante me nemo.' I have, if you will think +of it, been the only new man who has stood for the Consulship in the +first year in which it was legal, and who has got it." Then he goes on +to remind them, in words which I have quoted before, that they had +elected him by their unanimous voices. All this, he says, had been very +grateful to him, but he had quite understood that it had been done that +he might labor on their behalf. That such labor was severe, he declares. +The Consulship itself must be defended. His period of Consulship to any +Consul must be a year of grave responsibility, but more so to him than +to any other. To him, should he be in doubt, the great nobles would give +no kind advice. To him, should he be overtasked, they would give no +assistance. But the first thing he would look for should be their good +opinion. To declare now, before the people, that he would exercise his +office for the good of the people was his natural duty. But in that +place, in which it was difficult to speak after such a fashion, in the +Senate itself, on the very first day of his Consulship, he had declared +the same thing--"popularem me futurum esse consulem."[173] + +The course he had to pursue was noble, but very difficult. He desired, +certainly, to be recognized as a friend of the people, but he desired so +to befriend them that he might support also at the same time the power +of the aristocracy. He still believed, as we cannot believe now, that +there was a residuum of good in the Senate sufficient to blossom forth +into new powers of honest government. When speaking to the oligarchs in +the Senate of Rullus and his land law, it was easy enough to carry them +with him. That a Consul should oppose a Tribune who was coming forward +with a "Lex agraria" in his hands, as the latest disciple of the +Gracchi, was not out of the common order of things. Another Consul would +either have looked for popularity and increased power of plundering, as +Antony might have done, or have stuck to his order, as he would have +called it--as might have been the case with the Cottas, Lepiduses and +Pisos of preceding years. But Cicero determined to oppose the demagogue +Tribune by proving himself to the people to be more of a demagogue than +he. He succeeded, and Rullus with his agrarian law was sent back into +darkness. I regard the second speech against Rullus as the _ne plus +ultra_, the very _beau ideal_ of a political harangue to the people on +the side of order and good government. + +I cannot finish this chapter, in which I have attempted to describe the +lesser operations of Cicero's Consulship, without again alluding to the +picture drawn by Virgil of a great man quelling the storms of a +seditious rising by the gravity of his presence and the weight of his +words.[174] The poet surely had in his memory some occasion in which had +taken place this great triumph of character and intellect combined. When +the knights, during Cicero's Consulship essayed to take their privileged +places in the public theatre, in accordance with a law passed by Roscius +Otho a few years earlier (B.C. 68), the founder of the obnoxious law +himself entered the building. The people, enraged against a man who had +interfered with them and their pleasures, and who had brought them, as +it were under new restraints from the aristocracy, arose in a body and +began to break everything that came to hand. "Tum pietate gravem!" The +Consul was sent for. He called on the people to follow him out of the +theatre to the Temple of Bellona, and there addressed to them that +wonderful oration by which they were sent away not only pacified but in +good-humor with Otho himself. "Iste regit dictis animos et pectora +mulcet." I have spoken of Pliny's eulogy as to the great Consul's doings +of the year. The passage is short and I will translate it:[175] "But, +Marcus Tullius, how shall I reconcile it to myself to be silent as to +you, or by what special glory shall I best declare your excellence? How +better than by referring to the grand testimony given to you by the +whole nation, and to the achievements of your Consulship as a specimen +of your entire life? At your voice the tribes gave up their agrarian +law, which was as the very bread in their mouths. At your persuasion +they pardoned Otho his law and bore with good-humor the difference of +the seats assigned to them. At your prayer the children of the +proscribed forbore from demanding their rights of citizenship. Catiline +was put to flight by your skill and eloquence. It was you who +silenced[176] M. Antony. Hail, thou who wert first addressed as the +father of your country--the first who, in the garb of peace, hast +deserved a triumph and won the laurel wreath of eloquence." This was +grand praise to be spoken of a man more than a hundred years after his +death, by one who had no peculiar sympathies with him other than those +created by literary affinity. + +None of Cicero's letters have come to us from the year of his +Consulship. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +_CATILINE._ + + +To wash the blackamoor white has been the favorite task of some modern +historians. To find a paradox in character is a relief to the +investigating mind which does not care to walk always in the well-tried +paths, or to follow the grooves made plain and uninteresting by earlier +writers. Tiberius and even Nero have been praised. The memories of our +early years have been shocked by instructions to regard Richard III. and +Henry VIII. as great and scrupulous kings. The devil may have been +painted blacker than he should be, and the minds of just men, who will +not accept the verdict of the majority, have been much exercised to put +the matter right. We are now told that Catiline was a popular hero; +that, though he might have wished to murder Cicero, he was, in +accordance with the practice of his days, not much to be blamed for +that; and that he was simply the follower of the Gracchi, and the +forerunner of Cæsar in his desire to oppose the oligarchy of Rome.[177] +In this there is much that is true. Murder was common. He who had seen +the Sullan proscriptions, as both Catiline and Cicero had done, might +well have learned to feel less scrupulous as to blood than we do in +these days. Even Cicero, who of all the Romans was the most humane--even +he, no doubt, would have been well contented that Catiline should have +been destroyed by the people.[178] Even he was the cause, as we shall +see just now, of the execution of the leaders of the conspirators whom +Catiline left behind him in the city--an execution of which the legality +is at any rate very doubtful. But in judging even of bloodshed we have +to regard the circumstances of the time in the verdicts we give. Our +consciousness of altered manners and of the growth of gentleness force +this upon us. We cannot execrate the conspirators who murdered Cæsar as +we would do those who might now plot the death of a tyrant; nor can we +deal as heavily with the murderers of Cæsar as we would have done then +with Catilinarian conspirators in Rome, had Catiline's conspiracy +succeeded. And so, too, in acknowledging that Catiline was the outcome +of the Gracchi, and to some extent the preparation for Cæsar, we must +again compare him with them, his motives and designs with theirs, before +we can allow ourselves to sympathize with him, because there was much in +them worthy of praise and honor. + +That the Gracchi were seditious no historian has, I think, denied. They +were willing to use the usages and laws of the Republic where those +usages and laws assisted them, but as willing to act illegally when the +usages and laws ran counter to them. In the reforms or changes which +they attempted they were undoubtedly rebels; but no reader comes across +the tale of the death, first of one and then of the other, without a +regret. It has to be owned that they were murdered in tumults which they +themselves had occasioned. But they were honest and patriotic. History +has declared of them that their efforts were made with the real purport +of relieving their fellow-countrymen from what they believed to be the +tyranny of oligarchs. The Republic even in their time had become too +rotten to be saved; but the world has not the less given them the credit +for a desire to do good; and the names of the two brothers, rebels as +they were, have come down to us with a sweet savor about them. Cæsar, on +the other hand, was no doubt of the same political party. He too was +opposed to the oligarchs, but it never occurred to him that he could +save the Republic by any struggles after freedom. His mind was not given +to patriotism of that sort--not to memories, not to associations. Even +laws were nothing to him but as they might be useful. To his thinking, +probably even in his early days, the state of Rome required a master. +Its wealth, its pleasures, its soldiers, its power, were there for any +one to take who could take them--for any one to hold who could hold +them. Mr. Beesly, the last defender of Catiline, has stated that very +little was known in Rome of Cæsar till the time of Catiline's +conspiracy, and in that I agree with him. He possessed high family rank, +and had been Quæstor and Ædile; but it was only from this year out that +his name was much in men's mouths, and that he was learning to look into +things. It may be that he had previously been in league with +Catiline--that he was in league with him till the time came for the +great attempt. The evidence, as far as it goes, seems to show that it +was so. Rome had been the prey of many conspiracies. The dominion of +Marius and the dominion of Sulla had been effected by conspiracies. No +doubt the opinion was strong with many that both Cæsar and Crassus, the +rich man, were concerned with Catiline. But Cæsar was very far-seeing, +and, if such connection existed, knew how to withdraw from it when the +time was not found to be opportune. But from first to last he always was +opposed to the oligarchy. The various steps from the Gracchi to him were +as those which had to be made from the Girondists to Napoleon. Catiline, +no doubt, was one of the steps, as were Danton and Robespierre steps. +The continuation of steps in each case was at first occasioned by the +bad government and greed of a few men in power. But as Robespierre was +vile and low, whereas Vergniaud was honest and Napoleon great, so was it +with Catiline between the Gracchi and Cæsar. There is, to my thinking, +no excuse for Catiline in the fact that he was a natural step, not even +though he were a necessary step, between the Gracchi and Cæsar. + +I regard as futile the attempts which are made to rewrite history on the +base of moral convictions and philosophical conclusion. History very +often has been, and no doubt often again will be, rewritten, with good +effect and in the service of truth, on the finding of new facts. Records +have been brought to light which have hitherto been buried, and +testimonies are compared with testimonies which have not before been seen +together. But to imagine that a man may have been good who has lain under +the ban of all the historians, all the poets, and all the tellers of +anecdotes, and then to declare such goodness simply in accordance with +the dictates of a generous heart or a contradictory spirit, is to disturb +rather than to assist history. Of Catiline we at least know that he +headed a sedition in Rome in the year of Cicero's Consulship; that he +left the city suddenly; that he was killed in the neighborhood of Pistoia +fighting against the Generals of the Republic, and that he left certain +accomplices in Rome who were put to death by an edict of the Senate. So +much I think is certain to the most truculent doubter. From his +contemporaries, Sallust and Cicero, we have a very strongly expressed +opinion of his character. They have left to us denunciations of the man +which have made him odious to all after-ages, so that modern poets have +made him a stock character, and have dramatized him as a fiend. Voltaire +has described him as calling upon his fellow-conspirators to murder +Cicero and Cato, and to burn the city. Ben Jonson makes Catiline kill a +slave and mix his blood, to be drained by his friends. "There cannot be a +fitter drink to make this sanction in." The friends of Catiline will say +that this shows no evidence against the man. None, certainly; but it is a +continued expression of the feeling that has prevailed since Catiline's +time. In his own age Cicero and Sallust, who were opposed in all their +political views, combined to speak ill of him. In the next, Virgil makes +him as suffering his punishment in hell.[179] In the next, Velleius +Paterculus speaks of him as the conspirator whom Cicero had +banished.[180] Juvenal makes various allusions to him, but all in the +same spirit. Juvenal cared nothing for history, but used the names of +well-known persons as illustrations of the idea which he was +presenting.[181] Valerius Maximus, who wrote commendable little essays +about all the virtues and all the vices, which he illustrated with the +names of all the vicious and all the virtuous people he knew, is very +severe on Catiline.[182] Florus, who wrote two centuries and a half after +the conspiracy, gives us of Catiline the same personal story as that told +both by Sallust and Cicero: "Debauchery, in the first place; and then the +poverty which that had produced; and then the opportunity of the time, +because the Roman armies were in distant lands, induced Catiline to +conspire for the destruction of his country."[183] Mommsen, who was +certainly biassed by no feeling in favor of Cicero, declares that +Catiline in particular was "one of the most nefarious men in that +nefarious age. His villanies belong to the criminal records, not to +history."[184] All this is no evidence. Cicero and Sallust may possibly +have combined to lie about Catiline. Other Roman writers may have +followed them, and modern poets and modern historians may have followed +the Roman writers. It is possible that the world may have been wrong as +to a period of Roman history with which it has thought itself to be well +acquainted; but the world now has nothing to go by but the facts as they +have come down to it. The writers of the ages since have combined to +speak of Cicero with respect and admiration. They have combined, also, to +speak of Catiline with abhorrence. They have agreed, also, to treat those +other rebels, the Gracchi, after such a fashion that, in spite of their +sedition, a sweet savor, as I have said, attaches itself to their names. +For myself, I am contented to take the opinion of the world, and feel +assured that I shall do no injustice in speaking of Catiline as all who +have written about him hitherto have spoken of him I cannot consent to +the building up of a noble patriot out of such materials as we have +concerning him.[185] + +Two strong points have been made for Catiline in Mr. Beesly's defence. +His ancestors had been Consuls when the forefathers of patricians of a +later date "were clapping their chapped hands and throwing up their +sweaty nightcaps." That scorn against the people should be expressed by +the aristocrat Casca was well supposed by Shakspeare; but how did a +liberal of the present day bring himself to do honor to his hero by such +allusions? In truth, however, the glory of ancient blood and the +disgrace attaching to the signs of labor are ideas seldom relinquished +even by democratic minds. A Howard is nowhere lovelier than in America, +or a sweaty nightcap less relished. We are then reminded how Catiline +died fighting, with the wounds all in front; and are told that the +"world has generally a generous word for the memory of a brave man dying +for his cause, be that cause what it will; but for Catiline none!" I +think there is a mistake in the sentiment expressed here. To die readily +when death must come is but a little thing, and is done daily by the +poorest of mankind. The Romans could generally do it, and so can the +Chinese. A Zulu is quite equal to it, and people lower in civilization +than Chinese or Zulus. To encounter death, or the danger of death, for +the sake of duty--when the choice is there; but duty and death are +preferred to ignominious security, or, better still, to security which +shall bring with it self-abasement--that is grand. When I hear that a +man "rushed into the field and, foremost fighting, fell," if there have +been no adequate occasion, I think him a fool. If it be that he has +chosen to hurry on the necessary event, as was Catiline's case, I +recognize him as having been endowed with certain physical attributes +which are neither glorious nor disgraceful. That Catiline was +constitutionally a brave man no one has denied. Rush, the murderer, was +one of the bravest men of whom I remember to have heard. What credit is +due to Rush is due to Catiline. + +What we believe to be the story of Catiline's life is this: In Sulla's +time he was engaged, as behooved a great nobleman of ancient blood, in +carrying out the Dictator's proscriptions and in running through +whatever means he had. There are fearful stories told of him as to +murdering his own son and other relatives; as to which Mr. Beesly is no +doubt right in saying that such tales were too lightly told in Rome to +deserve implicit confidence. To serve a purpose any one would say +anything of any enemy. Very marvellous qualities are attributed to +him--as to having been at the same time steeped in luxury and yet able +and willing to bear all bodily hardships. He probably had been engaged +in murders--as how should a man not have been so who had served under +Sulla during the Dictatorship? He had probably allured some young +aristocrats into debauchery, when all young aristocrats were so allured. +He had probably undergone some extremity of cold and hunger. In reading +of these things the reader will know by instinct how much he may +believe, and how much he should receive as mythic. That he was a fast +young nobleman, brought up to know no scruples, to disregard blood, and +to look upon his country as a milch cow from which a young nobleman +might be fed with never-ending streams of rich cream in the shape of +money to be borrowed, wealth to be snatched, and, above all, foreigners +to be plundered, we may take, I think, as proved. In spite of his vices, +or by aid of them, he rose in the service of his country. That such a +one should become a Prætor and a Governor was natural. He went to Africa +with proconsular authority, and of course fleeced the Africans. It was +as natural as that a flock of sheep should lose their wool at shearing +time. He came back intent, as was natural also, on being a Consul, and +of carrying on the game of promotion and of plunder. But there came a +spoke in his wheel--the not unusual spoke of an accusation from the +province. While under accusation for provincial robbery he could not +come forward as a candidate, and thus he was stopped in his career. + +It is not possible now to unravel all the personal feuds of the +time--the ins and outs of family quarrels. Clodius--the Clodius who was +afterward Cicero's notorious enemy and the victim of Milo's fury--became +the accuser of Catiline on behalf of the Africans. Though Clodius was +much the younger, they were men of the same class. It may be possible +that Clodius was appointed to the work--as it had been intended that +Cæcilius should be appointed at the prosecution of Verres--in order to +assure not the conviction but the acquittal of the guilty man. The +historians and biographers say that Clodius was at last bought by a +bribe, and that he betrayed the Africans after that fashion. It may be +that such bribery was arranged from the first. Our interest in that +trial lies in the fact that Cicero no doubt intended, from political +motives, to defend Catiline. It has been said that he did do so. As far +as we know, he abandoned the intention. We have no trace of his speech, +and no allusion in history to an occurrence which would certainly have +been mentioned.[186] But there was _no_ reason why he should not have +done so. He defended Fonteius, and I am quite willing to own that he +knew Fonteius to have been a robber. When I look at the practice of our +own times, I find that thieves and rebels are defended by honorable +advocates, who do not scruple to take their briefs in opposition to +their own opinions. It suited Cicero to do the same. If I were detected +in a plot for blowing up a Cabinet Council, I do not doubt but that I +should get the late attorney-general to defend me.[187] + +But Catiline, though he was acquitted, was balked in his candidature for +the Consulship of the next year, B.C. 65. P. Sulla and Autronius were +elected--that Sulla to whose subsequent defence I have just referred in +this note--but were ejected on the score of bribery, and two others, +Torquatus and Cotta, were elected in their place. In this way three men +standing on high before their countrymen--one having been debarred from +standing for the Consulship, and the other two having been robbed of +their prize even when it was within their grasp--not unnaturally became +traitors at heart. Almost as naturally they came together and conspired. +Why should they have been selected as victims, having only done that +which every aristocrat did as a matter of course in following out his +recognized profession in living upon the subject nations? Their conduct +had probably been the same as that of others, or if more glaring, only +so much so as is always the case with vices as they become more common. +However, the three men fell, and became the centre of a plot which is +known as the first Catiline conspiracy. + +The reader must bear in mind that I am now telling the story of +Catiline, and going back to a period of two years before Cicero's +Consulship, which was B.C. 63. How during that year Cicero successfully +defended Murena when Cato endeavored to rob him of his coming +Consulship, has been already told. It may be that Murena's hands were no +cleaner than those of Sulla and Autronius, and that they lacked only the +consular authority and forensic eloquence of the advocate who defended +Murena. At this time, when the two appointed Consuls were rejected, +Cicero had hardly as yet taken any part in public politics. He had been +Quæstor, Ædile, and Prætor, filling those administrative offices to the +best of his ability. He had, he says, hardly heard of the first +conspiracy.[189] That what he says is true, is, I think, proved by the +absence of all allusion to it in his early letters, or in the speeches +or fragments of speeches that are extant. But that there was such a +conspiracy we cannot doubt, nor that the three men named, Catiline, +Sulla, and Autronius, were leaders in it. What would interest us, if +only we could have the truth, is whether Cæsar and Crassus were joined +in it. + +It is necessary again to consider the condition of the Republic. To us a +conspiracy to subvert the government under which the conspirer lives +seems either a very terrible remedy for great evils, or an attempt to do +evil which all good men should oppose. We have the happy conspiracy in +which Washington became the military leader, and the French Revolution, +which, bloody as it was, succeeded in rescuing Frenchmen from the +condition of serfdom. At home we have our own conspiracy against the +Stuart royalty, which had also noble results. The Gracchi had attempted +to effect something of the same kind at Rome; but the moral condition of +the people had become so low that no real love of liberty remained. +Conspiracy! oh yes. As long as there was anything to get, of course he +who had not got it would conspire against him who had. There had been +conspiracies for and against Marius, for and against Cinna, for and +against Sulla. There was a grasping for plunder, a thirst for power +which meant luxury, a greed for blood which grew from the hatred which +such rivalry produced. These were the motive causes for conspiracies; +not whether Romans should be free but whether a Sulla or a Cotta should +be allowed to run riot in a province. + +Cæsar at this time had not done much in the Roman world except fall +greatly into debt. Knowing, as we do know now, his immense intellectual +capacity, we cannot doubt but at the age he had now reached, +thirty-five, B.C. 65, he had considered deeply his prospects in life. +There is no reason for supposing that he had conceived the idea of being +a great soldier. That came to him by pure accident, some years +afterward. To be Quæstor, Prætor, and Consul, and catch what was going, +seems to have been the cause to him of having encountered extraordinary +debt. That he would have been a Verres, or a Fonteius, or a Catiline, we +certainly are not entitled to think. Over whatever people he might have +come to reign, and in whatever way he might have procured his kingdom, +he would have reigned with a far-seeing eye, fixed upon future results. +At this period he was looking out for a way to advance himself. There +were three men, all just six years his senior, who had risen or were +rising into great repute; they were Pompey, Cicero, and Catiline. There +were two who were noted for having clean hands in the midst of all the +dirt around; and they were undoubtedly the first Romans of the day. +Catiline was determined that he too would be among the first Romans of +the day; but his hands had never been clean. Which was the better way +for such a one as Cæsar to go? + +To have had Pompey under his feet, or Cicero, must have then seemed to +Cæsar to be impracticable, though the time came when he did, in +different ways, have his feet on both. With Catiline the chance of +success might be better. Crassus he had already compassed. Crassus was +like M. Poirier in the play--a man who, having become rich, then allowed +himself the luxury of an ambition. If Cæsar joined the plot we can well +understand that Crassus should have gone with him. We have all but +sufficient authority for saying that it was so, but authority +insufficient for declaring it. That Sallust, in his short account of the +first conspiracy, should not have implicated Cæsar was a matter of +course,[190] as he wrote altogether in Cæsar's interest. That Cicero +should not have mentioned it is also quite intelligible. He did not wish +to pull down upon his ears the whole house of the aristocracy. +Throughout his career it was his object to maintain the tenor of the law +with what smallest breach of it might be possible; but he was wise +enough to know that when the laws were being broken on every side he +could not catch in his nets all those who broke them. He had to pass +over much; to make the best of the state of things as he found them. It +is not to be supposed that a conspirator against the Republic would be +horrible to him, as would be to us a traitor against the Crown: there +were too many of them for horror. If Cæsar and Crassus could be got to +keep themselves quiet, he would be willing enough not to have to add +them to his list of enemies. Livy is presumed to have told us that this +conspiracy intended to restore the ejected Consuls, and to kill the +Consuls who had been established in their place. But the book in which +this was written is lost, and we have only the Epitome, or heading of +the book, of which we know that it was not written by Livy.[191] +Suetonius, who got his story not improbably from Livy, tells us that +Cæsar was suspected of having joined this conspiracy with Crassus;[192] +and he goes on to say that Cicero, writing subsequently to one Axius, +declared that "Cæsar had attempted in his Consulship to accomplish the +dominion which he had intended to grasp in his Ædileship" the year in +question. There is, however, no such letter extant. Asconius, who, as I +have said before, wrote in the time of Tiberius, declares that Cicero in +his lost oration, "In toga candida," accused Crassus of having been the +author of the conspiracy. Such is the information we have; and if we +elect to believe that Cæsar was then joined with Catiline, we must be +guided by our ideas of probability rather than by evidence.[193] As I +have said before, conspiracies had been very rife. To Cæsar it was no +doubt becoming manifest that the Republic, with its oligarchs, must +fall. Subsequently it did fall, and he was--I will not say the +conspirator, nor will I judge the question by saying that he was the +traitor; but the man of power who, having the legions of the Republic in +his hands, used them against the Republic. I can well understand that he +should have joined such a conspiracy as this first of Catiline, and then +have backed out of it when he found he could not trust those who were +joined with him. + +This conspiracy failed. One man omitted to give a signal at one time, +and another at another. The Senate was to have been slaughtered; the two +Consuls, Cotta and Torquatus, murdered, and the two ex-Consuls, Sulla +and Autronius, replaced. Though all the details seem to have been known +to the Consuls, Catiline was allowed to go free, nor were any steps +taken for the punishment of the conspirators. + +The second conspiracy was attempted in the Consulship of Cicero, B.C. +63, two years after the first. Catiline had struggled for the +Consulship, and had failed. Again there would be no province, no +plunder, no power. This interference, as it must have seemed to him, +with his peculiar privileges, had all come from Cicero. Cicero was the +busybody who was attempting to stop the order of things which had, to +his thinking, been specially ordained by all the gods for the sustenance +of one so well born, and at the same time so poor, as himself. There was +a vulgar meddling about it--all coming from the violent virtue of a +Consul whose father had been a nobody at Arpinum--which was well +calculated to drive Catiline into madness. So he went to work and got +together in Rome a body of men as discontented and almost as nobly born +as himself, and in the country north of Rome an army of rebels, and +began his operations with very little secrecy. In all the story the most +remarkable feature is the openness with which many of the details of the +conspiracy were carried on. The existence of the rebel army was known; +it was known that Catiline was the leader; the causes of his +disaffection were known; his comrades in guilt were known When any +special act was intended, such as might be the murder of the Consul or +the firing of the city, secret plots were concocted in abundance. But +the grand fact of a wide-spread conspiracy could go naked in Rome, and +not even a Cicero dare to meddle with it. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 63, ætat. 44.] + +As to this second conspiracy, the conspiracy with which Sallust and +Cicero have made us so well acquainted, there is no sufficient ground +for asserting that Cæsar was concerned in it.[194] That he was greatly +concerned in the treatment of the conspirators there is no doubt. He had +probably learned to appreciate the rage, the madness, the impotence of +Catiline at their proper worth. He too, I think, must have looked upon +Cicero as a meddling, over-virtuous busybody; as did even Pompey when he +returned from the East. What practical use could there be in such a man +at such a time--in one who really believed in honesty, who thought of +liberty and the Republic, and imagined that he could set the world right +by talking? Such must have been the feeling of Cæsar, who had both +experience and foresight to tell him that Rome wanted and must have a +master. He probably had patriotism enough to feel that he, if he could +acquire the mastership, would do something beyond robbery--would not +satisfy himself with cutting the throats of all his enemies, and feeding +his supporters with the property of his opponents. But Cicero was +impracticable--unless, indeed, he could be so flattered as to be made +useful. It was thus, I think, that Cæsar regarded Cicero, and thus that +he induced Pompey to regard him. But now, in the year of his Consulship, +Cicero had really talked himself into power, and for this year his +virtue must be allowed to have its full way. + +He did so much in this year, was so really efficacious in restraining +for a time the greed and violence of the aristocracy, that it is not +surprising that he was taught to believe in himself. There were, too, +enough of others anxious for the Republic to bolster him up in his own +belief. There was that Cornelius in whose defence Cicero made the two +great speeches which have been unfortunately lost, and there was Cato, +and up to this time there was Pompey, as Cicero thought. Cicero, till he +found himself candidate for the Consulship, had contented himself with +undertaking separate cases, in which, no doubt, politics were concerned, +but which were not exclusively political. He had advocated the +employment of Pompey in the East, and had defended Cornelius. He was +well acquainted with the history of the Republic; but he had probably +never asked himself the question whether it was in mortal peril, and if +so, whether it might possibly be saved. In his Consulship he did do so; +and, seeing less of the Republic than we can see now, told himself that +it was possible. + +The stories told to us of Catiline's conspiracy by Sallust and by Cicero +are so little conflicting that we can trust them both. Trusting them +both, we are justified in believing that we know the truth. We are here +concerned only with the part which Cicero took. Nothing, I think, which +Cicero says is contradicted by Sallust, though of much that Cicero +certainly did Sallust is silent. Sallust damns him, but only by faint +praise. We may, therefore, take the account of the plot as given by +Cicero himself as verified: indeed, I am not aware that any of Cicero's +facts have been questioned. + +Sallust declares that Catiline's attempt was popular in Rome +generally.[195] This, I think, must be taken as showing simply that +revolution and conspiracy were in themselves popular: that, as a +condition of things around him such as existed in Rome, a plotter of +state plots should be able to collect a body of followers, was a thing +of course; that there were many citizens who would not work, and who +expected to live in luxury on public or private plunder, is certain. +When the conspiracy was first announced in the Senate, Catiline had an +army collected; but we have no proof that the hearts of the inhabitants +of Rome generally were with the conspirators. On the other hand, we have +proof, in the unparalleled devotion shown by the citizens to Cicero +after the conspiracy was quelled, that their hearts were with him. The +populace, fond of change, liked a disturbance; but there is nothing to +show that Catiline was ever beloved as had been the Gracchi, and other +tribunes of the people who came after them. + +Catiline, in the autumn of the year B.C. 63, had arranged the outside +circumstances of his conspiracy, knowing that he would, for the third +time, be unsuccessful in his canvass for the Consulship. That Cicero +with other Senators should be murdered seems to have been their first +object, and that then the Consulship should be seized by force. On the +21st of October Cicero made his first report to the Senate as to the +conspiracy, and called upon Catiline for his answer. It was then that +Catiline made his famous reply: "That the Republic had two bodies, of +which one was weak and had a bad head"--meaning the aristocracy, with +Cicero as its chief--"and the other strong, but without any head," +meaning the people; "but that as for himself, so well had the people +deserved of him, that as long as he lived a head should be +forth-coming."[196] Then, at that sitting, the Senate decreed, in the +usual formula, "That the Consuls were to take care that the Republic did +not suffer."[197] On the 22d of October, the new Consuls, Silanus and +Murena, were elected. On the 23d, Catiline was regularly accused of +conspiracy by Paulus Lepidus, a young nobleman, in conformity with a law +which had been enacted fifty-five years earlier, "de vi publica," as to +violence applied to the State. Two days afterward it was officially +reported that Manlius--or Mallius, as he seems to have been generally +called--Catiline's lieutenant, had openly taken up arms in Etruria. The +27th had been fixed by the conspirators for the murder of Cicero and the +other Senators. That all this was to be, and was so arranged by +Catiline, had been declared in the Senate by Cicero himself on that day +when Catiline told them of the two bodies and the two heads. Cicero, +with his intelligence, ingenuity, and industry, had learned every +detail. There was one Curius among the conspirators, a fair specimen of +the young Roman nobleman of the day, who told it all to his mistress +Fulvia, and she carried the information to the Consul. It is all +narrated with fair dramatic accuracy in Ben Jonson's dull play, though +he has attributed to Cæsar a share in the plot, for doing which he had +no authority. Cicero, on that sitting in the Senate, had been specially +anxious to make Catiline understand that he knew privately every +circumstance of the plot. Throughout the whole conspiracy his object was +not to take Catiline, but to drive him out of Rome. If the people could +be stirred up to kill him in their wrath, that might be well; in that +way there might be an end of all the trouble. But if that did not come +to pass, then it would be best to make the city unbearable to the +conspirators. If they could be driven out, they must either take +themselves to foreign parts and be dispersed, or must else fight and +assuredly be conquered. Cicero himself was never blood-thirsty, but the +necessity was strong upon him of ridding the Republic from these +blood-thirsty men. + +The scheme for destroying Cicero and the Senators on the 27th of October +had proved abortive. On the 6th of the next month a meeting was held in +the house of one Marcus Porcius Læca, at which a plot was arranged for +the killing of Cicero the next day--for the killing of Cicero alone--he +having been by this time found to be the one great obstacle in their +path. Two knights were told off for the service, named Vargunteius and +Cornelius. These, after the Roman fashion, were to make their way early +on the following morning into the Consul's bedroom for the ostensible +purpose of paying him their morning compliments, but, when there, they +were to slay him. All this, however, was told to Cicero, and the two +knights, when they came, were refused admittance. If Cicero had been a +man given to fear, as has been said of him, he must have passed a +wretched life at this period. As far as I can judge of his words and +doings throughout his life, he was not harassed by constitutional +timidity. He feared to disgrace his name, to lower his authority, to +become small in the eyes of men, to make political mistakes, to do that +which might turn against him. In much of this there was a falling off +from that dignity which, if we do not often find it in a man, we can all +of us imagine; but of personal dread as to his own skin, as to his own +life, there was very little. At this time, when, as he knew well, many +men with many weapons in their hands, men who were altogether +unscrupulous, were in search for his blood he never seems to have +trembled. + +But all Rome trembled--even according to Sallust. I have already shown +how he declares in one part of his narrative that the common people as a +body were with Catiline, and have attempted to explain what was meant by +that expression. In another, in an earlier chapter, he says "that the +State," meaning the city, "was disturbed by all this, and its appearance +changed.[198] Instead of the joy and ease which had lately prevailed, +the effect of the long peace, a sudden sadness fell upon every one." I +quote the passage because that other passage has been taken as proving +the popularity of Catiline. There can, I think, be no doubt that the +population of Rome was, as a body, afraid of Catiline. The city was to +be burnt down, the Consuls and the Senate were to be murdered, debts +were to be wiped out, slaves were probably to be encouraged against +their masters. The "permota civitas" and the "cuncta plebes," of which +Sallust speaks, mean that all the "householders" were disturbed, and +that all the "roughs" were eager with revolutionary hopes. + +On the 8th of November, the day after that on which the Consul was to +have been murdered in his own house, he called a special meeting of the +Senate in the temple of Jupiter Stator. The Senate in Cicero's time was +convened according to expedience, or perhaps as to the dignity of the +occasion, in various temples. Of these none had a higher reputation than +that of the special Jupiter who is held to have befriended Romulus in +his fight with the Sabines. Here was launched that thunderbolt of +eloquence which all English school-boys have known for its "Quousque +tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra." Whether it be from the awe +which has come down to me from my earliest years, mixed perhaps with +something of dread for the great pedagogue who first made the words to +sound grandly in my ears, or whether true critical judgment has since +approved to me the real weight of the words, they certainly do contain +for my intelligence an expression of almost divine indignation. Then +there follows a string of questions, which to translate would be vain, +which to quote, for those who read the language, is surely unnecessary. +It is said to have been a fault with Cicero that in his speeches he runs +too much into that vein of wrathful interrogation which undoubtedly +palls upon us in English oratory when frequent resort is made to it. It +seems to be too easy, and to contain too little of argument. It was +this, probably, of which his contemporaries complained when they +declared him to be florid, redundant, and Asiatic in his style.[199] +This questioning runs through nearly the whole speech, but the reader +cannot fail to acknowledge its efficacy in reference to the matter in +hand. Catiline was sitting there himself in the Senate, and the +questions were for the most part addressed to him. We can see him now, a +man of large frame, with bold, glaring eyes, looking in his wrath as +though he were hardly able to keep his hands from the Consul's throat, +even there in the Senate. Though he knew that this attack was to be made +on him, he had stalked into the temple and seated himself in a place of +honor, among the benches intended for those who had been Consuls. When +there, no one spoke to him, no one saluted him. The consular Senators +shrunk away, leaving their places of privilege. Even his +brother-conspirators, of whom many were present, did not dare to +recognize him. Lentulus was no doubt there, and Cethegus, and two of the +Sullan family, and Cassius Longinus, and Autronius, and Læca, and +Curius. All of them were or had been conspirators in the same cause. +Cæsar was there too, and Crassus. A fellow conspirator with Catiline +would probably be a Senator. Cicero knew them all. We cannot say that in +this matter Cæsar was guilty, but Cicero, no doubt, felt that Cæsar's +heart was with Catiline. It was his present task so to thunder with his +eloquence that he should turn these bitter enemies into seeming +friends--to drive Catiline from out of the midst of them, so that it +should seem that he had been expelled by those who were in truth his +brother-conspirators; and this it was that he did. + +He declared the nature of the plot, and boldly said that, such being the +facts, Catiline deserved death. "If," he says, "I should order you to be +taken and killed, believe me I should be blamed rather for my delay in +doing so than for my cruelty." He spoke throughout as though all the +power were in his own hands, either to strike or to forbear. But it was +his object to drive him out and not to kill him. "Go," he said; "that +camp of yours and Mallius, your lieutenant, are too long without you. +Take your friends with you. Take them all. Cleanse the city of your +presence. When its walls are between you and me then I shall feel myself +secure. Among us here you may no longer stir yourself. I will not have +it--I will not endure it. If I were to suffer you to be killed, your +followers in the conspiracy would remain here; but if you go out, as I +desire you, this cesspool of filth will drain itself off from out the +city. Do you hesitate to do at my command that which you would fain do +yourself? The Consul requires an enemy to depart from the city. Do you +ask me whether you are to go into exile? I do not order it; but if you +ask my counsel, I advise it." Exile was the severest punishment known by +the Roman law, as applicable to a citizen, and such a punishment it was +in the power of no Consul or other officer of state to inflict. Though +he had taken upon himself the duty of protecting the Republic, still he +could not condemn a citizen. It was to the moral effect of his words +that he must trust: "Non jubeo, sed si me consulis, suadeo." Catiline +heard him to the end, and then, muttering a curse, left the Senate, and +went out of the city. Sallust tells us that he threatened to extinguish, +in the midst of the general ruin he would create, the flames prepared +for his own destruction. Sallust, however, was not present on the +occasion, and the threat probably had been uttered at an earlier period +of Catiline's career. Cicero tells us expressly, in one of his +subsequent works, that Catiline was struck dumb.[200] + +Of this first Catiline oration Sallust says, that "Marcus Tullius the +Consul, either fearing the presence of the man, or stirred to anger, +made a brilliant speech, very useful to the Republic."[201] This, coming +from an enemy, is stronger testimony to the truth of the story told by +Cicero, than would have been any vehement praise from the pen of a +friend. + +Catiline met some of his colleagues the same night. They were the very +men who as Senators had been present at his confusion, and to them he +declared his purpose of going. There was nothing to be done in the city +by him. The Consul was not to be reached. Catiline himself was too +closely watched for personal action. He would join the army at Fæsulæ +and then return and burn the city. His friends, Lentulus, Cethegus, and +the others, were to remain and be ready for fire and slaughter as soon +as Catiline with his army should appear before the walls. He went, and +Cicero had been so far successful. + +But these men, Lentulus, Cethegus, and the other Senators, though they +had not dared to sit near Catiline in the Senate, or to speak a word to +him, went about their work zealously when evening had come. A report was +spread among the people that the Consul had taken upon himself to drive +a citizen into exile. Catiline, the ill-used Catiline--Catiline, the +friend of the people, had, they said, gone to Marseilles in order that +he might escape the fury of the tyrant Consul. In this we see the +jealousy of Romans as to the infliction of any punishment by an +individual officer on a citizen. It was with a full knowledge of what +was likely to come that Cicero had ironically declared that he only +advised the conspirator to go. The feeling was so strong that on the +next morning he found himself compelled to address the people on the +subject. Then was uttered the second Catiline oration, which was spoken +in the open air to the citizens at large. Here too there are words, +among those with which he began his speech, almost as familiar to us as +the "Quousque tandem"--"Abiit; excessit; evasit; erupit!" This Catiline, +says Cicero, this pest of his country, raging in his madness, I have +turned out of the city. If you like it better, I have expelled him by my +very words. "He has departed. He has fled. He has gone out from among +us. He has broken away!" "I have made this conspiracy plain to you all, +as I said I would, unless indeed there may be some one here who does not +believe that the friends of Catiline will do the same as Catiline would +have done. But there is no time now for soft measures. We have to be +strong-handed. There is one thing I will do for these men. Let them too +go out, so that Catiline shall not pine for them. I will show them the +road. He has gone by the Via Aurelia. If they will hurry they may catch +him before night." He implies by this that the story about Marseilles +was false. Then he speaks with irony of himself as that violent Consul +who could drive citizens into exile by the very breath of his mouth. +"Ego vehemens ille consul qui verbo cives in exsilium ejicio." So he +goes on, in truth defending himself, but leading them with him to take +part in the accusation which he intends to bring against the chief +conspirators who remain in the city. If they too will go, they may go +unscathed; if they choose to remain, let them look to themselves. + +Through it all we can see there is but one thing that he fears--that he +shall be driven by the exigencies of the occasion to take some steps +which shall afterward be judged not to have been strictly legal, and +which shall put him into the power of his enemies when the day of his +ascendency shall have passed away. It crops out repeatedly in these +speeches.[202] He seems to be aware that some over-strong measure will +be forced upon him for which he alone will be held responsible. If he +can only avoid that, he will fear nothing else; if he cannot avoid it, +he will encounter even that danger. His foresight was wonderfully +accurate. The strong hand was used, and the punishment came upon him, +not from his enemies but from his friends, almost to the bursting of his +heart. + +Though the Senate had decreed that the Consuls were to see that the +Republic should take no harm, and though it was presumed that +extraordinary power was thereby conferred, it is evident that no power +was conferred of inflicting punishment. Antony, as Cicero's colleague, +was nothing. The authority, the responsibility, the action were, and +were intended, to remain with Cicero. He could not legally banish any +one. It was only too evident that there must be much slaughter. There +was the army of rebels with which it would be necessary to fight. Let +them go, these rebels within the city, and either join the army and get +themselves killed, or else disappear, whither they would, among the +provinces. The object of this second Catiline oration, spoken to the +people, was to convince the remaining conspirators that they had better +go, and to teach the citizens generally that in giving such counsel he +was "banishing" no one. As far as the citizens were concerned he was +successful; but he did not induce the friends of Catiline to follow +their chief. This took place on the 9th of November. After the oration +the Senate met again, and declared Catiline and Mallius to be public +enemies. + +Twenty-four days elapsed before the third speech was spoken--twenty-four +days during which Rome must have been in a state of very great fever. +Cicero was actively engaged in unravelling the plots the details of +which were still being carried on within the city; but nevertheless he +made that speech for Murena before the judicial bench of which I gave an +account in the last chapter, and also probably another for Piso, of +which we have nothing left. We cannot but marvel that he should have +been able at such a time to devote his mind to such subjects, and +carefully to study all the details of legal cases. It was only on +October 21st that Murena had been elected Consul; and yet on the 20th of +November Cicero defended him with great skill on a charge of bribery. +There is an ease, a playfulness, a softness, a drollery about this +speech which appears to be almost incompatible with the stern, absorbing +realities and great personal dangers in the midst of which he was +placed; but the agility of his mind was such that there appears to have +been no difficulty to him in these rapid changes. + +On the same day, the 20th of November, when Cicero was defending Murena, +the plot was being carried on at the house of a certain Roman lady named +Sempronia. It was she of whom Sallust said that she danced better than +became an honest woman. If we can believe Sallust, she was steeped in +luxury and vice. At her house a most vile project was hatched for +introducing into Rome Rome's bitterest foreign foes. There were in the +city at this time certain delegates from a people called the Allobroges, +who inhabited the lower part of Savoy. The Allobroges were of Gaulish +race. They were warlike, angry, and at the present moment peculiarly +discontented with Rome. There had been certain injuries, either real or +presumed, respecting which these delegates had been sent to the city. +There they had been delayed, and fobbed off with official replies which +gave no satisfaction, and were supposed to be ready to do any evil +possible to the Republic. What if they could be got to go back suddenly +to their homes, and bring a legion of red-haired Gauls to assist the +conspirators in burning down Rome? A deputation from the delegates came +to Sempronia's house and there met the conspirators--Lentulus and +others. They entered freely into the project; but having, as was usual +with foreign embassies at Rome, a patron or peculiar friend of their own +among the aristocracy, one Fabius Sanga by name, they thought it well to +consult him.[203] Sanga, as a matter of course, told everything to our +astute Consul. + +Then the matter was arranged with more than all the craft of a modern +inspector of police. The Allobroges were instructed to lend themselves +to the device, stipulating, however, that they should have a written +signed authority which they could show to their rulers at home. The +written signed documents were given to them. With certain conspirators +to help them out of the city they were sent upon their way. At a bridge +over the Tiber they were stopped by Cicero's emissaries. There was a +feigned fight, but no blood was shed; and the ambassadors with their +letters were brought home to the Consul. + +We are astonished at the marvellous folly of these conspirators, so that +we could hardly have believed the story had it not been told alike by +Cicero and by Sallust, and had not allusion to the details been common +among later writers.[204] The ambassadors were taken at the Milvian +bridge early on the morning of the 3d of December, and in the course of +that day Cicero sent for the leaders of the conspiracy to come to him. +Lentulus, who was then Prætor, Cethegus, Gabinius, and Statilius all +obeyed the summons. They did not know what had occurred, and probably +thought that their best hope of safety lay in compliance. Cæparius was +also sent for, but he for the moment escaped--in vain; for before two +days were over he had been taken and put to death with the others. +Cicero again called the Senate together, and entered the meeting leading +the guilty Prætor by the hand. Here the offenders were examined and +practically acknowledged their guilt. The proofs against them were so +convincing that they could not deny it. There were the signatures of +some; arms were found hidden in the house of another. The Senate decreed +that the men should be kept in durance till some decision as to their +fate should have been pronounced. Each of them was then given in custody +to some noble Roman of the day. Lentulus the Prætor was confided to the +keeping of a Censor, Cethegus to Cornificius, Statilius to Cæsar, +Gabinius to Crassus, and Cæparius, who had not fled very far before he +was taken, to one Terentius. We can imagine how willingly would Crassus +and Cæsar have let their men go, had they dared. But Cicero was in the +ascendant. Cæsar, whom we can imagine to have understood that the hour +had not yet come for putting an end to the effete Republic, and to have +perceived also that Catiline was no fit helpmate for him in such a work, +must bide his time, and for the moment obey. That he was inclined to +favor the conspirators there is no doubt; but at present he could +befriend them only in accordance with the law. The Allobroges were +rewarded. The Prætors in the city who had assisted Cicero were thanked. +To Cicero himself a supplication was decreed. A supplication was, in its +origin, a thanksgiving to the gods on account of a victory, but had come +to be an honor shown to the General who had gained the victory. In this +case it was simply a means of adding glory to Cicero, and was peculiar, +as hitherto the reward had only been conferred for military +service.[205] Remembering that, we can understand what at the time must +have been the feeling in Rome as to the benefits conferred by the +activity and patriotism of the Consul. + +On the evening of the same day, the 3d of December, Cicero again +addressed the people, explaining to them what he had done, and what he +had before explained in the Senate. This was the third Catiline speech, +and for rapid narrative is perhaps surpassed by nothing that he ever +spoke. He explains again the motives by which he had been actuated; and +in doing so extols the courage, the sagacity, the activity of Catiline, +while he ridicules the folly and the fury of the others.[206] Had +Catiline remained, he says, we should have been forced to fight with him +here in the city; but with Lentulus the sleepy, and Cassius the fat, and +Cethegus the mad, it has been comparatively easy to deal. It was on this +account that he had got rid of him, knowing that their presence would do +no harm. Then he reminds the people of all that the gods have done for +them, and addresses them in language which makes one feel that they did +believe in their gods. It is one instance, one out of many which history +and experience afford us, in which an honest and a good man has +endeavored to use for salutary purposes a faith in which he has not +himself participated. Does the bishop of to-day, when he calls upon his +clergy to pray for fine weather, believe that the Almighty will change +the ordained seasons, and cause his causes to be inoperative because +farmers are anxious for their hay or for their wheat? But he feels that +when men are in trouble it is well that they should hold communion with +the powers of heaven. So much also Cicero believed, and therefore spoke +as he did on this occasion. As to his own religious views, I shall say +something in a future chapter. + +Then in a passage most beautiful for its language, though it is hardly +in accordance with our idea of the manner in which a man should speak of +himself, he explains his own ambition: "For all which, my +fellow-countrymen, I ask for no other recompense, no ornament or honor, +no monument but that this day may live in your memories. It is within +your breasts that I would garner and keep fresh my triumph, my glory, +the trophies of my exploits. No silent, voiceless statue, nothing which +can be bestowed upon the worthless, can give me delight. Only by your +remembrance can my fortunes be nurtured--by your good words, by the +records which you shall cause to be written, can they be strengthened +and perpetuated. I do think that this day, the memory of which, I trust, +may be eternal, will be famous in history because the city has been +preserved, and because my Consulship has been glorious."[207] He ends +the paragraph by an allusion to Pompey, admitting Pompey to a +brotherhood of patriotism and praise. We shall see how Pompey repaid +him. + +How many things must have been astir in his mind when he spoke those +words of Pompey! In the next sentence he tells the people of his own +danger. He has taken care of their safety; it is for them to take care +of his.[208] But they, these Quirites, these Roman citizens, these +masters of the world, by whom everything was supposed to be governed, +could take care of no one; certainly not of themselves, as certainly not +of another. They could only vote, now this way and now that, as somebody +might tell them, or more probably as somebody might pay them. Pompey was +coming home, and would soon be the favorite. Cicero must have felt that +he had deserved much of Pompey, but was by no means sure that the debt +of gratitude would be paid. + +Now we come to the fourth or last Catiline oration, which was made to +the Senate, convened on the 5th of December with the purpose of deciding +the fate of the leading conspirators who were held in custody. We learn +to what purport were three of the speeches made during this +debate--those of Cæsar and of Cato and of Cicero. The first two are +given to us by Sallust, but we can hardly think that we have the exact +words. The Cæsarean spirit which induced Sallust to ignore altogether +the words of Cicero would have induced him to give his own +representation of the other two, even though we were to suppose that he +had been able to have them taken down by short-hand writers--Cicero's +words, we have no doubt, with such polishing as may have been added to +the short-hand writers' notes by Tiro, his slave and secretary. The +three are compatible each with the other, and we are entitled to believe +that we know the line of argument used by the three orators. + +Silanus, one of the Consuls elect, began the debate by counselling +death. We may take it for granted that he had been persuaded by Cicero +to make this proposition. During the discussion he trembled at the +consequences, and declared himself for an adjournment of their decision +till they should have dealt with Catiline. Murena, the other Consul +elect, and Catulus, the Prince of the Senate,[209] spoke for death. +Tiberius Nero, grandfather of Tiberius the Emperor, made that +proposition for adjournment to which Silanus gave way. Then--or I should +rather say in the course of the debate, for we do not know who else may +have spoken--Cæsar got up and made his proposition. His purpose was to +save the victims, but he knew well that, with such a spirit abroad as +that existing in the Senate and the city, he could only do so not by +absolving but by condemning. Wicked as these men might be, abominably +wicked it was, he said, for the Senate to think of their own dignity +rather than of the enormity of the crime. As they could not, he +suggested, invent any new punishment adequate to so abominable a crime, +it would be better that they should leave the conspirators to be dealt +with by the ordinary laws. It was thus that, cunningly, he threw out the +idea that as Senators they had no power of death. He did not dare to +tell them directly that any danger would menace them, but he exposed the +danger skilfully before their eyes. "Their crimes," he says again, +"deserve worse than any torture you can inflict. But men generally +recollect what comes last. When the punishment is severe, men will +remember the severity rather than the crime." He argues all this +extremely well. The speech is one of great ingenuity, whether the words +be the words of Sallust or of Cæsar. We may doubt, indeed, whether the +general assertion he made as to death had much weight with the Senators +when he told them that death to the wicked was a relief, whereas life +was a lasting punishment; but when he went on to remind them of the Lex +Porcia, by which the power of punishing a Roman citizen, even under the +laws, was limited to banishment, unless by a plebiscite of the people +generally ordering death, then he was efficacious. He ended by proposing +that the goods of the conspirators should be sold, and that the men +should be condemned to imprisonment for life, each in some separate +town. This would, I believe, have been quite as illegal as the +death-sentence, but it would not have been irrevocable. The Senate, or +the people, in the next year could have restored to the men their +liberty, and compensated them for their property. Cicero was determined +that the men should die. They had not obeyed him by leaving the city, +and he was convinced that while they lived the conspiracy would live +also. He fully understood the danger, and resolved to meet it. He +replied to Cæsar, and with infinite skill refrained from the expression +of any strong opinion, while he led his hearers to the conviction that +death was necessary. For himself he had been told of his danger; "but if +a man be brave in his duty death cannot be disgraceful to him; to one +who had reached the honors of the Consulship it could not be premature; +to no wise man could it be a misery." Though his brother, though his +wife, though his little boy, and his daughter just married were warning +him of his peril, not by all that would he be influenced. "Do you," he +says, "Conscript Fathers, look to the safety of the Republic. These are +not the Gracchi, nor Saturninus, who are brought to you for +judgment--men who broke the laws, indeed, and therefore suffered death, +but who still were not unpatriotic. These men had sworn to burn the +city, to slay the Senate, to force Catiline upon you as a ruler. The +proofs of this are in your own hands. It was for me, as your Consul, to +bring the facts before you. Now it is for you, at once, before night, to +decide what shall be done. The conspirators are very many; it is not +only with these few that you are dealing. On whatever you decide, decide +quickly. Cæsar tells you of the Sempronian law[210]--the law, namely, +forbidding the death of a Roman citizen--but can he be regarded as a +citizen who has been found in arms against the city?" Then there is a +fling at Cæsar's assumed clemency, showing us that Cæsar had already +endeavored to make capital out of that virtue which he displayed +afterward so signally at Alesia and Uxellodunum. Then again he speaks of +himself in words so grand that it is impossible but to sympathize with +him: "Let Scipio's name be glorious--he by whose wisdom and valor +Hannibal was forced out of Italy. Let Africanus be praised loudly, who +destroyed Carthage and Numantia, the two cities which were most hostile +to Rome. Let Paulus be regarded as great--he whose triumph that great +King Perses adorned. Let Marius be held in undying honor, who twice +saved Italy from foreign yoke. Let Pompey be praised above all, whose +noble deeds are as wide as the sun's course. Perhaps among them there +may be a spot, too, for me; unless, indeed, to win provinces to which we +may take ourselves in exile is more than to guard that city to which the +conquerors of provinces may return in safety." The last words of the +orator also are fine: "Therefore, Conscript Fathers, decide wisely and +without fear. Your own safety, and that of your wives and children, that +of your hearths and altars, the temples of your gods, the homes +contained in your city, your liberty, the welfare of Italy and of the +whole Republic are at stake. It is for you to decide. In me you have a +Consul who will obey your decrees, and will see that they be made to +prevail while the breath of life remains to him." Cato then spoke +advocating death, and the Senate decreed that the men should die. Cicero +himself led Lentulus down to the vaulted prison below, in which +executioners were ready for the work, and the other four men were made +to follow. A few minutes afterward, in the gleaming of the evening, when +Cicero was being led home by the applauding multitude, he was asked +after the fate of the conspirators. He answered them but by one word +"Vixerunt"--there is said to have been a superstition with the Romans as +to all mention of death--"They have lived their lives." + +As to what was being done outside Rome with the army of conspirators in +Etruria, it is not necessary for the biographer of Cicero to say much. +Catiline fought, and died fighting. The conspiracy was then over. On the +31st of December Cicero retired from his office, and Catiline fell at +the battle of Pistoia on the 5th of January following, B.C. 62. + +A Roman historian writing in the reign of Tiberius has thought it worth +his while to remind us that a great glory was added to Cicero's consular +year by the birth of Augustus--him who afterward became Augustus +Cæsar.[211] Had a Roman been living now, he might be excused for saying +that it was an honor to Augustus to have been born in the year of +Cicero's Consulship. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +_CICERO AFTER HIS CONSULSHIP._ + + +The idea that the great Consul had done illegally in putting citizens to +death was not allowed to lie dormant even for a day. It must be +remembered that a decree of the Senate had no power as a law. The laws +could be altered, or even a new law made, only by the people. Such was +the constitution of the Republic. Further on, when Cicero will appeal +as, in fact, on trial for the offence so alleged to have been committed, +I shall have to discuss the matter; but the point was raised against +him, even in the moment of his triumph, as he was leaving the +Consulship. The reiteration of his self-praise had created for him many +enemies. It had turned friends against him, and had driven men even of +his own party to ask themselves whether all this virtue was to be +endured. When a man assumes to be more just than his neighbors there +will be many ways found of throwing in a shell against him. It was +customary for a Consul when he vacated his office to make some +valedictory speech. Cicero was probably expected to take full advantage +of the opportunity. From other words which have come from him, on other +occasions but on the same subject, it would not be difficult to compose +such a speech as he might have spoken. But there were those who were +already sick of hearing him say that Rome had been saved by his +intelligence and courage. We can imagine what Cæsar might have said +among his friends of the expediency of putting down this self-laudatory +Consul. As it was, Metellus Nepos, one of the Tribunes, forbade the +retiring officer to do more than take the oath usual on leaving office, +because he had illegally inflicted death upon Roman citizens. Metellus, +as Tribune, had the power of stopping any official proceeding. We hear +from Cicero himself that he was quite equal to the occasion. He swore, +on the spur of the moment, a solemn oath, not in accordance with the +form common to Consuls on leaving office, but to the effect that during +his Consulship Rome had been saved by his work alone.[212] We have the +story only as it is told by Cicero himself, who avers that the people +accepted the oath as sworn with exceeding praise.[213] That it was so we +may, I think, take as true. There can be no doubt as to Cicero's +popularity at this moment, and hardly a doubt also as to the fact that +Metellus was acting in agreement with Cæsar, and also in accord with the +understood feelings of Pompey, who was absent with his army in the East. +This Tribune had been till lately an officer under Pompey, and went into +office together with Cæsar, who in that year became Prætor. This, +probably, was the beginning of the party which two years afterward +formed the first Triumvirate, B.C. 60. It was certainly now, in the year +succeeding the Consulship of Cicero, that Cæsar, as Prætor, began his +great career. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 62, ætat. 45.] + +It becomes manifest to us, as we read the history of the time, that the +Dictator of the future was gradually entertaining the idea that the old +forms of the Republic were rotten, and that any man who intended to +exercise power in Rome or within the Roman Empire must obtain it and +keep it by illegal means. He had probably adhered to Catiline's first +conspiracy, but only with such moderate adhesion as enabled him to +withdraw when he found that his companions were not fit for the work. It +is manifest that he sympathized with the later conspiracy, though it may +be doubted whether he himself had ever been a party to it. When the +conspiracy had been crushed by Cicero, he had given his full assent to +the crushing of it. We have seen how loudly he condemned the wickedness +of the conspirators in his endeavor to save their lives. But, through it +all, there was a well-grounded conviction in his mind that Cicero, with +all his virtues, was not practical. Not that Cicero was to him the same +as Cato, who with his Stoic grandiloquence must, to his thinking, have +been altogether useless. Cicero, though too virtuous for supreme rule, +too virtuous to seize power and hold it, too virtuous to despise as +effete the institutions of the Republic, was still a man so gifted, and +capable in so many things, as to be very great as an assistant, if he +would only condescend to assist. It is in this light that Cæsar seems to +have regarded Cicero as time went on; admiring him, liking him, willing +to act with him if it might be possible, but not the less determined to +put down all the attempts at patriotic republican virtue in which the +orator delighted to indulge. Mr. Forsyth expresses an opinion that +Cæsar, till he crossed the Rubicon after his ten years' fighting in +Gaul, had entertained no settled plan of overthrowing the Constitution. +Probably not; nor even then. It may be doubted whether Cæsar ever spoke +to himself of overthrowing the Constitution. He came gradually to see +that power and wealth were to be obtained by violent action, and only by +violent action. He had before him the examples of Marius and Sulla, both +of whom had enjoyed power and had died in their beds. There was the +example, also, of others who, walking unwarily in those perilous times, +had been banished as was Verres, or killed as was Catiline. We can +easily understand that he, with his great genius, should have +acknowledged the need both of courage and caution. Both were exercised +when he consented to be absent from Rome, and almost from Italy, during +the ten years of the Gallic wars. But this, I think, is certain, that +from the time in which his name appears prominent--from the period, +namely, of the Catiline conspiracy--he had determined not to overthrow +the Constitution, but so to carry himself, amid the great affairs of the +day, as not to be overthrown himself. + +Of what nature was the intercourse between him and Pompey when Pompey +was still absent in the East we do not know; but we can hardly doubt +that some understanding had begun to exist. Of this Cicero was probably +aware. Pompey was the man whom Cicero chose to regard as his +party-leader, not having himself been inured to the actual politics of +Rome early enough in life to put himself forward as the leader of his +party. It had been necessary for him, as a "novus homo," to come forward +and work as an advocate, and then as an administrative officer of the +State, before he took up with politics. That this was so I have shown by +quoting the opening words of his speech Pro Lege Manilia. Proud as he +was of the doings of his Consulship, he was still too new to his work to +think that thus he could claim to stand first. Nor did his ambition lead +him in that direction. He desired personal praise rather than personal +power. When in the last Catiline oration to the people he speaks of the +great men of the Republic--of the two Scipios, and of Paulus Æmilius and +of Marius--he adds the name of Pompey to these names; or gives, rather, +to Pompey greater glory than to any of them; "Anteponatur omnibus +Pompeius." This was but a few days before Metellus as Tribune had +stopped him in his speech--at the instigation, probably, of Cæsar, and +in furtherance of Pompey's views. Pompey and Cæsar could agree, at any +rate, in this--that they did not want such a one as Cicero to interfere +with them. + +All of which Cicero himself perceived. The specially rich province of +Macedonia, which would have been his had he chosen to take it on +quitting the Consulship, he made over to Antony--no doubt as a bribe, as +with us one statesman may resign a special office to another to keep +that other from kicking over the traces. Then Gaul became his province, +as allotted--Cisalpine Gaul, as northern Italy was then called; a +province less rich in plunder and pay than Macedonia. But Cicero wanted +no province, and had contrived that this should be confided to Metellus +Celer, the brother of Nepos, who, having been Prætor when he himself was +Consul, was entitled to a government. This too was a political bribe. If +courtesy to Cæsar, if provinces given up here and there to Antonys and +Metelluses, if flattery lavished on Pompey could avail anything, he +could not afford to dispense with such aids. It all availed nothing. +From this time forward, for the twenty years which were to run before +his death, his life was one always of trouble and doubt, often of +despair, and on many occasions of actual misery. The source of this was +that Pompey whom, with divine attributes, he had extolled above all +other Romans. + +The first extant letter written by Cicero after his Consulship was +addressed to Pompey.[214] Pompey was still in the East, but had +completed his campaigns against Mithridates successfully. Cicero begins +by congratulating him, as though to do so were the purpose of his +letter. Then he tells the victorious General that there were some in +Rome not so well pleased as he was at these victories. It is supposed +that he alluded here to Cæsar; but, if so, he probably misunderstood the +alliance which was already being formed between Cæsar and Pompey. After +that comes the real object of the epistle. He had received letters from +Pompey congratulating him in very cold language as to the glories of his +Consulship. He had expected much more than that from the friend for whom +he had done so much. Still, he thanks his friend, explaining that the +satisfaction really necessary to him was the feeling that he had behaved +well to his friend. If his friend were less friendly to him in return, +then would the balance of friendship be on his side. If Pompey were not +bound to him, Cicero, by personal gratitude, still would he be bound by +necessary co-operation in the service of the Republic. But, lest Pompey +should misunderstand him, he declares that he had expected warmer +language in reference to his Consulship, which he believes to have been +withheld by Pompey lest offence should be given to some third person. By +this he means Cæsar, and those who were now joining themselves to Cæsar. +Then he goes on to warn him as to the future: "Nevertheless, when you +return, you will find that my actions have been of such a nature that, +even though you may loom larger than Scipio, I shall be found worthy to +be accepted as your Lælius."[215] + +Infinite care had been given to the writing of this letter, and sharp +had been the heart-burnings which dictated it. It was only by asserting +that he, on his own part, was satisfied with his own fidelity as a +friend, that Cicero could express his dissatisfaction at Pompey's +coldness. It was only by continuing to lavish upon Pompey such flattery +as was contained in the reference to Scipio, in which a touch of subtle +irony is mixed with the flattery, that he could explain the nature of +the praise which had, he thought, been due to himself. There is +something that would have been abject in the nature of these +expressions, had it not been Roman in the excess of the adulation. But +there is courage in the letter, too, when he tells his correspondent +what he believes to have been the cause of the coldness of which he +complains: "Quod verere ne cujus animum offenderes"--"Because you fear +lest you should give offence to some one." But let me tell you, he goes +on to say, that my Consulship has been of such a nature that you, +Scipio, as you are, must admit me as your friend. + +In these words we find a key to the whole of Cicero's connection with +the man whom he recognizes as his political leader. He was always +dissatisfied with Pompey; always accusing Pompey in his heart of +ingratitude and insincerity; frequently speaking to Atticus with bitter +truth of the man's selfishness and incapacity, even of his cruelty and +want of patriotism; nicknaming him because of his absurdities; declaring +of him that he was minded to be a second Sulla; but still clinging to +him as the political friend and leader whom he was bound to follow. In +their earlier years, when he could have known personally but little of +Pompey, because Pompey was generally absent from Rome, he had taken it +into his head to love the man. He had been called "Magnus;" he had been +made Consul long before the proper time; he had been successful on +behalf of the Republic, and so far patriotic. He had hitherto adhered to +the fame of the Republic. At any rate, Cicero had accepted him, and +could never afterward bring himself to be disloyal to the leader with +whom he had professed to act. But the feeling evinced in this letter was +carried on to the end. He had been, he was, he would be, true to his +political connection with Pompey; but of Pompey's personal character to +himself he had nothing but complaints to make. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 62, ætat. 45.] + +We have two other letters written by Cicero in this year, the first of +which is in answer to one from Metellus Celer to him, also extant. +Metellus wrote to complain of the ill-treatment which he thought he had +received from Cicero in the Senate, and from the Senate generally. +Cicero writes back at much greater length to defend himself, and to +prove that he had behaved as a most obliging friend to his +correspondent, though he had received a gross affront from his +correspondent's brother Nepos. Nepos had prevented him in that matter of +the speech. It is hardly necessary to go into the question of this +quarrel, except in so far as it may show how the feeling which led to +Cicero's exile was growing up among many of the aristocracy in Rome. +There was a counterplot going on at the moment--a plot on the behalf of +the aristocracy for bringing back Pompey to Rome, not only with glory +but with power, probably originating in a feeling that Pompey would be a +more congenial master than Cicero. It was suggested that as Pompey had +been found good in all State emergencies--for putting down the pirates, +for instance, and for conquering Mithridates--he would be the man to +contend in arms with Catiline. Catiline was killed before the matter +could be brought to an issue, but still the conspiracy went on, based on +the jealousy which was felt in regard to Cicero. This man, who had +declared so often that he had served his country, and who really had +crushed the Catilinarians by his industry and readiness, might, after +all, be coming forward as another Sulla, and looking to make himself +master by dint of his virtues and his eloquence. The hopelessness of the +condition of the Republic may be recognized in the increasing +conspiracies which were hatched on every side. Metellus Nepos was sent +home from Asia in aid of the conspiracy, and got himself made Tribune, +and stopped Cicero's speech. In conjunction with Cæsar, who was Prætor, +he proposed his new law for the calling of Pompey to their aid. Then +there was a fracas between him and Cæsar on the one side and Cato on the +other, in which Cato at last was so far victorious that both Cæsar and +Metellus were stopped in the performance of their official duties. Cæsar +was soon reinstated, but Metellus Nepos returned to Pompey in the East, +and nothing came of the conspiracy. It is only noticed here as evidence +of the feeling which existed as to Cicero in Rome, and as explaining the +irritation on both sides indicated in the correspondence between Cicero +and Metellus Celer, the brother of Nepos,[216] whom Cicero had procured +the government of Gaul. + +The third letter from Cicero in this year was to Sextius, who was then +acting as Quæstor--or Proquæstor, as Cicero calls him--with Antony as +Proconsul in Macedonia. It is specially interesting as telling us that +the writer had just completed the purchase of a house in Rome from +Crassus for a sum amounting to about £30,000 of our money. There was +probably no private mansion in Rome of greater pretension. It had been +owned by Livius Drusus, the Tribune--a man of colossal fortune, as we +are told by Mommsen--who was murdered at the door of it thirty years +before. It afterward passed into the hands of Crassus the rich, and now +became the property of Cicero. We shall hear how it was destroyed during +his exile, and how fraudulently made over to the gods, and then how +restored to Cicero, and how rebuilt at the public expense. The history +of the house has been so well written that we know even the names of +Cicero's two successors in it, Censorinus and Statilius.[217] + +It is interesting to know the sort of house which Cicero felt to be +suitable to his circumstances, for by that we may guess what his +circumstances were. In making this purchase he is supposed to have +abandoned the family house in which his father had lived next door to +the new mansion, and to have given it up to his brother. Hence we may +argue that he had conceived himself to have risen in worldly +circumstances. Nevertheless, we are informed by himself in this letter +to Sextius that he had to borrow money for the occasion--so much so +that, being a man now indebted, he might be supposed to be ripe for any +conspiracy. Hence has come to us a story through Aulus Gellius, the +compiler of anecdotes, to the effect that Cicero was fain to borrow this +money from a client whose cause he undertook in requital for the favor +so conferred. Aulus Gellius collected his stories two centuries +afterward for the amusement of his children, and has never been regarded +as an authority in matters for which confirmation has been wanting. +There is no allusion to such borrowing from a client made by any +contemporary. In this letter to Sextius, in which he speaks jokingly of +his indebtedness, he declares that he has been able to borrow any amount +he wanted at six per cent--twelve being the ordinary rate--and gives as +a reason for this the position which he has achieved by his services to +the State. Very much has been said of the story, as though the purchaser +of the house had done something of which he ought to have been ashamed, +but this seems to have sprung entirely from the idea that a man who, in +the midst of such wealth as prevailed at Rome, had practised so widely +and so successfully the invaluable profession of an advocate, must +surely have taken money for his services. He himself has asserted that +he took none, and all the evidence that we have goes to show that he +spoke the truth. Had he taken money, even as a loan, we should have +heard of it from nearer witnesses than Aulus Gellius, if, as Aulus +Gellius tells us, it had become known at the time. But because he tells +his friend that he has borrowed money for the purpose, he is supposed to +have borrowed it in a disgraceful manner! It will be found that all the +stones most injurious to Cicero's reputation have been produced in the +same manner. His own words have been misinterpreted--either the purport +of them, if spoken in earnest, or their bearing, if spoken in joke--and +then accusations have been founded on them.[218] + +Another charge of dishonest practice was about this time made against +Cicero without a grain of evidence, though indeed the accusations so +made, and insisted upon, apparently from a feeling that Cicero cannot +surely have been altogether clean when all others were so dirty, are too +numerous to receive from each reader's judgment that indignant denial to +which each is entitled. The biographer cannot but fear that when so much +mud has been thrown some will stick, and therefore almost hesitates to +tell of the mud, believing that no stain of this kind has been in truth +deserved. + +It seems that Antony, Cicero's colleague in the Consulship, who became +Proconsul in Macedonia, had undertaken to pay some money to Cicero. Why +the money was to be paid we do not know, but there are allusions in +Cicero's letters to Atticus to one Teucris (a Trojan woman), and it +seems that Antony was designated by the nickname. Teucris is very slow +at paying his money, and Cicero is in want of it. But perhaps it will be +as well not to push the matter. He, Antony, is to be tried for +provincial peculation, and Cicero declares that the case is so bad that +he cannot defend his late colleague. Hence have arisen two different +suspicions: one that Antony had agreed to make over to Cicero a share of +the Macedonian plunder in requital of Cicero's courtesy in giving up the +province which had been allotted to himself; the second, that Antony was +to pay Cicero for defending him. As to the former, Cicero himself +alludes to such a report as being common in Macedonia, and as having +been used by Antony himself as an excuse for increased rapine. But this +has been felt to be incredible, and has been allowed to fall to the +ground because of the second accusation. But in support of that there is +no word of evidence,[219] whereas the tenor of the story as told by +Cicero himself is against it. Is it likely, would it be possible, that +Cicero should have begun his letter to Atticus by complaining that he +could not get from Antony money wanted for a peculiar purpose--it was +wanted for his new house--and have gone on in the same letter to say +that this might be as well, after all, as he did not intend to perform +the service for which the money was to be paid? The reader will remember +that the accusation is based solely on Cicero's own statement that +Antony was negligent in paying to him money that had been promised. In +all these accusations the evidence against Cicero, such as it is, is +brought exclusively from Cicero's own words. Cicero did afterward defend +this Antony, as we learn from his speech Pro Domo Suâ; but his change of +purpose in that respect has nothing to do with the argument. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 62, ætat. 45.] + +We have two speeches extant made this year: one on behalf of P. Sulla, +nephew to the Dictator; the other for Archias the Greek scholar and +poet, who had been Cicero's tutor and now claimed to be a citizen of +Rome. I have already given an extract from this letter, as showing the +charm of words with which Cicero could recommend the pursuit of +literature to his hearers. The whole oration is a beautiful morsel of +Latinity, in which, however, strength of argument is lacking. Cicero +declares of Archias that he was so eminent in literature that, if not a +Roman citizen, he ought to be made one. The result is not known, but the +literary world believes that the citizenship was accorded to him.[220] + +The speech on behalf of Sulla was more important, but still not of much +importance. This Sulla, as may be remembered, had been chosen as Consul +with Autronius, two years before the Consulship of Cicero, and he had +then after his election been deposed for bribery, as had also Autronius. +L. Aurelius Cotta and L. Manlius Torquatus had been elected in their +places. It has also been already explained that the two rejected Consuls +had on this account joined Catiline in his first conspiracy. There can +be no doubt that whether as Consuls or as rejected Consuls, and on that +account conspirators, their purpose was to use their position as +aristocrats for robbing the State. They were of the number of those to +whom no other purpose was any longer possible. Then there came +Catiline's second conspiracy--the conspiracy which Cicero had +crushed--and there naturally rose the question whether from time to time +this or the other noble Roman should not be accused of having joined it. +Many noble Romans had no doubt joined besides those who had fallen +fighting, or who had been executed in the dungeons. Accusations became +very rife. One Vettius accused Cæsar, the Prætor; but Cæsar, with that +potentiality which was peculiar to him, caused Vettius to be put into +prison instead of going to prison himself. Many were convicted and +banished; among them Porcius Læca, Vargunteius, Servius Sulla, the +brother of him of whom we are now speaking, and Autronius his colleague. +In the trial of these men Cicero took no part. He was specially invited +by Autronius, who was an old school-fellow, to defend him, but he +refused; indeed, he gave evidence against Autronius at the trial. But +this Publius Sulla he did defend, and defended successfully. He was +joined in the case with Hortensius, and declared that as to the matter +of the former conspiracy he left all that to his learned friend, who was +concerned with political matters of that date.[221] He, Cicero, had +known nothing about them. The part of the oration which most interests +us is that in which he defends himself from the accusations somewhat +unwisely made against himself personally by young Torquatus, the son of +him who had been raised to the Consulship in the place of P. Sulla. +Torquatus had called him a foreigner because he was a "novus homo," and +had come from the municipality of Arpinum, and had taunted him with +being a king, because he had usurped authority over life and death in +regard to Lentulus and the other conspirators. He answers this very +finely, and does so without an ill-natured word to young Torquatus, +whom, from respect to his father, he desires to spare. "Do not," he +says, "in future call me a foreigner, lest you be answered with +severity, nor a king, lest you be laughed at--unless, indeed, you think +it king-like so to live as to be a slave not only to no man but to no +evil passion; unless you think it be king-like to despise all lusts, to +thirst for neither gold nor silver nor goods, to express yourself freely +in the Senate, to think more of services due to the people than of +favors won from them, to yield to none, and to stand firm against many. +If this be king-like, then I confess that I am a king." Sulla was +acquitted, but the impartial reader will not the less feel sure that he +had been part and parcel with Catiline in the conspiracy. It is trusted +that the impartial reader will also remember how many honest, loyal +gentlemen have in our own days undertaken the causes of those whom they +have known to be rebels, and have saved those rebels by their ingenuity +and eloquence. + +At the end of this year, B.C. 62, there occurred a fracas in Rome which +was of itself but of little consequence to Rome, and would have been of +none to Cicero but that circumstances grew out of it which created for +him the bitterest enemy he had yet encountered, and led to his sorest +trouble. This was the affair of Clodius and of the mysteries of the Bona +Dea, and I should be disposed to say that it was the greatest misfortune +of his life, were it not that the wretched results which sprung from it +would have been made to spring from some other source had that source +not sufficed. I shall have to tell how it came to pass that Cicero was +sent into exile by means of the misconduct of Clodius; but I shall have +to show also that the misconduct of Clodius was but the tool which was +used by those who were desirous of ridding themselves of the presence of +Cicero. + +This Clodius, a young man of noble family and of debauched manners, as +was usual with young men of noble families, dressed himself up as a +woman, and made his way in among the ladies as they were performing +certain religious rites in honor of the Bona Dea, or Goddess Cybele, a +matron goddess so chaste in her manners that no male was admitted into +her presence. It was specially understood that nothing appertaining to a +man was to be seen on the occasion, not even the portrait of one; and it +may possibly have been the case that Clodius effected his entrance among +the worshipping matrons on this occasion simply because his doing so was +an outrage, and therefore exciting. Another reason was alleged. The +rites in question were annually held, now in the house of this matron +and then of that, and during the occasion the very master of the house +was excluded from his own premises. They were now being performed under +the auspices of Pompeia, the wife of Julius Cæsar, the daughter of one +Quintus Pompeius, and it was alleged that Clodius came among the women +worshippers for the sake of carrying on an intrigue with Cæsar's wife. +This was highly improbable, as Mr. Forsyth has pointed out to us, and +the idea was possibly used simply as an excuse to Cæsar for divorcing a +wife of whom he was weary. At any rate, when the scandal got abroad, he +did divorce Pompeia, alleging that it did not suit Cæsar to have his +wife suspected. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 61, ætat. 46.] + +The story became known through the city, and early in January Cicero +wrote to Atticus, telling him the facts: "You have probably heard that +Publius Clodius, the son of Appius, has been taken dressed in a woman's +clothes in the house of Caius Cæsar, where sacrifice was being made for +the people, and that he escaped by the aid of a female slave. You will +be sorry to hear that it has given rise to a great scandal."[222] A few +days afterward Cicero speaks of it again to Atticus at greater length, +and we learn that the matter had been taken up by the magistrates with +the view of punishing Clodius. Cicero writes without any strong feeling +of his own, explaining to his friend that he had been at first a very +Lycurgus in the affair, but that he is now tamed down.[223] Then there +is a third letter in which Cicero is indignant because certain men of +whom he disapproves, the Consul Piso among the number[224] are anxious +to save this wicked young nobleman from the punishment due to him; +whereas others of whom he approves Cato among the number, are desirous +of seeing justice done. But it was no affair special to Cicero. Shortly +afterward he writes again to Atticus as to the result of the trial--for +a trial did take place--and explains to his friend how justice had +failed. Atticus had asked him how it had come to pass that he, Cicero, +had not exerted himself as he usually did.[225] This letter, though +there is matter enough in it of a serious kind, yet jests with the +Clodian affair so continually as to make us feel that he attributed no +importance to it as regarded himself. He had exerted himself till +Hortensius made a mistake as to the selection of the judges. After that +he had himself given evidence. An attempt was made to prove an alibi, +but Cicero came forward to swear that he had seen Clodius on the very +day in question. There had, too, been an exchange of repartee in the +Senate between himself and Clodius after the acquittal, of which he +gives the details to his correspondent with considerable +self-satisfaction. The passage does not enhance our idea of the dignity +of the Senate, or of the power of Roman raillery. It was known that +Clodius had been saved by the wholesale bribery of a large number of the +judges. There had been twenty-five for condemning against thirty-one for +acquittal.[226] Cicero in the Catiline affair had used a phrase with +frequency by which he boasted that he had "found out" this and "found +out" that--"comperisse omnia." Clodius, in the discussion before the +trial, throws this in his teeth: "Comperisse omnia criminabatur." This +gave rise to ill-feeling, and hurt Cicero much worse than the dishonor +done to the Bona Dea. As for that, we may say that he and the Senate and +the judges cared personally very little, although there was no doubt a +feeling that it was wise to awe men's minds by the preservation of +religious respect. Cicero had cared but little about the trial; but as +he had been able to give evidence he had appeared as a witness, and +enmity sprung from the words which were spoken both on one side and on +the other. Clodius was acquitted, which concerns us not at all, and +concerns Rome very little; but things had so come to pass at the trial +that Cicero had been very bitter, and that Clodius had become his enemy. +When a man was wanted, three years afterward, to take the lead in +persecuting Cicero, Clodius was ready for the occasion. + +While the expediency of putting Clodius on his trial was being +discussed, Pompey had returned from the East, and taken up his residence +outside the city, because he was awaiting his triumph. The General, to +whom it was given to march through the city with triumphal glory, was +bound to make his first entrance after his victories with all his +triumphal appendages, as though he was at that moment returning from the +war with all his warlike spoils around him. The usage had obtained the +strength of law, but the General was not on that account debarred from +city employment during the interval. The city must be taken out to him +instead of his coming into the city. Pompey was so great on his return +from his Mithridatic victories that the Senate went out to sit with him +in the suburbs, as he could not sit with it within the walls. We find +him taking part in these Clodian discussions. Cicero at once writes of +him to Athens with evident dissatisfaction. When questioned about +Clodius, Pompey had answered with the grand air of aristocrat. Crassus +on this occasion, between whom and Cicero there was never much +friendship, took occasion to belaud the late great Consul on account of +his Catiline successes. Pompey, we are told, did not bear this +well.[227] Crassus had probably intended to produce some such effect. +Then Cicero had spoken in answer to the remarks of Crassus, very glibly, +no doubt, and had done his best to "show off" before Pompey, his new +listener.[228] More than six years had passed since Pompey could have +heard him, and then Cicero's voice had not become potential in the +Senate. Cicero had praised Pompey with all the eloquence in his power. +"Anteponatur omnibus Pompeius," he had said, in the last Catiline +oration to the Senate; and Pompey, though he had not heard the words +spoken, knew very well what had been said. Such oratory was never lost +upon those whom it most concerned the orator to make acquainted with it. +But in return for all this praise, for that Manilian oration which had +helped to send him to the East, for continual loyalty, Pompey had +replied to Cicero with coldness. He would now let Pompey know what was +his standing in Rome. "If ever," he says to Atticus, "I was strong with +my grand rhythm, with my quick rhetorical passages, with enthusiasm, and +with logic, I was so now. Oh, the noise that I made on the occasion! You +know what my voice can do. I need say no more about it, as surely you +must have heard me away there in Epirus." The reader, I trust, will have +already a sufficiently vivid idea of Cicero's character to understand +the mingling of triumph and badinage, with a spark of disappointment, +which is here expressed. "This Pompey, though I have so true to him, has +not thought much of me--of me, the great Consul who saved Rome! He has +now heard what even Crassus has been forced to say about me. He shall +hear me too, me myself, and perhaps he will then know better." It was +thus that Cicero's mind was at work while he was turning his loud +periods. Pompey was sitting next to him listening, by no means admiring +his admirer as that admirer expected to be admired. Cicero had probably +said to himself that they two together, Pompey and Cicero, might suffice +to preserve the Republic. Pompey, not thinking much of the Republic, was +probably telling himself that he wanted no brother near the throne. When +of two men the first thinks himself equal to the second, the second will +generally feel himself to be superior to the first. Pompey would have +liked Cicero better if his periods had not been so round nor his voice +so powerful. Not that Pompey was distinctly desirous of any throne. His +position at the moment was peculiar. He had brought back his victorious +army from the East to Brundisium, and had then disbanded his legions. I +will quote here the opening words from one of Mommsen's chapters:[229] +"When Pompeius, after having transacted the affairs committed to his +charge, again turned his eyes toward home, he found, for the second +time, the diadem at his feet." He says farther on, explaining why Pompey +did not lift the diadem: "The very peculiar temperament of Pompeius +naturally turned once more the scale. He was one of those men who are +capable, it may be, of a crime, but not of insubordination." And again: +"While in the capital all was preparation for receiving the new monarch, +news came that Pompeius, when barely landed at Brundisium, had broken up +his legions, and with a small escort had entered his journey to the +capital. If it is a piece of good-fortune to gain a crown without +trouble, fortune never did more for mortal than it did for Pompeius; but +on those who lack courage the gods lavish every favor and every gift in +vain." I must say here that, while I acknowledge the German historian's +research and knowledge without any reserve, I cannot accept his +deductions as to character. I do not believe that Pompey found any +diadem at his feet, or thought of any diadem, nor, according to my +reading of Roman history, had Marius or had Sulla; nor did Cæsar. The +first who thought of that perpetual rule--a rule to be perpetuated +during the ruler's life, and to be handed down to his successors--was +Augustus. Marius, violent, self-seeking, and uncontrollable, had tumbled +into supreme power; and, had he not died, would have held it as long as +he could, because it pleased his ambition for the moment. Sulla, with a +purpose, had seized it, yet seems never to have got beyond the old Roman +idea of a temporary Dictatorship. The old Roman horror of a king was +present to these Romans, even after they had become kings. Pompey, no +doubt, liked to be first, and when he came back from the East thought +that by his deeds he was first, easily first. Whether Consul year after +year, as Marius had been, or Dictator, as Sulla had been, or Imperator, +with a running command over all the Romans, it was his idea still to +adhere to the forms of the Republic. Mommsen, foreseeing--if an +historian can be said to foresee the future from his standing-point in +the past--that a master was to come for the Roman Empire, and giving all +his sympathies to the Cæsarean idea, despises Pompey because Pompey +would not pick up the diadem. No such idea ever entered Pompey's head. +After a while he "Sullaturized"--was desirous of copying Sulla--to use +an excellent word which Cicero coined. When he was successfully opposed +by those whom he had thought inferior to himself, when he found that +Cæsar had got the better of him, and that a stronger body of Romans went +with Cæsar than with him, then proscriptions, murder, confiscations, and +the seizing of dictatorial power presented themselves to his angry mind, +but of permanent despotic power there was, I think, no thought, nor, as +far as I can read the records, had such an idea been fixed in Cæsar's +bosom. To carry on the old trade of Prætor, Consul, Proconsul, and +Imperator, so as to get what he could of power and wealth and dignity in +the scramble, was, I think, Cæsar's purpose. The rest grew upon him. As +Shakspeare, sitting down to write a play that might serve his theatre, +composed some Lear or Tempest--that has lived and will live forever, +because of the genius which was unknown to himself--so did Cæsar, by his +genius, find his way to a power which he had not premeditated. A much +longer time is necessary for eradicating an idea from men's minds than a +fact from their practice. This should be proved to us by our own loyalty +to the word "monarch," when nothing can be farther removed from a +monarchy than our own commonwealth. From those first breaches in +republican practice which the historian Florus dates back to the siege +of Numantia,[230] B.C. 133, down far into the reign of Augustus, it took +a century and a quarter to make the people understand that there was no +longer a republican form of government, and to produce a leader who +could himself see that there was room for a despot. + +Pompey had his triumph; but the same aristocratic airs which had annoyed +Cicero had offended others. He was shorn of his honors. Only two days +were allowed for his processions. He was irritated, jealous, and no +doubt desirous of making his power felt; but he thought of no diadem. +Cæsar saw it all; and he thought of that conspiracy which we have since +called the First Triumvirate. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 62, 61, ætat. 45, 46.] + +The two years to which this chapter has been given were uneventful in +Cicero's life, and produced but little of that stock of literature by +which he has been made one of mankind's prime favorites. Two discourses +were written and published, and probably spoken, which are now +lost--that, namely, to the people against Metellus, in which, no doubt, +he put forth all that he had intended to say when Metellus stopped him +from speaking at the expiration of his Consulship; the second, against +Clodius and Curio, in the Senate, in reference to the discreditable +Clodian affair. The fragments which we have of this contain those +asperities which he retailed afterward in his letter to Atticus, and are +not either instructive or amusing. But we learn from these fragments +that Clodius was already preparing that scheme for entering the +Tribunate by an illegal repudiation of his own family rank, which he +afterward carried out, to the great detriment of Cicero's happiness. Of +the speeches extant on behalf of Archias and P. Sulla I have spoken +already. We know of no others made during this period. We have one +letter besides this to Atticus, addressed to Antony, his former +colleague, which, like many of his letters, was written solely for the +sake of popularity. + +During these years he lived no doubt splendidly as one of the great men +of the greatest city in the world. He had his magnificent new mansion in +Rome, and his various villas, which were already becoming noted for +their elegance and charms of upholstery and scenic beauty. Not only had +he climbed to the top of official life himself, but had succeeded in +taking his brother Quintus up with him. In the second of the two years, +B.C. 61, Quintus had been sent out as Governor or Proprætor to Asia, +having then nothing higher to reach than the Consulship, which, however, +he never attained. This step in the life of Quintus has become famous by +a letter which the elder brother wrote to him in the second year of his +office, to which reference will be made in the next chapter. + +So far all things seemed to have gone well with Cicero. He was high in +esteem and authority, powerful, rich, and with many people popular. But +the student of his life now begins to see that troubles are enveloping +him. He had risen too high not to encounter envy, and had been too loud +in his own praise not to make those who envied him very bitter in their +malice. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +_THE TRIUMVIRATE._ + + +[Sidenote: B.C. 60, ætat. 47.] + +I know of no great fact in history so impalpable, so shadowy, so unreal, +as the First Triumvirate. Every school-boy, almost every school-girl, +knows that there was a First Triumvirate, and that it was a political +combination made by three great Romans of the day, Julius Cæsar, Pompey +the Great, and Crassus the Rich, for managing Rome among them. Beyond +this they know little, because there is little to know. That it was a +conspiracy against the ordained government of the day, as much so as +that of Catiline, or Guy Faux, or Napoleon III., they do not know +generally, because Cæsar, who, though the youngest of the three, was the +mainspring of it, rose by means of it to such a galaxy of glory that all +the steps by which he rose to it have been supposed to be magnificent +and heroic. But of the method in which this Triumvirate was constructed, +who has an idea? How was it first suggested, where, and by whom? What +was it that the conspirators combined to do? There was no purpose of +wholesale murder like that of Catiline for destroying the Senate, and of +Guy Faux for blowing up the House of Lords. There was no plot arranged +for silencing a body of legislators like that of Napoleon. In these +scrambles that are going on every year for place and power, for +provinces and plunder, let us help each other. If we can manage to stick +fast by each other, we can get all the power and nearly all the plunder. +That, said with a wink by one of the Triumvirate--Cæsar, let us say--and +assented to with a nod by Pompey and Crassus, was sufficient for the +construction of such a conspiracy as that which I presume to have been +hatched when the First Triumvirate was formed.[231] Mommsen, who never +speaks of a Triumvirate under that name, except in his index,[232] where +he has permitted the word to appear for the guidance of persons less +well instructed than himself, connects the transaction which we call the +First Triumvirate with a former coalition, which he describes as having +been made in (B.C. 71) the year before the Consulship of Pompey and +Crassus. With that we need not concern ourselves as we are dealing with +the life of Cicero rather than with Roman history, except to say that +Cæsar, who was the motive power of the second coalition, could have had +no personal hand in that of 71. Though he had spent his early years in +"harassing the aristocracy," as Dean Merivale tells us, he had not been +of sufficient standing in men's minds to be put on a par with Pompey and +Crassus. When this First Triumvirate was formed, as the modern world +generally calls it, or the second coalition between the democracy and +the great military leaders, as Mommsen with greater, but not with +perfect, accuracy describes it, Cæsar no doubt had at his fingers' ends +the history of past years. "The idea naturally occurred," says Mommsen, +"whether * * * an alliance firmly based on mutual advantage might not be +established between the democrats, with their ally, Crassus, on the one +side, and Pompeius and the great capitalists on the other. For Pompeius +such a coalition was certainly a political suicide."[233] The democracy +here means Cæsar. Cæsar during his whole life had been learning that no +good could come to any one from an effete Senate, or from republican +forms which had lost all their salt. Democracy was in vogue with him; +not, as I think, from any philanthropic desire for equality; not from +any far-seeing view of fraternal citizenship under one great paternal +lord--the study of politics had never then reached to that height--but +because it was necessary that some one, or perhaps some two or three, +should prevail in the coming struggle, and because he felt himself to be +more worthy than others. He had no conscience in the matter. Money was +to him nothing. Another man's money was the same as his own--or better, +if he could get hold of it. That doctrine taught by Cicero that men are +"ad justitiam natos" must have been to him simply absurd. Blood was to +him nothing. A friend was better than a foe, and a live man than a dead. +Blood-thirstiness was a passion unknown to him; but that tenderness +which with us creates a horror of blood was equally unknown. Pleasure +was sweet to him; but he was man enough to feel that a life of pleasure +was contemptible. To pillage a city, to pilfer his all from a rich man, +to debauch a friend's wife, to give over a multitude of women and +children to slaughter, was as easy to him as to forgive an enemy. But +nothing rankled with him, and he could forgive an enemy. Of courage he +had that better sort which can appreciate and calculate danger, and then +act as though there were none. Nothing was wrong to him but what was +injudicious. He could flatter, cajole, lie, deceive, and rob; nay, would +think it folly not to do so if to do so were expedient.[234] In this +coalition he appears as supporting and supported by the people. +Therefore Mommsen speaks of him as "the democrat." Crassus is called the +ally of the democrats. It will be enough for us here to know that +Crassus had achieved his position in the Senate by his enormous wealth, +and that it was because of his wealth, which was essential to Cæsar, +that he was admitted into the league. By means of his wealth he had +risen to power and had conquered and killed Spartacus, of the honor and +glory of which Pompey robbed him. Then he had been made Consul. When +Cæsar had gone as Proprætor to Spain, Crassus had found the money. Now +Cæsar had come back, and was hand and glove with Crassus. When the +division of the spoil came, some years afterward--the spoil won by the +Triumvirate--when Cæsar had half perfected his grand achievements in +Gaul, and Crassus had as yet been only a second time Consul, he got +himself to be sent into Syria, that by conquering the Parthians he might +make himself equal to Cæsar. We know how he and his son perished there, +each of them probably avoiding the last extremity of misery to a +Roman--that of falling into the hands of a barbarian enemy--by +destroying himself. Than the life of Crassus nothing could be more +contemptible; than the death nothing more pitiable. "For Pompeius," says +Mommsen, "such a coalition was certainly a political suicide." As events +turned out it became so, because Cæsar was the stronger man of the two; +but it is intelligible that at that time Pompey should have felt that he +could not lord it over the Senate, as he wished to do, without aid from +the democratic party. He had no well-defined views, but he wished to be +the first man in Rome. He regarded himself as still greatly superior to +Cæsar, who as yet had been no more than Prætor, and at this time was +being balked of his triumph because he could not at one and the same +moment be in the city, as candidate for the Consulship, and out of the +city waiting for his triumph. Pompey had triumphed three times, had been +Consul at an unnaturally early age with abnormal honors, had been +victorious east and west, and was called "Magnus." He did not as yet +fear to be overshadowed by Cæsar.[235] Cicero was his bugbear. + +Mommsen I believe to be right in eschewing the word "Triumvirate." I +know no mention of it by any Roman writer as applied to this conspiracy, +though Tacitus, Suetonius, and Florus call by that name the later +coalition of Octavius, Antony, and Lepidus. The Langhornes, in +translating Plutarch's life of Crassus, speak of the Triumvirate; but +Plutarch himself says that Cæsar combined "an impregnable stronghold" by +joining the three men.[236] Paterculus and Suetonius[237] explain very +clearly the nature of the compact, but do not use the term. There was +nothing in the conspiracy entitling it to any official appellation, +though, as there were three leading conspirators, that which has been +used has been so far appropriate. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 60, ætat. 47.] + +Cicero was the bugbear to them all. That he might have been one of them, +if ready to share the plunder and the power, no reader of the history of +the time can doubt. Had he so chosen he might again have been a "real +power in the State;" but to become so in the way proposed to him it was +necessary that he should join others in a conspiracy against the +Republic. + +I do not wish it to be supposed that Cicero received the overtures made +to him with horror. Conspiracies were too common for horror; and these +conspirators were all our Cicero's friends in one sense, though in +another they might be his opponents. We may imagine that at first +Crassus had nothing to do with the matter, and that Pompey would fain +have stood aloof in his jealousy. But Cæsar knew that it was well to +have Cicero, if Cicero was to be had. It was not only his eloquence +which was marvellously powerful, or his energy which had been shown to +be indomitable: there was his character, surpassed by that of no Roman +living; if only, in giving them the use of his character, he could be +got to disregard the honor and the justice and the patriotism on which +his character had been founded. How valuable may character be made, if +it can be employed under such conditions! To be believed because of your +truth, and yet to lie; to be trusted for your honesty, and yet to cheat; +to have credit for patriotism, and yet to sell your country! The +temptations to do this are rarely put before a man plainly, in all their +naked ugliness. They certainly were not so presented to Cicero by Cæsar +and his associates. The bait was held out to him, as it is daily to +others, in a form not repellent, with words fitted to deceive and +powerful almost to persuade. Give us the advantage of your character, +and then by your means we shall be able to save our country. Though our +line of action may not be strictly constitutional, if you will look into +it you will see that it is expedient. What other course is there? How +else shall any wreck of the Republic be preserved? Would you be another +Cato, useless and impractical? Join us, and save Rome to some purpose. +We can understand that in such way was the lure held out to Cicero, as +it has been to many a politician since. But when the politician takes +the office offered to him--and the pay, though it be but that of a Lord +of the Treasury--he must vote with his party. + +That Cicero doubted much whether he would or would not at this time +throw in his lot with Cæsar and Pompey is certain. To be of real +use--not to be impractical, as was Cato--to save his country and rise +honestly in power and glory--not to be too straitlaced, not +over-scrupulous--giving and taking a little, so that he might work to +good purpose with others in harness--that was his idea of duty as a +Roman. To serve in accord with Pompey was the first dream of his +political life, and now Pompey was in accord with Cæsar. It was natural +that he should doubt--natural that he should express his doubts. Who +should receive them but Atticus, that "alter ego?" Cicero doubted +whether he should cling to Pompey--as he did in every phase of his +political life, till Pompey had perished at the mouth of the Nile. But +at last he saw his way clear to honesty, as I think he always did. He +tells his friend that Cæsar had sent his confidential messenger, Balbus, +to sound him. The present question is whether he shall resist a certain +agrarian law of which he does not approve, but which is supported by +both Pompey and Cæsar, or retire from the contest and enjoy himself at +his country villas, or boldly stay at Rome and oppose the law. Cæsar +assures him that if he will come over to them, Cæsar will be always true +to him and Pompey, and will do his best to bring Crassus into the same +frame of mind. Then he reckons up all the good things which would accrue +to him: "Closest friendship with Pompey--with Cæsar also, should he wish +it; the making up of all quarrels with his enemies; popularity with the +people; ease for his old age, which was coming on him. But that +conclusion moves me to which I came in my third book."[238] Then he +repeats the lines given in the note below, which he had written, +probably this very year, in a poem composed in honor of his own +Consulship. The lines are not in themselves grand, but the spirit of +them is magnificent: "Stick to the good cause which in your early youth +you chose for yourself, and be true to the party you have made your +own." "Should I doubt when the muse herself has so written," he says, +alluding to the name of Calliope, given to this third book of his. Then +he adds a line of Homer, very excellent for the occasion:[239] "No +augury for the future can be better for you than that which bids you +serve your country." "But," he says, "we will talk of all that when you +come to me for the holidays. Your bath shall be ready for you: your +sister and mother shall be of the party." And so the doubts are settled. + +Now came on the question of the Tribuneship of Clodius, in reference to +which I will quote a passage out of Middleton, because the phrase which +he uses exactly explains the purposes of Cæsar and Pompey. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 60, ætat. 47.] + +"Clodius, who had been contriving all this while how to revenge himself +on Cicero, began now to give an opening to the scheme which he had +formed for that purpose. His project was to get himself chosen Tribune, +and in that office to drive him out of the city, by the publication of a +law which, by some stratagem or other, he hoped to obtrude on the +people. But as all Patricians were incapable of the Tribunate, by its +original institution so his first step was to make himself a Plebeian by +the pretence of an adoption into a Plebeian house, which could not yet +be done without the suffrage of the people. This case was wholly new, +and contrary to all the forms--wanting every condition, and serving none +of the ends which were required in regular adoptions--so that, on the +first proposal, it seemed too extravagant to be treated seriously, and +would soon have been hissed off with scorn, had it not been concerted +and privately supported by persons of much more weight than Clodius. +Cæsar was at the bottom of it, and Pompey secretly favored it--not that +they intended to ruin Cicero, but to keep him only under the lash--and +if they could not draw him into their measures, to make him at least sit +quiet, and let Clodius loose upon him."[240] + +This, no doubt, was the intention of the political leaders in Rome at +this conjunction of affairs. It had been found impossible to draw Cicero +gently into the net, so that he should become one of them. If he would +live quietly at his Antian or Tusculan villa, amid his books and +writings, he should be treated with all respect; he should be borne +with, even though he talked so much of his own Consulate. But if he +would interfere with the politics of the day, and would not come into +the net, then he must be dealt with. Cæsar seems to have respected +Cicero always, and even to have liked him; but he was not minded to put +up with a "friend" in Rome who from day to day abused all his projects. +In defending Antony, the Macedonian Proconsul who was condemned, Cicero +made some unpleasant remarks on the then condition of things. Cæsar, we +are told, when he heard of this, on the very spur of the moment, caused +Clodius to be accepted as a Plebeian. + +In all this we are reminded of the absolute truth of Mommsen's verdict +on Rome, which I have already quoted more than once: "On the Roman +oligarchy of this period no judgment can be passed, save one of +inexorable and remorseless condemnation." How had it come to pass that +Cæsar had the power of suddenly causing an edict to become law, whether +for good or for evil? Cicero's description of what took place is as +follows:[241] "About the sixth hour of the day, when I was defending my +colleague Antony in court, I took occasion to complain of certain things +which were being done in the Republic, and which I thought to be +injurious to my poor client. Some dishonest persons carried my words to +men in power"--meaning Cæsar and Pompey--"not, indeed, my own words, but +words very different from mine. At the ninth hour on that very same day, +you, Clodius, were accepted as a Plebeian." Cæsar, having been given to +understand that Cicero had been making himself disagreeable, was +determined not to put up with it. Suetonius tells the same story with +admirable simplicity. Of Suetonius it must be said that, if he had no +sympathy for a patriot such as Cicero, neither had he any desire to +represent in rosy colors the despotism of a Cæsar. He tells his stories +simply as he has heard them. "Cicero," says Suetonius,[242] "having at +some trial complained of the state of the times, Cæsar, on the very same +day, at the ninth hour, passed Clodius over from the Patrician to the +Plebeian rank, in accordance with his own desire." How did it come to +pass that Cæsar, who, though Consul at the time, had no recognized power +of that nature, was efficacious for any such work as this? Because the +Republic had come to the condition which the German historian has +described. The conspiracy between Cæsar and his subordinates had not +been made for nothing. + +The reader will require to know why Clodius should have desired +degradation, and how it came to pass that this degradation should have +been fatal to Cicero. The story has been partly told in the passage from +Middleton. A Patrician, in accordance with the constitution, could not +be a Tribune of the people. From the commencement of the Tribunate, that +office had been reserved for the Plebeians. But a Tribune had a power of +introducing laws which exceeded that of any Senator or any other +official. "They had acquired the right," we are told in Smith's +Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, "of proposing to the comitia +tributa, or to the Senate, measures on nearly all the important affairs +of the State;" and as matters stood at this time, no one Tribune could +"veto" or put an arbitrary stop to a proposition from another. When such +proposition was made, it was simply for the people to decide by their +votes whether it should or should not be law. The present object was to +have a proposition made and carried suddenly, in reference to Cicero, +which should have, at any rate, the effect of stopping his mouth. This +could be best done by a Tribune of the people. No other adequate Tribune +could be found--no Plebeian so incensed against Cicero as to be willing +to do this, possessing at the same time power enough to be elected. +Therefore it was that Clodius was so anxious to be degraded. + +No Patrician could become a Tribune of the people; but a Patrician might +be adopted by a Plebeian, and the adopted child would take the rank of +his father--would, in fact, for all legal purposes, be the same as a +son. For doing this in any case a law had to be passed--or, in other +words, the assent of the people must be obtained and registered. But +many conditions were necessary. The father intending to adopt must have +no living son of his own, and must be past the time of life at which he +might naturally hope to have one; and the adopted son must be of a +fitting age to personate a son--at any rate, must be younger than the +father; nothing must be done injurious to either family; there must be +no trick in it, no looking after other result than that plainly +intended. All these conditions were broken. The pretended father, +Fonteius, had a family of his own, and was younger than Clodius. The +great Claudian family was desecrated, and there was no one so ignorant +as not to know that the purpose intended was that of entering the +Tribunate by a fraud. It was required by the general law that the Sacred +College should report as to the proper observances of the prescribed +regulations, but no priest was ever consulted. Yet Clodius was adopted, +made a Plebeian, and in the course of the year elected as Tribune. + +In reading all this, the reader is mainly struck by the wonderful +admixture of lawlessness and law-abiding steadfastness. If Cæsar, who +was already becoming a tyrant in his Consulship, chose to make use of +this means of silencing Cicero, why not force Clodius into the Tribunate +without so false and degrading a ceremony? But if, as was no doubt the +case, he was not yet strong enough to ignore the old popular feelings on +the subject, how was it that he was able to laugh in his sleeve at the +laws, and to come forth at a moment's notice and cause the people to +vote, legally or illegally, just as he pleased? It requires no conjurer +to tell us the reason. The outside hulls and husks remain when the rich +fruit has gone. It was in seeing this, and yet not quite believing that +it must be so, that the agony of Cicero's life consisted. There could +have been no hope for freedom, no hope for the Republic, when Rome had +been governed as it was during the Consulship of Cæsar; but Cicero could +still hope, though faintly, and still buoy himself up with remembrances +of his own year of office. + +In carrying on the story of the newly-adopted child to his election as +Tribune, I have gone beyond the time of my narration, so that the reader +may understand the cause and nature and effect of the anger which +Clodius entertained for Cicero. This originated in the bitter words +spoken as to the profanation of the Bona Dea, and led to the means for +achieving Cicero's exile and other untoward passages of his life. In the +year 60 B.C., when Metellus Celer and Afranius were Consuls, Clodius was +tried for insulting the Bona Dea, and the since so-called Triumvirate +was instituted. It has already been shown that Cicero, not without many +doubts, rejected the first offers which were made to him to join the +forces that were so united. He seems to have passed the greater portion +of this year in Rome. One letter only was written from the country, to +Atticus, from his Tusculan villa, and that is of no special moment. He +spent his time in the city, still engaged in the politics of the day; as +to which, though he dreaded the coming together of Cæsar and Pompey and +Crassus--those "graves principum amicitias" which were to become so +detrimental to all who were concerned in them--he foresaw as yet but +little of the evil which was to fall upon his own head. He was by no +means idle as to literature, though we have but little of what he wrote, +and do not regret what we have lost. He composed a memoir of his +Consulate in Greek, which he sent to Atticus with an allusion to his own +use of the foreign language intended to show that he is quite at ease in +that matter. Atticus had sent him a memoir, also written in Greek, on +the same subject, and the two packets had crossed each other on the +road. He candidly tells Atticus that his attempt seems to be "horridula +atque incompta," rough and unpolished; whereas Posidonius, the great +Greek critic of Rhodes who had been invited by him, Cicero, to read the +memoir, and then himself to treat the same subject, had replied that he +was altogether debarred from such an attempt by the excellence of his +correspondent's performance.[244] He also wrote three books of a poem on +his Consulate, and sent them to Atticus; of which we have a fragment of +seventy-five lines quoted by himself,[243] and four or five other lines +including that unfortunate verse handed down by Quintilian, "O +fortunatum natam me consule Romam"--unless, indeed, it be spurious, as +is suggested by that excellent critic and whole-hearted friend of the +orator's, M. Guéroult. Previous to these he had produced in hexameters, +also, a translation of the Prognostics of Aratus. This is the second +part of a poem on the heavenly bodies, the first part, the Phænomena, +having been turned into Latin verse by him when he was eighteen. Of the +Prognostics we have only a few lines preserved by Priscian, and a +passage repeated by the author, also in his De Divinatione. I think that +Cicero was capable of producing a poem quite worthy of preservation; but +in the work of this year the subjects chosen were not alluring. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 60, ætat. 47.] + +Among his epistles of the year there is one which might of itself have +sufficed to bring down his name to posterity. This is a long letter, +full of advice, to his brother Quintus, who had gone out in the previous +year to govern the province of Asia as Proprætor. We may say that good +advice could never have been more wanted, and that better advice could +not have been given. It has been suggested that it was written as a +companion to that treatise on the duties of a candidate which Quintus +composed for his brother's service when standing for his Consulship. But +I cannot admit the analogy. The composition attributed to Quintus +contained lessons of advice equally suitable to any candidate, sprung +from the people, striving to rise to high honors in the State. This +letter is adapted not only to the special position of Quintus, but to +the peculiarities of his character, and its strength lies in this: that +while the one brother praises the other, justly praises him, as I +believe, for many virtues, so as to make the receipt of it acceptable, +it points out faults--faults which will become fatal, if not amended--in +language which is not only strong but unanswerable. + +The style of this letter is undoubtedly very different from that of +Cicero's letters generally--so as to suggest to the reader that it must +have been composed expressly for publication whereas the daily +correspondence is written "currente calamo," with no other than the +immediate idea of amusing, instructing, or perhaps comforting the +correspondent. Hence has come the comparison between this and the +treatise De Petitione Consulatus. I think that the gravity of the +occasion, rather than any regard for posterity, produced the change of +style. Cicero found it to be essential to induce his brother to remain +at his post, not to throw up his government in disgust, and so to bear +himself that he should not make himself absolutely odious to his own +staff and to other Romans around him; for Quintus Cicero, though he had +been proud and arrogant and ill tempered, had not made himself notorious +by the ordinary Roman propensity to plunder his province "What is it +that is required of you as a governor?"[245] asks Cicero. "That men +should not be frightened by your journeys hither and thither--that they +should not be eaten up by your extravagance--that they should not be +disturbed by your coming among them--that there should be joy at your +approach; when each city should think that its guardian angel, not a +cruel master, had come upon it--when each house should feel that it +entertained not a robber but a friend. Practice has made you perfect in +this. But it is not enough that you should exercise those good offices +yourself, but that you should take care that every one of those who come +with you should seem to do his best for the inhabitants of the province, +for the citizen of Rome, and for the Republic." I wish that I could give +the letter entire--both in English, that all readers might know how +grand are the precepts taught, and in Latin, that they who understand +the language might appreciate the beauty of the words--but I do not dare +to fill my pages at such length. A little farther on he gives his idea +of the duty of all those who have power over others--even over the dumb +animals.[246] "To me it seems that the duty of those in authority over +others consists in making those who are under them as happy as the +nature of things will allow. Every one knows that you have acted on this +principle since you first went to Asia." This, I fear, must be taken as +flattery, intended to gild the pill which comes afterward "This is not +only his duty who has under him allies and citizens, but is also that of +the man who has slaves under his control, and even dumb cattle, that he +should study the welfare of all over whom he stands in the position of +master!" Let the reader look into this, and ask himself what precepts of +Christianity have ever surpassed it. + +Then he points out that which he describes as the one great difficulty +in the career of a Roman Provincial Governor.[247] The collectors of +taxes, or "publicani," were of the equestrian order. This business of +farming the taxes had been their rich privilege for at any rate more +than a century, and as Cicero says, farther on in his letter, it was +impossible not to know with what hardship the Greek allies would be +treated by them when so many stories were current of their cruelty even +in Italy. Were Quintus to take a part against these tax-gatherers, he +would make them hostile not only to the Republic but to himself also, +and also to his brother Marcus; for they were of the equestrian order, +and specially connected with these "publicani" by family ties. He +implies, as he goes on, that it will be easier to teach the Greeks to be +submissive than the tax-gatherers to be moderate. After all, where would +the Greeks of Asia be if they had no Roman master to afford them +protection? He leaves the matter in the hands of his brother, with +advice that he should do the best he can on one side and on the other. +If possible, let the greed of the "publicani" be restrained; but let the +ally be taught to understand that there may be usage in the world worse +even than Roman taxation. It would be hardly worth our while to allude +to this part of Cicero's advice, did it not give an insight into the +mode in which Rome taxed her subject people. + +After this he commences that portion of the letter for the sake of which +we cannot but believe that the whole was written. "There is one thing," +he says, "which I will never cease to din into your ears, because I +could not endure to think that, amid the praises which are lavished on +you, there should be any matter in which you should be found wanting. +All who come to us here"--all who come to Rome from Asia, that is--"when +they tell us of your honesty and goodness of heart, tell us also that +you fail in temper. It is a vice which, in the daily affairs of private +life, betokens a weak and unmanly spirit; but there can be nothing so +poor as the exhibition of the littleness of nature in those who have +risen to the dignity of command." He will not, he goes on to say, +trouble his brother with repeating all that the wise men have said on +the subject of anger; he is sure that Quintus is well acquainted with +all that. But is it not a pity, when all men say that nothing could be +pleasanter than Quintus Cicero when in a good-humor, the same Quintus +should allow himself to be so provoked that his want of kindly manners +should be regretted by all around him? "I cannot assert," he goes on to +say, "that when nature has produced a certain condition of mind, and +that years as they run on have strengthened it, a man can change all +that and pluck out from his very self the habits that have grown within +him; yet I must tell you that if you cannot eschew this evil +altogether--if you cannot protect yourself against the feeling of anger, +yet you should prepare yourself to be ready for it when it comes, so +that, when your very soul within you is hot with it, your tongue, at any +rate, may be restrained." Then toward the end of the letter there is a +fraternal exhortation which is surely very fine: "Since chance has +thrown into my way the duties of official life in Rome, and into yours +that of administrating provincial government, if I, in the performance +of my work, have been second to none, do you see that you in yours may +be equally efficient." How grand, from an elder brother to a younger! +"And remember this, that you and I have not to strive after some +excellence still unattained, but have to be on our watch to guard that +which has been already won. If I should find myself in anything divided +from you, I should desire no further advance in life. Unless your deeds +and your words go on all-fours with mine, I should feel that I had +achieved nothing by all the work and all the dangers which you and I +have encountered together." The brother at last was found to be a poor, +envious, ill-conditioned creature--intellectually gifted, and capable of +borrowing something from his brother's nobler nature; but when struggles +came, and political feuds, and the need of looking about to see on which +side safety lay, ready to sacrifice his brother for the sake of safety. +But up to this time Marcus was prepared to believe all good of Quintus; +and having made for himself and for the family a great name, was +desirous of sharing it with his brother, and, as we shall afterward see, +with his brother's son, and with his own. In this he failed. He lived to +know that he had failed as regarded his brother and his nephew. It was +not, however, added to his misery to live to learn how little his son +was to do to maintain the honor of his family. + +I find a note scribbled by myself some years ago in a volume in which I +had read this epistle, "Probably the most beautiful letter ever +written." Reading it again subsequently, I added another note, "The +language altogether different from that of his ordinary letters." I do +not dissent now either from the enthusiastic praise or the more careful +criticism. The letter was from the man's heart--true, affectionate, and +full of anxious, brotherly duty--but written in studied language, +befitting, as Cicero thought, the need and the dignity of the occasion. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 59, ætat. 48.] + +The year following was that of Cæsar's first Consulship, which he held +in conjunction with Bibulus, a man who was altogether opposed to him in +thought, in character, and in action. So hostile were these two great +officers to each other that the one attempted to undo whatever the other +did. Bibulus was elected by bribery, on behalf of the Senate, in order +that he might be a counterpoise to Cæsar. But Cæsar now was not only +Cæsar: he was Cæsar, Pompey, and Crassus united, with all their +dependents, all their clients, all their greedy hangers-on. To give this +compact something of the strength of family union, Pompey, who was now +nearly fifty years of age, took in marriage Cæsar's daughter Julia, who +was a quarter of a century his junior. But Pompey was a man who could +endear himself to women, and the opinion seems to be general that had +not Julia died in childbirth the friendship between the men would have +been more lasting. But for Cæsar's purposes the duration of this year +and the next was enough. Bibulus was a laughing-stock, the mere shadow +of a Consul, when opposed to such an enemy. He tried to use all the old +forms of the Republic with the object of stopping Cæsar in his career; +but Cæsar only ridiculed him; and Pompey, though we can imagine that he +did not laugh much, did as Cæsar would have him. Bibulus was an augur, +and observed the heavens when political man[oe]uvres were going on which +he wished to stop. This was the old Roman system for using religion as a +drag upon progressive movements. No work of state could be carried on if +the heavens were declared to be unpropitious; and an augur could always +say that the heavens were unpropitious if he pleased. This was the +recognized constitutional mode of obstruction, and was quite in accord +with the feelings of the people. Pompey alone, or Crassus with him, +would certainly have submitted to an augur; but Cæsar was above augurs. +Whatever he chose to have carried he carried, with what approach he +could to constitutional usage, but with whatever departure from +constitutional usage he found to be necessary. + +What was the condition of the people of Rome at the time it is difficult +to learn from the conflicting statements of historians. That Cicero had +till lately been popular we know. We are told that Bibulus was popular +when he opposed Cæsar. Of personal popularity up to this time I doubt +whether Cæsar had achieved much. Yet we learn that, when Bibulus with +Cato and Lucullus endeavored to carry out their constitutional threats, +they were dragged and knocked about, and one of them nearly killed. Of +the illegality of Cæsar's proceedings there can be no doubt. "The +tribunitian veto was interposed; Cæsar contented himself with +disregarding it."[248] This is quoted from the German historian, who +intends to leave an impression that Cæsar was great and wise in all that +he did; and who tells us also of the "obstinate, weak creature Bibulus," +and of "the dogmatical fool Cato." I doubt whether there was anything of +true popular ferment, or that there was any commotion except that which +was made by the "roughs" who had attached themselves for pay to Cæsar or +to Pompey, or to Crassus, or, as it might be, to Bibulus and the other +leaders. The violence did not amount to more than "nearly" killing this +man or the other. Some Roman street fights were no doubt more bloody--as +for instance that in which, seven years afterward, Clodius was +slaughtered by Milo--but the blood was made to flow, not by the people, +but by hired bravoes. The Roman citizens of the day were, I think, very +quiescent. Neither pride nor misery stirred them much. Cæsar, perceiving +this, was aware that he might disregard Bibulus and his auguries so long +as he had a band of ruffians around him sufficient for the purposes of +the hour. It was in order that he might thus prevail that the coalition +had been made with Pompey and Crassus. His colleague Bibulus, seeing how +matters were going, retired to his own house, and there went through a +farce of consular enactments. Cæsar carried all his purposes, and the +people were content to laugh, dividing him into two personages, and +talking of Julius and Cæsar as the two Consuls of the year. It was in +this way that he procured to be allotted to him by the people his +irregular command in Gaul. He was to be Proconsul, not for one year, +with perhaps a prolongation for two or three, but for an established +period of five. He was to have the great province of Cisalpine +Gaul--that is to say, the whole of what we now call Italy, from the foot +of the Alps down to a line running from sea to sea just north of +Florence. To this Transalpine Gaul was afterward added. The province so +named, possessed at the time by the Romans, was called "Narbonensis," a +country comparatively insignificant, running from the Alps to the +Pyrenees along the Mediterranean. The Gaul or Gallia of which Cæsar +speaks when, in the opening words of his Commentary, he tells us that it +was divided into three parts, was altogether beyond the Roman province +which was assigned to him. Cæsar, when he undertook his government, can +hardly have dreamed of subjecting to Roman rule the vast territories +which were then known as Gallia, beyond the frontiers of the Empire, and +which we now call France. + +But he caused himself to be supported by an enormous army. There were +stationed three legions on the Italian side of the Alps, and one on the +other. These were all to be under his command for five years certain, +and amounted to a force of not less than thirty thousand men. "As no +troops could constitutionally be stationed in Italy proper, the +commander of the legions of Northern Italy and Gaul," says Mommsen, +"dominated at the same time Italy and Rome for the next five years; and +he who was master for five years was master for life."[249] + +[Sidenote: B.C. 59, ætat. 48.] + +Such was the condition of Rome during the second year of the +Triumvirate, in which Cæsar was Consul and prepared the way for the +powers which he afterward exercised. Cicero would not come to his call; +and therefore, as we are told, Clodius was let loose upon him. As he +would not come to Cæsar's call, it was necessary that he should be +suppressed, and Clodius, notwithstanding all constitutional +difficulties--nay, impossibilities--was made Tribune of the people. +Things had now so far advanced with a Cæsar that a Cicero who would not +come to his call must be disposed of after some fashion. + +Till we have thought much of it, often of it, till we have looked +thoroughly into it, we find ourselves tempted to marvel at Cicero's +blindness. Surely a man so gifted must have known enough of the state of +Rome to have been aware that there was no room left for one honest, +patriotic, constitutional politician. Was it not plain to him that if, +"natus ad justitiam," he could not bring himself to serve with those who +were intent on discarding the Republic, he had better retire among his +books, his busts, and his literary luxuries, and leave the government of +the country to those who understood its people? And we are the more +prone to say and to think all this because the man himself continually +said it, and continually thought it. In one of the letters written early +in the year[250] to Atticus from his villa at Antium he declares very +plainly how it is with him; and this, too, in a letter written in +good-humor, not in a despondent frame of mind, in which he is able +pleasantly to ridicule his enemy Clodius, who it seems had expressed a +wish to go on an embassy to Tigranes, King of Armenia. "Do not think," +he says, "that I am complaining of all this because I myself am desirous +of being engaged in public affairs. Even while it was mine to sit at the +helm I was tired of the work; but now, when I am in truth driven out of +the ship, when the rudder has not been thrown down but seized out of my +hands, how should I take a pleasure in looking from the shore at the +wrecks which these other pilots have made?" But the study of human +nature tells us, and all experience, that men are unable to fathom their +own desires, and fail to govern themselves by the wisdom which is at +their fingers' ends. The retiring Prime-minister cannot but hanker after +the seals and the ribbons and the titles of office, even though his soul +be able to rise above considerations of emolument, and there will creep +into a man's mind an idea that, though reform of abuses from other +sources may be impossible, if he were there once more the evil could at +least be mitigated, might possibly be cured. So it was during this +period of his life with Cicero. He did believe that political justice +exercised by himself, with such assistance as his eloquence would obtain +for it, might be efficacious for preserving the Republic, in spite of +Cæsar, and of Pompey, and of Crassus. He did not yet believe that these +men would consent to such an outrage as his banishment. It must have +been incredible to him that Pompey should assent to it. When the blow +came, it crushed him for the time. But he retricked his beams and +struggled on to the end, as we shall see if we follow his life to the +close. + +Such was the intended purpose of the degradation of Clodius. This, +however, was not at once declared. It was said that Clodius as Tribune +intended rather to oppose Cæsar than to assist him. He at any rate chose +that Cicero should so believe and sent Curio, a young man to whom Cicero +was attached, to visit the orator at his villa at Antium and to declare +these friendly purposes. According to the story told by Cicero,[251] +Clodius was prepared to oppose the Triumvirate; and the other young men +of Rome, the _jeunesse dorée_, of which both Curio and Clodius were +members, were said to be equally hostile to Cæsar, Pompey, and Crassus, +whose doings in opposition to the constitution were already evident +enough; so that it suited Cicero to believe that the rising aristocracy +of Rome would oppose them. But the aristocracy of Rome, whether old or +young, cared for nothing but its fish-ponds and its amusements. + +Cicero spent the earlier part of the year out of Rome, among his various +villas--at Tusculanum, at Antium, and at Formiæ. The purport of all his +letters at this period is the same--to complain of the condition of the +Republic, and especially of the treachery of his friend Pompey. Though +there be much of despondency in his tone, there is enough also of high +spirit to make us feel that his literary aspirations are not out of +place, though mingled with his political wailing. The time will soon +come when his trust even in literature will fail him for a while. + +Early in the year he declares that he would like to accept a mission to +Egypt, offered to him by Cæsar and Pompey, partly in order that he might +for a while be quit of Rome, and partly that Romans might feel how ill +they could do without him. He then uses for the first time, as far as I +am aware, a line from the Iliad,[252] which is repeated by him again and +again, in part or in whole, to signify the restraint which is placed on +him by his own high character among his fellow-citizens. "I would go to +Egypt on this pleasant excursion, but that I fear what the men of Troy, +and the Trojan women, with their wide-sweeping robes, would say of me." +And what, he asks, would the men of our party, "the optimates," say? and +what would Cato say, whose opinion is more to me than that of them all? +And how would history tell the story in future ages? But he would like +to go to Egypt, and he will wait and see. Then, after various questions +to Atticus, comes that great one as to the augurship, of which so much +has been made by Cicero's enemies, "quo quidem uno ego ab istis capi +possim." A few lines above he had been speaking of another lure, that of +the mission to Egypt. He discusses that with his friend, and then goes +on in his half-joking phrase, "but this would have been the real thing +to catch me." Nothing caught him. He was steadfast all through, +accepting no offer of place from the conspirators by which his integrity +or his honor could be soiled. That it was so was well known to history +in the time of Quintilian, whose testimony as to the "repudiatus +vigintiviratus"--his refusal of a place among the twenty +commissioners--has been already quoted.[253] And yet biographers have +written of him as of one willing to sell his honor, his opinions, and +the commonwealth, for a "pitiful bribe;" not that he did do so, not that +he attempted to do it, but because in a half-joking letter to the friend +of his bosom he tells his friend which way his tastes lay![254] + +He had been thinking of writing a book on geography, and consulted +Atticus on the subject; but in one of his letters he tells his friend +that he had abandoned the idea. The subject was too dull; and if he took +one side in a dispute that was existing, he would be sure to fall under +the lash of the critics on the other. He is enjoying his leisure at +Antium, and thinks it a much better place than Rome. If the weather will +not let him catch fish, at any rate he can count the waves. In all these +letters Cicero asks questions about his money and his private affairs; +about the mending of a wall, perhaps, and adds something about his wife +or daughter or son. He is going from Antium to Formiæ, but must return +to Antium by a certain date because Tullia wants to see the games. + +Then again he alludes to Clodius. Pompey had made a compact with +Clodius--so at least Cicero had heard--that he, Clodius, if elected for +the Tribunate, would do nothing to injure Cicero. The assurance of such +a compact had no doubt been spread about for the quieting of Cicero; but +no such compact had been intended to be kept, unless Cicero would be +amenable, would take some of the good things offered to him, or at any +rate hold his peace. But Cicero affects to hope that no such agreement +may be kept. He is always nicknaming Pompey, who during his Eastern +campaign had taken Jerusalem, and who now parodies the Africanus, the +Asiaticus, and the Macedonicus of the Scipios and Metelluses. "If that +Hierosolymarian candidate for popularity does not keep his word with me, +I shall be delighted. If that be his return for my speeches on his +behalf"--the Anteponatur omnibus Pompeius, for instance--"I will play +him such a turn of another kind that he shall remember it."[255] + +He begins to know what the "Triumvirate" is doing with the Republic, but +has not yet brought himself to suspect the blow that is to fall on +himself. "They are going along very gayly," he says, "and do not make as +much noise as one would have expected."[256] If Cato had been more on +the alert, things would not have gone so quickly; but the dishonesty of +others, who have allowed all the laws to be ignored, has been worse than +Cato. If we used to feel that the Senate took too much on itself, what +shall we say when that power has been transferred, not to the people, +but to three utterly unscrupulous men? "They can make whom they will +Consuls, whom they will Tribunes--so that they may hide the very goitre +of Vatinius under a priest's robe." For himself, Cicero says, he will be +contented to remain with his books, if only Clodius will allow him; if +not, he will defend himself.[257] As for his country, he has done more +for his country than has even been desired of him; and he thinks it to +be better to leave the helm in the hands of pilots, however incompetent, +than himself to steer when passengers are so thankless. Then we find +that he robs poor Tullia of her promised pleasure at the games, because +it will be beneath his dignity to appear at them. He is always very +anxious for his friend's letters, depending on them for news and for +amusement. "My messenger will return at once," he says, in one; +"therefore, though you are coming yourself very soon, send me a heavy +letter, full not only of news but of your own ideas."[258] In another: +"Cicero the Little sends greeting," he says, in Greek, "to Titus the +Athenian"--that is, to Titus Pomponius Atticus. The Greek letters were +probably traced by the child at his father's knee as Cicero held the pen +or the stylus. In another letter he declares that there, at Formiæ, +Pompey's name of Magnus is no more esteemed than that of Dives belonging +to Crassus. In the next he calls Pompey Sampsiceramus. We learn from +Josephus that there was a lady afterward in the East in the time of +Vitellius, who was daughter of Sampsigeramus, King of the Emesi. It +might probably be a royal family name.[259] In choosing the absurd +title, he is again laughing at his party leader. Pompey had probably +boasted of his doings with the Sampsiceramus of the day and the priests +of Jerusalem. "When this Sampsiceramus of ours finds how ill he is +spoken of, he will rush headlong into revolution." He complains that he +can do nothing at Formiæ because of the visitors. No English poet was +ever so interviewed by American admirers. They came at all hours, in +numbers sufficient to fill a temple, let alone a gentleman's house. How +can he write anything requiring leisure in such a condition as this? +Nevertheless he will attempt something. He goes on criticising all that +is done in Rome, especially what is done by Pompey, who no doubt was +vacillating sadly between Cæsar, to whom he was bound, and Bibulus, the +other Consul, to whom he ought to have been bound, as being naturally on +the aristocratic side. He cannot for a moment keep his pen from public +matters; nor, on the other hand, can he refrain from declaring that he +will apply himself wholly, undividedly, to his literature. "Therefore, +oh my Titus, let me settle down to these glorious occupations, and +return to that which, if I had been wise, I never should have +left."[260] A day or two afterward, writing from the same place, he asks +what Arabarches is saying of him. Arabarches is another name for +Pompey--this Arabian chieftain. + +In the early summer of this year Cicero returned to Rome, probably in +time to see Atticus, who was then about to leave the city for his +estates in Epirus. We have a letter written by him to his friend on the +journey, telling us that Cæsar had made him two distinct offers, +evidently with the view of getting rid of him, but in such a manner as +would be gratifying to Cicero himself.[261] Cæsar asks him to go with +him to Gaul as his lieutenant, or, if that will not suit him, to accept +a "free legation for the sake of paying a vow." This latter was a kind +of job by which Roman Senators got themselves sent forth on their +private travels with all the appanages of a Senator travelling on public +business. We have his argument as to both. Elsewhere he objects to a +"libera legatio" as being a job.[262] Here he only points out that, +though it enforce his absence from Rome at a time disagreeable to +him--just when his brother Quintus would return--it would not give him +the protection which he needs. Though he were travelling about the world +as a Senator on some pretended embassy, he would still be open to the +attacks of Clodius. He would necessarily be absent, or he would not be +in enjoyment of his privilege, but by his very absence he would find his +position weakened; whereas, as Cæsar's appointed lieutenant, he need not +leave the city at once, and in that position he would be quite safe +against all that Clodius or other enemies could do to him.[263] No +indictment could be made against a Roman while he was in the employment +of the State. It must be remembered, too, on judging of these overtures, +that both the one and the other--and indeed all the offers then made to +him--were deemed to be highly honorable, as Rome then existed. "The free +legation"--the "libera legatio voti causa"--had no reference to parties. +It was a job, no doubt, and, in the hands of the ordinary Roman +aristocrat, likely to be very onerous to the provincials among whom the +privileged Senator might travel; but it entailed no party adhesion. In +this case it was intended only to guarantee the absence of a man who +might be troublesome in Rome. The other was the offer of genuine work in +which politics were not at all concerned. Such a position was accepted +by Quintus, our Cicero's brother, and in performance of the duties which +fell to him he incurred terrible danger, having been nearly destroyed by +the Gauls in his winter quarters among the Nervii. Labienus, who was +Cæsar's right-hand man in Gaul, was of the same politics as Cicero--so +much so that when Cæsar rebelled against the Republic, Labienus, true to +the Republic, would no longer fight on Cæsar's side. It was open to +Cicero, without disloyalty, to accept the offer made to him; but with an +insight into what was coming, of which he himself was hardly conscious, +he could not bring himself to accept offers which in themselves were +alluring, but which would seem in future times to have implied on his +part an assent to the breaking up of the Republic. [Greek: Aideomai +Trôas kai Trôadas elkesipeplous.] What will be said of me in history by +my citizens if I now do simply that which may best suit my own +happiness? Had he done so, Pliny and the others would not have spoken of +him as they have spoken, and it would not have been worth the while of +modern lovers of Cæsarism to write books against the one patriot of his +age. + +During the remainder of this year, B.C. 59, Cicero was at Rome, and +seems gradually to have become aware that a personal attack was to be +made upon him. At the close of a long and remarkable letter written to +his brother Quintus in November, he explains the state of his own mind, +showing us, who have now before us the future which was hidden from him, +how greatly mistaken he was as to the results which were to be expected. +He had been telling his brother how nearly Cato had been murdered for +calling Pompey, in public, a Dictator. Then he goes on to describe his +own condition.[264] "You may see from this what is the state of the +Republic. As far as I am concerned, it seems that friends will not be +wanting to defend me. They offer themselves in a wonderful way, and +promise assistance. I feel great hope and still greater spirit--hope, +which tells me that we shall be victors in the struggle; spirit, which +bids me fear no casualty in the present state of public affairs."[265] +But the matter stands in this way: "If he"--that is, Clodius--"should +indict me in court, all Italy would come to my defence, so that I should +be acquitted with honor. Should he attack me with open violence, I +should have, I think, not only my own party but the world at large to +stand by me. All men promise me their friends, their clients, their +freedmen, their slaves, and even their money. Our old body of +aristocrats"--Cato, Bibulus, and the makers of fish-ponds +generally--"are wonderfully warm in my cause. If any of these have +heretofore been remiss, now they join our party from sheer hatred of +these kings"--the Triumvirs. "Pompey promises everything, and so does +Cæsar, whom I only trust so far as I can see them." Even the Triumvirs +promise him that he will be safe; but his belief in Pompey's honesty is +all but gone. "The coming Tribunes are my friends. The Consuls of next +year promise well." He was wofully mistaken. "We have excellent Prætors, +citizens alive to their duty. Domitius, Nigidius, Memmius, and Lentulus +are specially trustworthy. The others are good men. You may therefore +pluck up your courage and be confident." From this we perceive that he +had already formed the idea that he might perhaps be required to fight +for his position as a Roman citizen; and it seems also that he +understood the cause of the coming conflict. The intention was that he +should be driven out of Rome by personal enmity. Nothing is said in any +of these letters of the excuse to be used, though he knew well what that +excuse was to be. He was to be charged by the Patrician Tribune with +having put Roman citizens to death in opposition to the law. But there +arises at this time no question whether he had or had not been justified +in what he, as Consul, had done to Lentulus and the others. Would +Clodius be able to rouse a mob against him? and, if so, would Cæsar +assist Clodius? or would Pompey who still loomed to his eyes as the +larger of the two men? He had ever been the friend of Pompey, and Pompey +had promised him all manner of assistance; but he knew already that +Pompey would turn upon him. That Rome should turn upon him--Rome which +he had preserved from the torches of Catiline's conspirators--that he +could not bring himself to believe! + +We must not pass over this long letter to Quintus without observing that +through it all the evil condition of the younger brother's mind becomes +apparent. The severity of his administration had given offence. His +punishments had been cruel. His letters had been rash, and his language +violent. In short, we gather from the brother's testimony that Quintus +Cicero was very ill-fitted to be the civil governor of a province. + +The only work which we have from Cicero belonging to this year, except +his letters, is the speech, or part of the speech, he made for Lucius +Valerius Flaccus. Flaccus had been Prætor when Cicero was Consul, and +had done good service, in the eyes of his superior officers, in the +matter of the Catiline conspiracy. He had then gone to Asia as governor, +and, after the Roman manner, had fleeced the province. That this was so +there is no doubt. After his return he was accused, was defended by +Cicero, and was acquitted. Macrobius tells us that Cicero, by the +happiness of a bon-mot, brought the accused off safely, though he was +manifestly guilty. He adds also that Cicero took care not to allow the +joke to appear in the published edition of his speech.[266] There are +parts of the speech which have been preserved, and are sufficiently +amusing even to us. He is very hard upon the Greeks of Asia, the class +from which the witnesses against Flaccus were taken. We know here in +England that a spaniel, a wife, and a walnut-tree may be beaten with +advantage. Cicero says that in Asia there is a proverb that a Phrygian +may be improved in the same way. "Fiat experimentum in corpore vili." It +is declared through Asia that you should take a Carian for your +experiment. The "last of the Mysians" is the well-known Asiatic term for +the lowest type of humanity. Look through all the comedies, you will +find the leading slave is a Lydian. Then he turns to these poor +Asiatics, and asks them whether any one can be expected to think well of +them, when such is their own testimony of themselves! He attacks the +Jew, and speaks of the Jewish religion as a superstition worthy in +itself of no consideration. Pompey had spared the gold in the Temple of +Jerusalem, because he thought it wise to respect the religious +prejudices of the people; but the gods themselves had shown, by +subjecting the Jews to the Romans, how little the gods had regarded +these idolatrous worshippers! Such were the arguments used; and they +prevailed with the judges--or jury, we should rather call them--to whom +they were addressed. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +_HIS EXILE._ + + +We now come to that period of Cicero's life in which, by common consent +of all who have hitherto written of him, he is supposed to have shown +himself as least worthy of his high name. Middleton, who certainly loved +his hero's memory and was always anxious to do him justice, condemns +him. "It cannot be denied that in this calamity of his exile he did not +behave himself with that firmness which might reasonably be expected +from one who had borne so glorious a part in the Republic." Morabin, the +French biographer, speaks of the wailings of his grief, of its injustice +and its follies. "Cicéron était trop plein de son malheur pour donner +entrée à de nouvelles espérances," he says. "Il avait supporté ce +malheur avec peu de courage," says another Frenchman, M. Du Rozoir, in +introducing us to the speeches which Cicero made on his return. Dean +Merivale declares that "he marred the grace of the concession in the +eyes of posterity"--alluding to the concession made to popular feeling +by his voluntary departure from Rome, as will hereafter be +described--"by the unmanly lamentations with which he accompanied it." +Mommsen, with a want of insight into character wonderful in an author +who has so closely studied the history of the period, speaks of his +exile as a punishment inflicted on a "man notoriously timid, and +belonging to the class of political weather-cocks." "We now come," says +Mr. Forsyth, "to the most melancholy period of Cicero's life, melancholy +not so much from its nature and the extent of the misfortunes which +overtook him, as from the abject prostration of mind into which he was +thrown." Mr. Froude, as might be expected, uses language stronger than +that of others, and tells us that "he retired to Macedonia to pour out +his sorrows and his resentments in lamentations unworthy of a woman." We +have to admit that modern historians and biographers have been united in +accusing Cicero of want of manliness during his exile. I propose--not, +indeed, to wash the blackamoor white--but to show, if I can, that he was +as white as others might be expected to have been in similar +circumstances. + +We are, I think, somewhat proud of the courage shown by public men of +our country who have suffered either justly or unjustly under the laws. +Our annals are bloody, and many such have had to meet their death. They +have done so generally with becoming manliness. Even though they may +have been rebels against the powers of the day, their memories have been +made green because they have fallen like brave men. Sir Thomas More, who +was no rebel, died well, and crowned a good life by his manner of +leaving it. Thomas Cromwell submitted to the axe without a complaint. +Lady Jane Grey, when on the scaffold, yielded nothing in manliness to +the others. Cranmer and the martyr bishops perished nobly. The Earl of +Essex, and Raleigh, and Strafford, and Strafford's master showed no fear +when the fatal moment came. In reading the fate of each, we sympathize +with the victim because of a certain dignity at the moment of death. But +there is, I think, no crisis of life in which it is so easy for a man to +carry himself honorably as that in which he has to leave it. "Venit +summa dies et ineluctabile tempus." No doubting now can be of avail. No +moment is left for the display of conduct beyond this, which requires +only decorum and a free use of the pulses to become in some degree +glorious. The wretch from the lowest dregs of the people can achieve it +with a halter round his neck. Cicero had that moment also to face; and +when it came he was as brave as the best Englishman of them all. But of +those I have named no one had an Atticus to whom it had been the +privilege of his life to open his very soul, in language so charming as +to make it worth posterity's while to read it, to study it, to sift it, +and to criticise it. Wolsey made many plaints in his misery, but they +have reached us in such forms of grace that they do not disparage him; +but then he too had no Atticus. Shaftesbury and Bolingbroke were +dismissed ministers and doomed to live in exile, the latter for many +years, and felt, no doubt, strongly their removal from the glare of +public life to obscurity. We hear no complaint from them which can +justify some future critic in saying that their wails were unworthy of a +woman; but neither of them was capable of telling an Atticus the +thoughts of his mind as they rose. What other public man ever had an +Atticus to whom, in the sorrows which the ingratitude of friends had +brought upon him, he could disclose every throb of his heart? + +I think that we are often at a loss, in our efforts at appreciation of +character, and in the expressions of our opinion respecting it, to +realize the meaning of courage and manliness. That sententious Swedish +Queen, one of whose foolish maxims I have quoted, has said that Cicero, +though a coward, was capable of great actions, because she did not know +what a coward was. To doubt--to tremble with anxiety--to vacillate +hither and thither between this course and the other as to which may be +the better--to complain within one's own breast that this or that thing +has been an injustice--to hesitate within one's self, not quite knowing +which way honor may require us to go--to be indignant even at fancied +wrongs--to rise in wrath against another, and then, before the hour has +passed, to turn that wrath against one's self--that is not to be a +coward. To know what duty requires, and then to be deterred by fear of +results--that is to be a coward; but the man of many scruples may be the +greatest hero of them all. Let the law of things be declared clearly so +that the doubting mind shall no longer doubt, so that scruples may be +laid at rest, so that the sense of justice may be satisfied--and he of +whom I speak shall be ready to meet the world in arms against him. There +are men, very useful in their way, who shall never doubt at all, but +shall be ready, as the bull is ready, to encounter any obstacles that +there may be before them. I will not say but that for the coarse +purposes of the world they may not be the most efficacious, but I will +not admit that they are therefore the bravest. The bull, who has no +imagination to tell him what the obstacle may do to him, is not brave. +He is brave who, fully understanding the potentiality of the obstacle, +shall, for a sufficient purpose, move against it. + +This Cicero always did. He braved the murderous anger of Sulla when, as +a young man, he thought it well to stop the greed of Sulla's minions. He +trusted himself amid the dangers prepared for him, when it was necessary +that with extraordinary speed he should get together the evidence needed +for the prosecution of Verres. He was firm against all that Catiline +attempted for his destruction, and had courage enough for the +responsibility when he thought it expedient to doom the friends of +Catiline to death. In defending Milo, whether the cause were good or +bad, he did not blench.[267] He joined the Republican army in Macedonia +though he distrusted Pompey and his companions. When he thought that +there was a hope for the Republic, he sprung at Antony with all the +courage of a tigress protecting her young; and when all had failed and +was rotten around him, when the Republic had so fallen that he knew it +to be gone--then he was able to give his neck to the swordsman with all +the apparent indifference of life which was displayed by those +countrymen of our own whom I have named. + +But why did he write so piteously when he was driven into exile? Why, at +any rate, did he turn upon his chosen friend and scold him, as though +that friend had not done enough for friendship? Why did he talk of +suicide as though by that he might find the easiest way of escape? + +I hold it to be natural that a man should wail to himself under a sense, +not simply of misfortune, but of misfortune coming to him from the +injustice of others, and specially from the ingratitude of friends. +Afflictions which come to us from natural causes, such as sickness and +physical pain, or from some chance such as the loss of our money by the +breaking of a bank, an heroic man will bear without even inward +complainings. But a sense of wrong done to him by friends will stir him, +not by the misery inflicted, but because of the injustice; and that +which he says to himself he will say to his wife, if his wife be to him +a second self, or to his friend, if he have one so dear to him. The +testimony by which the writers I have named have been led to treat +Cicero so severely has been found in the letters which he wrote during +his exile; and of these letters all but one were addressed either to +Atticus or to his wife or to his brother.[268] Twenty-seven of them were +to Atticus. Before he accepted a voluntary exile, as the best solution +of the difficulty in which he was placed--for it was voluntary at first, +as will be seen--he applied to the Consul Piso for aid, and for the same +purpose visited Pompey. So far he was a suppliant, but this he did in +conformity with Roman usage. In asking favor of a man in power there was +held to be no disgrace, even though the favor asked were one improper to +be granted, which was not the case with Cicero. And he went about the +Forum in mourning--"sordidatus"--as was the custom with men on their +trial. We cannot doubt that in each of these cases he acted with the +advice of his friends. His conduct and his words after his return from +exile betray exultation rather than despondency. + +It is from the letters which he wrote to Atticus that he has been +judged--from words boiling with indignation that such a one as he should +have been surrendered by the Rome that he had saved, by those friends to +whom he had been so true to be trampled on by such a one as Clodius! +When a man has written words intended for the public ear, it is fair +that he should bear the brunt of them, be it what it may. He has +intended them for public effect, and if they are used against him he +should not complain. But here the secret murmurings of the man's soul +were sent forth to his choicest friend, with no idea that from them +would he be judged by the "historians to come in 600 years,"[269] of +whose good word he thought so much. "Quid vero historiæ de nobis ad +annos DC. prædicarint!" he says, to Atticus. How is it that from them, +after 2000 years, the Merivales, Mommsens, and Froudes condemn their +great brother in letters whose lightest utterances have been found +worthy of so long a life! Is there not an injustice in falling upon a +man's private words, words when written intended only for privacy, and +making them the basis of an accusation in which an illustrious man shall +be arraigned forever as a coward? It is said that he was unjust even to +Atticus, accusing even Atticus of lukewarmness. What if he did so--for +an hour? Is that an affair of ours? Did Atticus quarrel with him? Let +any reader of these words who has lived long enough to have an old +friend, ask himself whether there has never been a moment of anger in +his heart--of anger of which he has soon learned to recognize the +injustice? He may not have written his anger, but then, perhaps, he has +not had the pen of a Cicero. Let those who rebuke the unmanliness of +Cicero's wailings remember what were his sufferings. The story has yet +to be told, but I may in rough words describe their nature. Everything +was to be taken from him: all that he had--his houses, his books, his +pleasant gardens, his busts and pictures, his wide retinue of slaves, +and possessions lordly as are those of our dukes and earls. He was +driven out from Italy and so driven that no place of delight could be +open to him. Sicily, where he had friends, Athens, where he might have +lived, were closed against him. He had to look where to live, and did +live for a while on money borrowed from his friends. All the cherished +occupations of his life were over for him--the law courts, the Forum, +the Senate, and the crowded meetings of Roman citizens hanging on his +words. The circumstances of his exile separated him from his wife and +children, so that he was alone. All this was assured to him for life, as +far as Roman law could assure it. Let us think of the condition of some +great and serviceable Englishman in similar circumstances. Let us +suppose that Sir Robert Peel had been impeached, and forced by some +iniquitous sentence to live beyond the pale of civilization: that the +houses at Whitehall Gardens and at Drayton had been confiscated, +dismantled, and levelled to the ground, and his rents and revenues made +over to his enemies; that everything should have been done to destroy +him by the country he had served, except the act of taking away that +life which would thus have been made a burden to him. Would not his case +have been more piteous, a source of more righteous indignation, than +that even of the Mores or Raleighs? He suffered under invectives in the +House of Commons, and we sympathized with him; but if some Clodius of +the day could have done this to him, should we have thought the worse of +him had he opened his wounds to his wife, or to his brother, or to his +friend of friends? + +Had Cicero put an end to his life in his exile, as he thought of doing, +he would have been a second Cato to admiring posterity, and some Lucan +with rolling verses would have told us narratives of his valor. The +judges of to-day look back to his half-formed purposes in this direction +as being an added evidence of the weakness of the man; but had he let +himself blood and have perished in his bath, he would have been thought +to have escaped from life as honorably as did Junius Brutus It is +because he dared to live on that we are taught to think so little of +him,--because he had antedated Christianity so far as to feel when the +moment came that such an escape was, in truth, unmanly. He doubted, and +when the deed had not been done he expressed regret that he had allowed +himself to live. But he did not do it,--as Cato would have done, or +Brutus. + +It may be as well here to combat, in as few words as possible, the +assertions which have been made that Cicero, having begun life as a +democrat, discarded his colors as soon as he had received from the +people those honors for which he had sought popularity. They who have +said so have taken their idea from the fact that, in much of his early +forensic work, he spoke against the aristocratic party. He attacked +Sulla, through his favorite Chrysogonus, in his defence of Roscius +Amerinus. He afterward defended a woman of Arretium in the spirit of +antagonism to Sulla. His accusation of Verres was made on the same side +in politics, and was carried on in opposition to Hortensius and the +oligarchs. He defended the Tribune Caius Cornelius. Then, when he became +Consul, he devoted himself to the destruction of Catiline, who was +joined with many, perhaps with Cæsar's sympathy, in the conspiracy for +the overthrow of the Republic. Cæsar soon became the leader of the +democracy,--became rather what Mommsen describes as "Democracy" itself; +and as Cicero had defended the Senate from Catiline, and had refused to +attach himself to Cæsar, he is supposed to have turned from the +political ideas of his youth, and to have become a Conservative when +Conservative ideas suited his ambition. + +I will not accept the excuse put forward on his behalf, that the early +speeches were made on the side of democracy because the exigencies of +the occasion required him to so devote his energies as an advocate. No +doubt he was an advocate, as are our barristers of to-day, and, as an +advocate, supported this side or that; but we shall be wrong if we +suppose that the Roman "patronus" supplied his services under such +inducements. With us a man goes into the profession of the law with the +intention of making money, and takes the cases right and left, unless +there be special circumstances which may debar him from doing so with +honor. It is a point of etiquette with him to give his assistance, in +turn, as he may be called on; so much so, that leading men are not +unfrequently employed on one side simply that they may not be employed +on the other side. It should not be urged on the part of Cicero that, so +actuated, he defended Amerinus, a case in which he took part against the +aristocrats, or defended Publius Sulla, in doing which he appeared on +the side of the aristocracy. Such a defence of his conduct would be +misleading, and might be confuted. It would be confuted by those who +suppose him to have been "notoriously a political trimmer," as Mommsen +has[270] called him; or a "deserter," as he was described by Dio Cassius +and by the Pseudo-Sallust,[271] by showing that in fact he took up +causes under the influence of strong personal motives such as rarely +govern an English barrister. These motives were in many cases partly +political; but they operated in such a manner as to give no guide to his +political views. In defending Sulla's nephew he was moved, as far as we +know, solely by private motives. In defending Amerinus he may be said to +have attacked Sulla. His object was to stamp out the still burning +embers of Sulla's cruelty; but not the less was he wedded to Sulla's +general views as to the restoration of the authority of the Senate. In +his early speeches, especially in that spoken against Verres, he +denounces the corruption of the senatorial judges; but at that very +period of his life he again and again expresses his own belief in the +glory and majesty of the Senate. In accusing Verres he accused the +general corruption of Rome's provincial governors; and as they were +always past-Consuls or past-Prætors, and had been the elite of the +aristocracy, he may be said so far to have taken the part of a democrat; +but he had done so only so far as he had found himself bound by a sense +of duty to put a stop to corruption. The venality of the judges and the +rapacity of governors had been fit objects for his eloquence; but I deny +that he can be fairly charged with having tampered with democracy +because he had thus used his eloquence on behalf of the people. + +He was no doubt stirred by other political motives less praiseworthy, +though submitted to in accordance with the practice and the known usages +of Rome. He had undertaken to speak for Catiline when Catiline was +accused of corruption on his return from Africa, knowing that Catiline +had been guilty. He did not do so; but the intention, for our present +purpose, is the same as the doing. To have defended Catiline would have +assisted him in his operations as a candidate for the Consulship. +Catiline was a bad subject for a defence--as was Fonteius, whom he +certainly did defend--and Catiline was a democrat. But Cicero, had he +defended Catiline, would not have done so as holding out his hand to +democracy. Cicero, when, in the Pro Lege Manilia, he for the first time +addressed the people, certainly spoke in opposition to the wishes of the +Senate in proposing that Pompey should have the command of the +Mithridatic war; but his views were not democratic. It has been said +that this was done because Pompey could help him to the Consulship. To +me it seems that he had already declared to himself that among leading +men in Rome Pompey was the one to whom the Republic would look with the +most security as a bulwark, and that on that account he had resolved to +bind himself to Pompey in some political marriage. Be that as it may, +there was no tampering with democracy in the speech Pro Lege Manilia. Of +all the extant orations made by him before his Consulship, the attentive +reader will sympathize the least with that of Fonteius. After his +scathing onslaught on Verres for provincial plunder, he defended the +plunderer of the Gauls, and held up the suffering allies of Rome to +ridicule as being hardly entitled to good government. This he did simply +as an advocate, without political motive of any kind--in the days in +which he was supposed to be currying favor with democracy--governed by +private friendship, looking forward, probably, to some friendly office +in return, as was customary. It was thus that afterward he defended +Antony, his colleague in the Consulship, whom he knew to have been a +corrupt governor. Autronius had been a party to Catiline's conspiracy, +and Autronius had been Cicero's school-fellow; but Cicero, for some +reserved reason with which we are not acquainted, refused to plead for +Autronius. There is, I maintain, no ground for suggesting that Cicero +had shown by his speeches before his Consulship any party adherence. The +declaration which he made after his Consulship, in the speech for Sulla, +that up to the time of Catiline's first conspiracy forensic duties had +not allowed him to devote himself to party politics, is entitled to +belief: we know, indeed, that it was so. As Quæstor, as Ædile, and as +Prætor, he did not interfere in the political questions of Rome, except +in demanding justice from judges and purity from governors. When he +became Consul then he became a politician, and after that there was +certainly no vacillation in his views. Critics say that he surrendered +himself to Cæsar when Cæsar became master. We shall come to that +hereafter; but the accusation with which I am dealing now is that which +charges him with having abandoned the democratic memories of his youth +as soon as he had enveloped himself with the consular purple. There had +been no democratic promises, and there was no change when he became +Consul. + +In truth, Cicero's political convictions were the same from the +beginning to the end of his career, with a consistency which is by no +means usual in politicians; for though, before his Consulship, he had +not taken up politics as a business he had entertained certain political +views, as do all men who live in public. From the first to the last we +may best describe him by the word we have now in use, as a conservative. +The government of Rome had been an oligarchy for many years, though much +had been done by the citizens to reduce the thraldom which an oligarchy +is sure to exact. To that oligarchy Cicero was bound by all the +convictions, by all the practices, and by all the prejudices of his +life. When he speaks of a Republic he speaks of a people and of an +Empire governed by an oligarchy; he speaks of a power to be kept in the +hands of a few--for the benefit of the few, and of the many if it might +be--but at any rate in the hands of a few. That those few should be so +select as to admit of no new-comers among them, would probably have been +a portion of his political creed, had he not been himself a "novus +homo." As he was the first of his family to storm the barrier of the +fortress, he had been forced to depend much on popular opinion; but not +on that account had there been any dealings between him and democracy. +That the Empire should be governed according to the old oligarchical +forms which had been in use for more than four centuries, and had +created the power of Rome--that was his political creed. That Consuls, +Censors, and Senators might go on to the end of time with no diminution +of their dignity, but with great increase of justice and honor and truth +among them--that was his political aspiration. They had made Rome what +it was, and he knew and could imagine nothing better; and, odious as an +oligarchy is seen to be under the strong light of experience to which +prolonged ages has subjected it, the aspiration on his part was noble. +He has been wrongly accused of deserting "that democracy with which he +had flirted in his youth." There had been no democracy in his youth, +though there had existed such a condition in the time of the Gracchi. +There was none in his youth and none in his age. That which has been +wrongly called democracy was conspiracy--not a conspiracy of democrats +such as led to our Commonwealth, or to the American Independence, or to +the French Revolution; but conspiracy of a few nobles for the better +assurance of the plunder, and the power, and the high places of the +Empire. Of any tendency toward democracy no man has been less justly +accused than Cicero, unless it might be Cæsar. To Cæsar we must accord +the merit of having seen that a continuation of the old oligarchical +forms was impracticable This Cicero did not see. He thought that the +wounds inflicted by the degeneracy and profligacy of individuals were +curable. It is attributed to Cæsar that he conceived the grand idea of +establishing general liberty under the sole dominion of one great, and +therefore beneficent, ruler. I think he saw no farther than that he, by +strategy, management, and courage might become this ruler, whether +beneficent or the reverse. But here I think that it becomes the writer, +whether he be historian, biographer, or fill whatever meaner position he +may in literature, to declare that no beneficence can accompany such a +form of government. For all temporary sleekness, for metropolitan +comfort and fatness, the bill has to be paid sooner or later in +ignorance, poverty, and oppression. With an oligarchy there will be +other, perhaps graver, faults; but with an oligarchy there will be salt, +though it be among a few. There will be a Cicero now and again--or at +least a Cato. From the dead, stagnant level of personal despotism there +can be no rising to life till corruption paralyzes the hands of power, +and the fabric falls by its own decay Of this no proof can be found in +the world's history so manifest as that taught by the Roman Empire. + +I think it is made clear by a study of Cicero's life and works, up to +the period of his exile, that an adhesion to the old forms of the Roman +Government was his guiding principle. I am sure that they who follow me +to the close of his career will acknowledge that after his exile he +lived for this principle, and that he died for it. "Respublica," the +Republic, was the one word which to his ear contained a political charm. +It was the shibboleth by which men were to be conjured into well-being. +The word constitution is nearly as potent with us. But it is essential +that the reader of Roman history and Roman biography should understand +that the appellation had in it, for all Roman ears, a thoroughly +conservative meaning. Among those who at Cicero's period dealt with +politics in Rome--all of whom, no doubt, spoke of the Republic as the +vessel of State which was to be defended by all persons--there were four +classes. These were they who simply desired the plunder of the +State--the Catilines, the Sullas of the day, and the Antonys; men such +as Verres had been, and Fonteius, and Autronius. The other three can be +best typified each by one man. There was Cæsar, who knew that the +Republic was gone, past all hope. There was Cato--"the dogmatical fool +Cato" as Mommsen calls him, perhaps with some lack of the historian's +dignity--who was true to the Republic, who could not bend an inch, and +was thus as detrimental to any hope of reconstruction as a Catiline or a +Cæsar. Cicero was of the fourth class, believing in the Republic, intent +on saving it, imbued amid all his doubts with a conviction that if the +"optimates" or "boni"--the leading men of the party--would be true to +themselves, Consuls, Censors, and Senate would still suffice to rule the +world; but prepared to give and take with those who were opposed to him. +It was his idea that political integrity should keep its own hands +clean, but should wink at much dirt in the world at large. Nothing, he +saw, could be done by Catonic rigor. We can see now that Ciceronic +compromises were, and must have been, equally ineffective. The patient +was past cure. But in seeking the truth as to Cicero, we have to +perceive that amid all his doubts, frequently in despondency, sometimes +overwhelmed by the misery and hopelessness of his condition, he did hold +fast by this idea to the end. The frequent expressions made to Atticus +in opposition to this belief are to be taken as the murmurs of his mind +at the moment; as you shall hear a man swear that all is gone, and see +him tear his hair, and shall yet know that there is a deep fund of hope +within his bosom. It was the ingratitude of his political friends, his +"boni" and his "optimates," of Pompey as their head, which tried him the +sorest; but he was always forgiving them, forgiving Pompey as the head +of them, because he knew that, were he to be severed from them, then the +political world must be closed to him altogether. + +Of Cicero's strength or Cicero's weakness Pompey seems to have known +nothing. He was no judge of men. Cæsar measured him with a great +approach to accuracy. Cæsar knew him to be the best Roman of his day; +one who, if he could be brought over to serve in Cæsarean ranks, would +be invaluable--because of his honesty, his eloquence, and his +capability; but he knew him as one who must be silenced if he were not +brought to serve on the Cæsarean side. Such a man, however, might be +silenced for a while--taught to perceive that his efforts were vain--and +then brought into favor by further overtures, and made of use. +Personally he was pleasant to Cæsar, who had taste enough to know that +he was a man worthy of all personal dignity. But Cæsar was not, I think, +quite accurate in his estimation, having allowed himself to believe at +the last that Cicero's energy on behalf of the Republic had been +quelled. + +[Sidenote: B.C. 58, ætat. 49.] + +Now we will go back to the story of Cicero's exile. Gradually during the +preceding year he had learned that Clodius was preparing to attack him, +and to doubt whether he could expect protection from the Triumvirate. +That he could be made safe by the justice either of the people or by +that of any court before which he could be tried, seems never to have +occurred to him. He knew the people and he knew the courts too well. +Pompey no doubt might have warded off the coming evil; such at least was +Cicero's idea. To him Pompey was the greatest political power as yet +extant in Rome; but he was beginning to believe that Pompey would be +untrue to him. When he had sent to Pompey a long account of the grand +doings of his Consulship, Pompey had replied with faintest praises. He +had rejected the overtures of the Triumvirate. In the last letter to +Atticus in the year before, written in August,[272] he had declared that +the Republic was ruined; that they who had brought things to this +pass--meaning the Triumvirate--were hostile; but, for himself, he was +confident in saying that he was quite safe in the good will of men +around him. There is a letter to his brother written in November, the +next letter in the collection, in which he says that Pompey and Cæsar +promise him everything. With the exception of two letters of +introduction, we have nothing from him till he writes to Atticus from +the first scene of his exile. + +When the new year commenced, Clodius was Tribune of the people, and +immediately was active. Piso and Gabinius were Consuls. Piso was kinsman +to Piso Frugi, who had married Cicero's daughter,[273]and was expected +to befriend Cicero at this crisis. But Clodius procured the allotment of +Syria and Macedonia to the two Consuls by the popular vote. They were +provinces rich in plunder; and it was matter of importance for a Consul +to know that the prey which should come to him as Proconsul should be +worthy of his grasp. They were, therefore, ready to support the Tribune +in what he proposed to do. It was necessary to Cicero's enemies that +there should be some law by which Cicero might be condemned. It would +not be within the power of Clodius, even with the Triumvirate at his +back, to drive the man out of Rome and out of Italy, without an alleged +cause. Though justice had been tabooed, law was still in vogue. Now +there was a matter as to which Cicero was open to attack. As Consul he +had caused certain Roman citizens to be executed as conspirators, in the +teeth of a law which enacted that no Roman citizen should be condemned +to die except by a direct vote of the people. It had certainly become a +maxim of the constitution of the Republic that a citizen should not be +made to suffer death except by the voice of the people. The Valerian, +the Porcian, and the Sempronian laws had all been passed to that effect. +Now there had been no popular vote as to the execution of Lentulus and +the other conspirators, who had been taken red-handed in Rome in the +affair of Catiline. Their death had been decreed by the Senate, and the +decree of the Senate had been carried out by Cicero; but no decree of +the Senate had the power of a law. In spite of that decree the old law +was in force; and no appeal to the people had been allowed to Lentulus. +But there had grown up in the constitution a practice which had been +supposed to override the Valerian and Porcian laws. In certain +emergencies the Senate would call upon the Consuls to see that the +Republic should suffer no injury, and it had been held that at such +moments the Consuls were invested with an authority above all law. +Cicero had been thus strengthened when, as Consul, he had struggled with +Catiline; but it was an open question, as Cicero himself very well knew. +In the year of his Consulship--the very year in which Lentulus and the +others had been strangled--he had defended Rabirius, who was then +accused of having killed a citizen thirty years before. Rabirius was +charged with having slaughtered the Tribune Saturninus by consular +authority, the Consuls of the day having been ordered to defend the +Republic, as Cicero had been ordered. Rabirius probably had not killed +Saturninus, nor did any one now care whether he had done so or not. The +trial had been brought about notoriously by the agency of Cæsar, who +caused himself to be selected by the Prætor as one of the two judges for +the occasion;[274] and Cæsar's object as notoriously was to lessen the +authority of the Senate, and to support the democratic interest. Both +Cicero and Hortensius defended Rabirius, but he was condemned by Cæsar, +and, as we are told, himself only escaped by using that appeal to the +people in support of which he had himself been brought to trial. In +this, as in so many of the forensic actions of the day, there had been +an admixture of violence and law. We must, I think, acknowledge that +there was the same leaven of illegality in the proceedings against +Lentulus. It had no doubt been the intention of the constitution that a +Consul, in the heat of an emergency, should use his personal authority +for the protection of the Commonwealth, but it cannot be alleged that +there was such an emergency, when the full Senate had had time to debate +on the fate of the Catiline criminals. Both from Cæsar's words as +reported by Sallust, and from Cicero's as given to us by himself, we are +aware that an idea of the illegality of the proceeding was present in +the minds of Senators at the moment. But, though law was loved at Rome, +all forensic and legislative proceedings were at this time carried on +with monstrous illegality. Consuls consulted the heavens falsely; +Tribunes used their veto violently; judges accepted bribes openly; the +votes of the people were manipulated fraudulently. In the trial and +escape of Rabirius, the laws were despised by those who pretended to +vindicate them. Clodius had now become a Tribune by the means of certain +legal provision, but yet in opposition to all law. In the conduct of the +affair against Catiline Cicero seems to have been actuated by pure +patriotism, and to have been supported by a fine courage; but he knew +that in destroying Lentulus and Cethegus he subjected himself to certain +dangers. He had willingly faced these dangers for the sake of the object +in view. As long as he might remain the darling of the people, as he was +at that moment, he would no doubt be safe; but it was not given to any +one to be for long the darling of the Roman people. Cicero had become so +by using an eloquence to which the Romans were peculiarly susceptible; +but though they loved sweet tongues, long purses went farther with them. +Since Cicero's Consulship he had done nothing to offend the people, +except to remain occasionally out of their sight; but he had lost the +brilliancy of his popularity, and he was aware that it was so. + +In discussing popularity in Rome we have to remember of what elements it +was formed. We hear that this or that man was potent at some special +time by the assistance coming to him from the popular voice. There was +in Rome a vast population of idle men, who had been trained by their +city life to look to the fact of their citizenship for their support, +and who did, in truth, live on their citizenship. Of "panem et +circenses" we have all heard, and know that eleemosynary bread and the +public amusements of the day supplied the material and æsthetic wants of +many Romans. But men so fed and so amused were sure to need further +occupations. They became attached to certain friends, to certain +patrons, and to certain parties, and soon learned that a return was +expected for the food and for the excitement supplied to them. This they +gave by holding themselves in readiness for whatever violence was needed +from them, till it became notorious in Rome that a great party man might +best attain his political object by fighting for it in the streets. This +was the meaning of that saying of Crassus, that a man could not be +considered rich till he could keep an army in his own pay. A popular +vote obtained and declared by a faction fight in the forum was still a +popular vote, and if supported by sufficient violence would be valid. +There had been street fighting of the kind when Cicero had defended +Caius Cornelius, in the year after his Prætorship; there had been +fighting of the kind when Rabirius had been condemned in his Consulship. +We shall learn by-and-by to what extent such fighting prevailed when +Clodius was killed by Milo's body-guard. At the period of which we are +now writing, when Clodius was intent on pursuing Cicero to his ruin, it +was a question with Cicero himself whether he would not trust to a +certain faction in Rome to fight for him, and so to protect him. Though +his popularity was on the wane--that general popularity which, we may +presume, had been produced by the tone of his voice and the grace of his +language--there still remained to him that other popularity which +consisted, in truth, of the trained bands employed by the "boni" and the +"optimates," and which might be used, if need were, in opposition to +trained bands on the other side. + +The bill first proposed by Clodius to the people with the object of +destroying Cicero did not mention Cicero, nor, in truth, refer to him. +It purported to enact that he who had caused to be executed any Roman +citizen not duly condemned to death, should himself be deprived of the +privilege of water or fire.[275] This condemned no suggested malefactor +to death; but, in accordance with Roman law, made it impossible that any +Roman so condemned should live within whatever bounds might be named for +this withholding of fire and water. The penalty intended was banishment; +but by this enactment no individual would be banished. Cicero, however, +at once took the suggestion to himself, and put himself into mourning, +as a man accused and about to be brought to his trial. He went about the +streets accompanied by crowds armed for his protection; and Clodius also +caused himself to be so accompanied. There came thus to be a question +which might prevail should there be a general fight. The Senate was, as +a body, on Cicero's side, but was quite unable to cope with the +Triumvirate. Cæsar no doubt had resolved that Cicero should be made to +go, and Cæsar was lord of the Triumvirate. On behalf of Cicero there was +a large body of the conservative or oligarchical party who were still +true to him; and they, too, all went into the usual public mourning, +evincing their desire that the accused man should be rescued from his +accusers. + +The bitterness of Clodius would be surprising did we not know how bitter +had been Cicero's tongue. When the affair of the Bona Dea had taken +place there was no special enmity between this debauched young man and +the great Consul. Cicero, though his own life had ever been clean and +well ordered, rather affected the company of fast young men when he +found them to be witty as well as clever. This very Clodius had been in +his good books till the affair of the Bona Dea. But now the Tribune's +hatred was internecine. I have hitherto said nothing, and need say but +little, of a certain disreputable lady named Clodia. She was the sister +of Clodius and the wife of Metellus Celer. She was accused by public +voice in Rome of living in incest with her brother, and of poisoning her +husband. Cicero calls her afterward, in his defence of Cælius, "amica +omnium." She had the nickname of Quadrantaria[276] given to her, because +she frequented the public baths, at which the charge was a farthing. It +must be said also of her, either in praise or in dispraise, that she was +the Lesbia who inspired the muse of Catullus. It was rumored in Rome +that she had endeavored to set her cap at Cicero. Cicero in his raillery +had not spared the lady. To speak publicly the grossest evil of women +was not opposed to any idea of gallantry current among the Romans. Our +sense of chivalry, as well as decency, is disgusted by the language used +by Horace to women who once to him were young and pretty, but have +become old and ugly. The venom of Cicero's abuse of Clodia annoys us, +and we have to remember that the gentle ideas which we have taken in +with our mother's milk had not grown into use with the Romans. It is +necessary that this woman's name should be mentioned, and it may appear +here as she was one of the causes of that hatred which burnt between +Clodius and Cicero, till Clodius was killed in a street row. + +It has been presumed that Cicero was badly advised in presuming publicly +that the new law was intended against himself, and in taking upon +himself the outward signs of a man under affliction. "The resolution," +says Middleton, "of changing his gown was too hasty and inconsiderate, +and helped to precipitate his ruin." He was sensible of his error when +too late, and oft reproaches Atticus that, being a stander-by, and less +heated with the game than himself, he would suffer him to make such +blunders. And he quotes the words written to Atticus: "Here my judgment +first failed me, or, indeed, brought me into trouble. We were blind, +blind I say, in changing our raiment and in appealing to the +populace. * * * I handed myself and all belonging to me over to my enemies, +while you were looking on, while you were holding your peace; yes, you, +who, if your wit in the matter was no better than mine, were impeded by +no personal fears."[277] But the reader should study the entire letter, +and study it in the original, for no translator can give its true +purport. This the reader must do before he can understand Cicero's state +of mind when writing it, or his relation to Atticus; or the thoughts +which distracted him when, in accordance with the advice of Atticus, he +resolved, while yet uncondemned, to retire into banishment. The censure +to which Atticus is subjected throughout this letter is that which a +thoughtful, hesitating, scrupulous man is so often disposed to address +to himself. After reminding Atticus of the sort of advice which should +have been given--the want of which in the first moment of his exile he +regrets--and doing this in words of which it is very difficult now to +catch the exact flavor, he begs to be pardoned for his reproaches. "You +will forgive me this," he says. "I blame myself more than I do you; but +I look to you as a second self, and I make you a sharer with me of my +own folly." I take this letter out of its course, and speak of it as +connected with that terrible period of doubt to which it refers, in +which he had to decide whether he would remain in Rome and fight it out, +or run before his enemies. But in writing the letter afterward his mind +was as much disturbed as when he did fly. I am inclined, therefore, to +think that Middleton and others may have been wrong in blaming his +flight, which they have done, because in his subsequent vacillating +moods he blamed himself. How the battle might have gone had he remained, +we have no evidence to show; but we do know that though he fled, he +returned soon with renewed glory, and altogether overcame the attempt +which had been made to destroy him. + +In this time of his distress a strong effort was made by the Senate to +rescue him. It was proposed to them that they all as a body should go +into mourning on his behalf; indeed, the Senate passed a vote to this +effect, but were prevented by the two Consuls from carrying it out. As +to what he had best do he and his friends were divided. Some recommended +that he should remain where he was, and defend himself by +street-fighting should it be necessary. In doing this he would +acknowledge that law no longer prevailed in Rome--a condition of things +to which many had given in their adherence, but with which Cicero would +surely have been the last to comply. He himself, in his despair, thought +for a time that the old Roman mode of escape would be preferable, and +that he might with decorum end his life and his troubles by suicide. +Atticus and others dissuaded him from this, and recommended him to fly. +Among these Cato and Hortensius have both been named. To this advice he +at last yielded, and it may be doubted whether any better could have +been given. Lawlessness, which had been rampant in Rome before, had, +under the Triumvirate, become almost lawful. It was Cæsar's intention to +carry out his will with such compliance with the forms of the Republic +as might suit him, but in utter disregard to all such forms when they +did not suit him. The banishment of Cicero was one of the last steps +taken by Cæsar before he left Rome for his campaigns in Gaul. He was +already in command of the legions, and was just without the city. He had +endeavored to buy Cicero, but had failed. Having failed, he had +determined to be rid of him. Clodius was but his tool, as were Pompey +and the two Consuls. Had Cicero endeavored to support himself by +violence in Rome, his contest would, in fact have been with Cæsar. + +Cicero, before he went, applied for protection personally to Piso the +Consul, and to Pompey. Gabinius, the other Consul, had already declared +his purpose to the Senate, but Piso was bound to him by family ties. He +himself relates to us in his oration, spoken after his return, against +this Piso, the manner of the meeting between him and Rome's chief +officer. Piso told him--so at least Cicero declared in the Senate, and +we have heard of no contradiction--that Gabinius was so driven by debts +as to be unable to hold up his head without a rich province; that he +himself, Piso, could only hope to get a province by taking part with +Gabinius; that any application to the Consuls was useless, and that +every one must look after himself.[278] Concerning his appeal to Pompey +two stories have been given to us, neither of which appears to be true. +Plutarch says that when Cicero had travelled out from Rome to Pompey's +Alban villa, Pompey ran out of the back-door to avoid meeting him. +Plutarch cared more for a good story than for accuracy, and is not +worthy of much credit as to details unless when corroborated. The other +account is based on Cicero's assertion that he did see Pompey on this +occasion. Nine or ten years after the meeting he refers to it in a +letter to Atticus, which leaves no doubt as to the fact. The story +founded on that letter declares that Cicero threw himself bodily at his +old friend's feet, and that Pompey did not lend a hand to raise him, but +told him simply that everything was in Cæsar's hands. This narrative is, +I think, due to a misinterpretation of Cicero's words, though it is +given by a close translation of them. He is describing Pompey when Cæsar +after his Gallic wars had crossed the Rubicon, and the two late +Triumvirates--the third having perished miserably in the East--were in +arms against each other. "Alter ardet furore et scelere" he says.[279] +Cæsar is pressing on unscrupulous in his passion. "Alter is qui nos sibi +quondam ad pedes stratos ne sublevabat quidem, qui se nihil contra hujus +voluntatem aiebat facere posse." "That other one," he continues--meaning +Pompey, and pursuing his picture of the present contrast--"who in days +gone by would not even lift me when I lay at his feet, and told me that +he could do nothing but as Cæsar wished it." This little supposed detail +of biography has been given, no doubt, from an accurate reading of the +words; but in it the spirit of the writer's mind as he wrote it has +surely been missed. The prostration of which he spoke, from which Pompey +would not raise him, the memory of which was still so bitter to him, was +not a prostration of the body. I hold it to have been impossible that +Cicero should have assumed such an attitude before Pompey, or that he +would so have written to Atticus had he done so. It would have been +neither Roman nor Ciceronian, as displayed by Cicero to Pompey. He had +gone to his old ally and told him of his trouble, and had no doubt +reminded him of those promises of assistance which Pompey had so often +made. Then Pompey had refused to help him, and had assured him, with too +much truth, that Cæsar's will was everything. Again, we have to remember +that in judging of the meaning of words between two such correspondents +as Cicero and Atticus, we must read between the lines, and interpret the +words by creating for ourselves something of the spirit in which they +were written and in which they were received. I cannot imagine that, in +describing to Atticus what had occurred at that interview nine years +after it had taken place, Cicero had intended it to be understood that +he had really grovelled in the dust. + +Toward the end of March he started from Rome, intending to take refuge +among his friends in Sicily. On the same day Clodius brought in a bill +directed against Cicero by name and caused it to be carried by the +people, "Ut Marco Tullio aqua et igni interdictum sit"--that it should +be illegal to supply Cicero with fire and water. The law when passed +forbade any one to harbor the criminal within four hundred miles of +Rome, and declared the doing so to be a capital offence. It is evident, +from the action of those who obeyed the law, and of those who did not, +that legal results were not feared so much as the ill-will of those who +had driven Cicero to his exile. They who refused him succor did do so +not because to give it him would be illegal, but lest Cæsar and Pompey +would be offended. It did not last long, and during the short period of +his exile he found perhaps more of friendship than of enmity; but he +directed his steps in accordance with the bearing of party-spirit. We +are told that he was afraid to go to Athens, because at Athens lived +that Autronius whom he had refused to defend. Autronius had been +convicted of conspiracy and banished, and, having been a Catilinarian +conspirator, had been in truth on Cæsar's side. Nor were geographical +facts sufficiently established to tell Cicero what places were and what +were not without the forbidden circle. He sojourned first at Vibo, in +the extreme south of Italy, intending to pass from thence into Sicily. +It was there that he learned that a certain distance had been +prescribed; but it seems that he had already heard that the Proconsular +Governor of the island would not receive him, fearing Cæsar. Then he +came north from Vibo to Brundisium, that being the port by which +travellers generally went from Italy to the East. He had determined to +leave his family in Rome, feeling, probably, that it would be easier for +him to find a temporary home for himself than for him and them together. +And there were money difficulties in which Atticus helped him.[280] +Atticus, always wealthy, had now become a very rich man by the death of +an uncle. We do not know of what nature were the money arrangements made +by Cicero at the time, but there can be no doubt that the losses by his +exile were very great. There was a thorough disruption of his property, +for which the subsequent generosity of his country was unable altogether +to atone. But this sat lightly on Cicero's heart. Pecuniary losses never +weighed heavily with him. + +As he journeyed back from Vibo to Brundisium friends were very kind to +him, in spite of the law. Toward the end of the speech which he made +five years afterward on behalf of his friend C. Plancius he explains the +debt of gratitude which he owed to his client, whose kindness to him in +his exile had been very great. He commences his story of the goodness of +Plancius by describing the generosity of the towns on the road to +Brundisium, and the hospitality of his friend Flavius, who had received +him at his house in the neighborhood of that town, and had placed him +safely on board a ship when at last he resolved to cross over to +Dyrrachium. There were many schemes running in his head at this time. At +one period he had resolved to pass through Macedonia into Asia, and to +remain for a while at Cyzicum. This idea he expresses in a letter to his +wife written from Brundisium. Then he goes, wailing no doubt, but in +words which to me seem very natural as coming from a husband in such a +condition: "O me perditum, O me afflictum;"[281] exclamations which it +is impossible to translate, as they refer to his wife's separation from +himself rather than to his own personal sufferings. "How am I to ask you +to come to me?" he says; "you a woman, ill in health, worn out in body +and in spirit. I cannot ask you! Must I then live without you? It must +be so, I think. If there be any hope of my return, it is you must look +to it, you that must strengthen it; but if, as I fear, the thing is +done, then come to me. If I can have you I shall not be altogether +destroyed." No doubt these are wailings; but is a man unmanly because he +so wails to the wife of his bosom? Other humans have written prettily +about women: it was common for Romans to do so. Catullus desires from +Lesbia as many kisses as are the stars of night or the sands of Libya. +Horace swears that he would perish for Chloe if Chloe might be left +alive. "When I am dying," says Tibullus to Delia, "may I be gazing at +you; may my last grasp hold your hand." Propertius tells Cynthia that +she stands to him in lieu of home and parents, and all the joys of life. +"Whether he be sad with his friends or happy, Cynthia does it all." The +language in each case is perfect; but what other Roman was there of whom +we have evidence that he spoke to his wife like this? Ovid in his +letters from his banishment says much of his love for his wife; but +there is no passion expressed in anything that Ovid wrote. + +Clodius, as soon as the enactment against Cicero became law, caused it +be carried into effect with all its possible cruelties. The criminal's +property was confiscated. The house on the Palatine Hill was destroyed, +and the goods were put up to auction, with, as we are told, a great lack +of buyers. His choicest treasures were carried away by the Consuls +themselves. Piso, who had lived near him in Rome, got for himself and +for his father-in-law the rich booty from the town house. The country +villas were also destroyed, and Gabinius, who had a country house close +by Cicero's Tusculan retreat, took even the very shrubs out of the +garden. He tells the story of the greed and enmity of the Consuls in the +speech he made after his return, Pro Domo Sua,[282] pleading for the +restitution of his household property. "My house on the Palatine was +burnt," he says, "not by any accident, but by arson. In the mean time +the Consuls were feasting, and were congratulating themselves among the +conspirators, when one boasted that he had been Catiline's friend, the +other that Cethegus had been his cousin." By this he implies that the +conspiracy which during his Consulship had been so odious to Rome was +now, in these days of the Triumvirate, again in favor among Roman +aristocrats. + +He went across from Brundisium to Dyrrachium, and from thence to +Thessalonica, where he was treated with most loving-kindness by +Plancius, who was Quæstor in these parts, and who came down to +Dyrrachium to meet him, clad in mourning for the occasion. This was the +Plancius whom he afterward defended, and indeed he was bound to do so. +Plancius seems to have had but little dread of the law, though he was a +Roman officer employed in the very province to the government of which +the present Consul Piso had already been appointed. Thessalonica was +within four hundred miles, and yet Cicero lived there with Plancius for +some months. + +The letters from Cicero during his exile are to me very touching, though +I have been told so often that in having written them he lacked the +fortitude of a Roman. Perhaps I am more capable of appreciating natural +humanity than Roman fortitude. We remember the story of the Spartan boy +who allowed the fox to bite him beneath his frock without crying. I +think we may imagine that he refrained from tears in public, before some +herd of school-fellows, or a bench of masters, or amid the sternness of +parental authority; but that he told his sister afterward how he had +been tortured, or his mother as he lay against her bosom, or perhaps his +chosen chum. Such reticences are made dignified by the occasion, when +something has to be won by controlling the expression to which nature +uncontrolled would give utterance, but are not in themselves evidence +either of sagacity or of courage. Roman fortitude was but a suit of +armor to be worn on state occasions. If we come across a warrior with +his crested helmet and his sword and his spear, we see, no doubt, an +impressive object. If we could find him in his night-shirt, the same man +would be there, but those who do not look deeply into things would be +apt to despise him because his grand trappings were absent. Chance has +given us Cicero in his night-shirt. The linen is of such fine texture +that we are delighted with it, but we despise the man because he wore a +garment--such as we wear ourselves indeed, though when we wear it nobody +is then brought in to look at us. + +There is one most touching letter written from Thessalonica to his +brother, by whom, after thoughts vacillating this way and that, he was +unwilling to be visited, thinking that a meeting would bring more of +pain than of service. "Mi frater, mi frater, mi frater!" he begins. The +words in English would hardly give all the pathos. "Did you think that I +did not write because I am angry, or that I did not wish to see you? I +angry with you! But I could not endure to be seen by you. You would not +have seen your brother; not him whom you had left; not him whom you had +known; not him whom, weeping as you went away, you had dismissed, +weeping himself as he strove to follow you."[283] Then he heaps blame on +his own head, bitterly accusing himself because he had brought his +brother to such a pass of sorrow. In this letter he throws great blame +upon Hortensius, whom together with Pompey he accuses of betraying him. +What truth there may have been in this accusation as to Hortensius we +have no means of saying. He couples Pompey in the same charge, and as to +Pompey's treatment of him there can be no doubt. Pompey had been untrue +to his promises because of his bond with Cæsar. It is probable that +Hortensius had failed to put himself forward on Cicero's behalf with +that alacrity which the one advocate had expected from the other. Cicero +and Hortensius were friends afterward, but so were Cicero and Pompey. +Cicero was forgiving by nature, and also by self-training. It did not +suit his purposes to retain his enmities. Had there been a possibility +of reconciling Antony to the cause of the "optimates" after the +Philippics, he would have availed himself of it. + +Cicero at one time intended to go to Buthrotum in Epirus, where Atticus +possessed a house and property; but he changed his purpose. He remained +at Thessalonica till November, and then returned to Dyrrachium, having +all through his exile been kept alive by tidings of steps taken for his +recall. There seems very soon to have grown up a feeling in Rome that +the city had disgraced itself by banishing such a man; and Cæsar had +gone to his provinces. We can well imagine that when he had once left +Rome, with all his purposes achieved, having so far quieted the tongue +of the strong speaker who might have disturbed them, he would take no +further steps to perpetuate the orator's banishment. Then Pompey and +Clodius soon quarrelled. Pompey, without Cæsar to direct him, found the +arrogance of the Patrician Tribune insupportable. We hear of wheels +within wheels, and stories within stories, in the drama of Roman history +as it was played at this time. Together with Cicero, it had been +necessary to Cæsar's projects that Cato also should be got out of Rome; +and this had been managed by means of Clodius, who had a bill passed for +the honorable employment of Cato on state purposes in Cyprus. Cato had +found himself obliged to go. It was as though our Prime-minister had got +parliamentary authority for sending a noisy member of the Opposition to +Asiatic Turkey for six months There was an attempt, or an alleged +attempt, of Clodius to have Pompey murdered; and there was +street-fighting, so that Pompey was besieged, or pretended to be +besieged, in his own house. "We might as well seek to set a charivari to +music as to write the history of this political witches' revel," says +Mommsen, speaking of the state of Rome when Cæsar was gone, Cicero +banished, and Pompey supposed to be in the ascendant.[284] There was, at +any rate, quarrelling between Clodius and Pompey, in the course of which +Pompey was induced to consent to Cicero's return. Then Clodius took upon +himself, in revenge, to turn against the Triumvirate altogether, and to +repudiate even Cæsar himself. But it was all a vain hurly-burly, as to +which Cæsar, when he heard the details in Gaul, could only have felt how +little was to be gained by maintaining his alliance with Pompey. He had +achieved his purpose, which he could not have done without the +assistance of Crassus, whose wealth, and of Pompey, whose authority, +stood highest in Rome; and now, having had his legions voted to him, and +his provinces, and his prolonged term of years, he cared nothing for +either of them. + +There is a little story which must be repeated, as against Cicero, in +reference to this period of his exile, because it has been told in all +records of his life. Were I to omit the little story, it would seem as +though I shunned the records which have been repeated as opposed to his +credit. He had written, some time back, a squib in which he had been +severe upon the elder Curio; so it is supposed; but it matters little +who was the object or what the subject. This had got wind in Rome, as +such matters do sometimes, and he now feared that it would do him a +mischief with the Curios and the friends of the Curios. The authorship +was only matter of gossip. Could it not be denied? "As it is written," +says Cicero, "in a style inferior to that which is usual to me, can it +not be shown not to have been mine?"[285] Had Cicero possessed all the +Christian virtues, as we hope that prelates and pastors possess them in +this happy land, he would not have been betrayed into, at any rate, the +expression of such a wish. As it is, the enemies of Cicero must make the +most of it. His friends, I think, will look upon it leniently. + +Continued efforts were made among Cicero's friends at Rome to bring him +back, with which he was not altogether contented. He argues the matter +repeatedly with Atticus, not always in the best temper. His friends at +Rome were, he thought, doing the matter amiss: they would fail, and he +would still have to finish his days abroad. Atticus, in his way to +Epirus, visits him at Dyrrachium, and he is sure that Atticus would not +have left Rome but that the affair was hopeless. The reader of the +correspondence is certainly led to the belief that Atticus must have +been the most patient of friends; but he feels, at the same time, that +Atticus would not have been patient had not Cicero been affectionate and +true. The Consuls for the new year were Lentulus and Metellus Nepos. The +former was Cicero's declared friend, and the other had already abandoned +his enmity. Clodius was no longer Tribune, and Pompey had been brought +to yield. The Senate were all but unanimous. But there was still life in +Clodius and his party; and day dragged itself after day, and month after +month, while Cicero still lingered at Dyrrachium, waiting till a bill +should have been passed by the people. Pompey, who was never +whole-hearted in anything, had declared that a bill voted by the people +would be necessary. The bill at last was voted, on the 14th of August, +and Cicero, who knew well what was being done at Rome, passed over from +Dyrrachium to Brundisium on the same day, having been a year and four +months absent from Rome. During the year B.C. 57, up to the time of his +return, he wrote but three letters that have come to us--two very short +notes to Atticus, in the first of which he declares that he will come +over on the authority of a decree of the Senate, without waiting for a +law. In the second he falls again into despair, declaring that +everything is over. In the third he asks Metellus for his aid, telling +the Consul that unless it be given soon the man for whom it is asked +will no longer be living to receive it. Metellus did give the aid very +cordially. + +It has been remarked that Cicero did nothing for literature during his +banishment, either by writing essays or preparing speeches; and it has +been implied that the prostration of mind arising from his misfortunes +must have been indeed complete, when a man whose general life was made +marvellous by its fecundity had been repressed into silence. It should, +however, be borne in mind that there could be no inducement for the +writing of speeches when there was no opportunity of delivering them. As +to his essays, including what we call his Philosophy and his Rhetoric, +they who are familiar with his works will remember how apt he was, in +all that he produced, to refer to the writings of others. He translates +and he quotes, and he makes constant use of the arguments and +illustrations of those who have gone before him. He was a man who rarely +worked without the use of a library. When I think how impossible it +would be for me to repeat this oft-told tale of Cicero's life without a +crowd of books within reach of my hand, I can easily understand why +Cicero was silent at Thessalonica and Dyrrachium. It has been remarked +also by a modern critic that we find "in the letters from exile a +carelessness and inaccuracy of expression which contrasts strongly with +the style of his happier days." I will not for a moment put my judgment +in such a matter in opposition to that of Mr. Tyrrell--but I should +myself have been inclined rather to say that the style of Cicero's +letters varies constantly, being very different when used to Atticus, or +to his brother, or to lighter friends such as Poetus and Trebatius; and +very different again when business of state was in hand, as are his +letters to Decimus Brutus, Cassius Brutus, and Plancus. To be correct in +familiar letters is not to charm. A studied negligence is needed to make +such work live to posterity--a grace of loose expression which may +indeed have been made easy by use, but which is far from easy to the +idle and unpractised writer. His sorrow, perhaps, required a style of +its own. I have not felt my own untutored perception of the language to +be offended by unfitting slovenliness in the expression of his grief. + + + + +APPENDICES TO VOLUME I. + + + + +APPENDIX A. + + +(_See_ ch. II., note [39]) + +_THE BATTLE OF THE EAGLE AND THE SERPENT._ + + Homer, Iliad, lib. xii, 200: + + [Greek: + Hoi rh' eti mermêrizon ephestaotes para taphrôi. + Ornis gar sphin epêlthe perêsemenai memaôsin, + Aietos upsipetês ep' aristera laon eergôn, + Phoinêenta drakonta pherôn onuchessi pelôron, + Zôon et' aspaironta; kai oupô lêtheto charmês. + Kopse gar auton echonta kata stêthos para deirên, + Idnôtheis opisô; ho d' apo ethen êke chamaze, + Algêsas odunêisi, mesoi d' eni kabbal' homilôi; + Autos de klanxas peteto pnoêis anemoio.] + +Pope's translation of the passage, book xii, 231: + + "A signal omen stopp'd the passing host, + The martial fury in their wonder lost. + Jove's bird on sounding pinions beat the skies; + A bleeding serpent, of enormous size, + His talons trussed; alive, and curling round, + He stung the bird, whose throat received the wound. + Mad with the smart, he drops the fatal prey, + In airy circles wings his painful way, + Floats on the winds, and rends the heav'ns with cries. + Amid the host the fallen serpent lies. + They, pale with terror, mark its spires unroll'd, + And Jove's portent with beating hearts behold." + +Lord Derby's Iliad, book xii, 236: + + "For this I read the future, if indeed + To us, about to cross, this sign from Heaven + Was sent, to leftward of the astonished crowd: + A soaring eagle, bearing in his claws + A dragon huge of size, of blood-red hue, + Alive; yet dropped him ere he reached his home, + Nor to his nestlings bore the intended prey." + +Cicero's telling of the story: + + "Hic Jovis altisoni subito pinnata satelles, + Arboris e trunco serpentis saucia morsu, + Ipsa feris subigit transfigens unguibus anguem + Semianimum, et varia graviter cervice micantem. + Quem se intorquentem lanians, rostroque cruentans, + Jam satiata animum, jam duros ulta dolores, + Abjicit efflantem, et laceratum affligit in unda; + Seque obitu a solis nitidos convertit ad ortus." + +Voltaire's translation: + + "Tel on voit cet oiseau qui porte le tonnerre, + Blessé par un serpent élancé de la terre; + Il s'envole, il entraîne au séjour azuré + L'ennemi tortueux dont il est entouré. + Le sang tombe des airs. Il déchire, il dévore + Le reptile acharné qui le combat encore; + Il le perce, il le tient sous ses ongles vainqueurs; + Par cent coups redoublés il venge ses douleurs. + Le monstre, en expirant, se débat, se replie; + Il exhale en poisons les restes de sa vie; + Et l'aigle, tout sanglant, fier et victorieux, + Le rejette en fureur, et plane au haut des cieux." + +Virgil's version, Æneid, lib. xi., 751: + + "Utque volans alte raptum quum fulva draconem + Fert aquila, implicuitque pedes, atque unguibus hæsit + Saucius at serpens sinuosa volumina versat, + Arrectisque horret squamis, et sibilat ore, + Arduus insurgens. Illa haud minus urget obunco + Luctantem rostro; simul æthera verberat alis." + +Dryden's translation from Virgil's Æneid, book xi.: + + "So stoops the yellow eagle from on high, + And bears a speckled serpent through the sky; + Fastening his crooked talons on the prey, + The prisoner hisses through the liquid way; + Resists the royal hawk, and though opprest, + She fights in volumes, and erects her crest. + Turn'd to her foe, she stiffens every scale, + And shoots her forky tongue, and whisks her threatening tail. + Against the victor all defence is weak. + Th' imperial bird still plies her with his beak: + He tears her bowels, and her breast he gores, + Then claps his pinions, and securely soars." + +Pitt's translation, book xi.: + + "As when th' imperial eagle soars on high, + And bears some speckled serpent through the sky, + While her sharp talons gripe the bleeding prey, + In many a fold her curling volumes play, + Her starting brazen scales with horror rise, + The sanguine flames flash dreadful from her eyes + She writhes, and hisses at her foe, in vain, + Who wins at ease the wide ærial plain, + With her strong hooky beak the captive plies, + And bears the struggling prey triumphant through the skies." + +Shelley's version of the battle, The Revolt of Islam, canto i.: + + "For in the air do I behold indeed + An eagle and a serpent wreathed in fight, + And now relaxing its impetuous flight, + Before the ærial rock on which I stood + The eagle, hovering, wheeled to left and right, + And hung with lingering wings over the flood, + And startled with its yells the wide air's solitude + + "A shaft of light upon its wings descended, + And every golden feather gleamed therein-- + Feather and scale inextricably blended + The serpent's mailed and many-colored skin + Shone through the plumes, its coils were twined within + By many a swollen and knotted fold, and high + And far, the neck receding lithe and thin, + Sustained a crested head, which warily + Shifted and glanced before the eagle's steadfast eye. + + "Around, around, in ceaseless circles wheeling, + With clang of wings and scream, the eagle sailed + Incessantly--sometimes on high concealing + Its lessening orbs, sometimes, as if it failed, + Drooped through the air, and still it shrieked and wailed, + And casting back its eager head, with beak + And talon unremittingly assailed + The wreathed serpent, who did ever seek + Upon his enemy's heart a mortal wound to wreak + + "What life, what power was kindled, and arose + Within the sphere of that appalling fray! + For, from the encounter of those wond'rous foes, + A vapor like the sea's suspended spray + Hung gathered; in the void air, far away, + Floated the shattered plumes; bright scales did leap, + Where'er the eagle's talons made their way, + Like sparks into the darkness; as they sweep, + Blood stains the snowy foam of the tumultuous deep. + + "Swift chances in that combat--many a check, + And many a change--a dark and wild turmoil; + Sometimes the snake around his enemy's neck + Locked in stiff rings his adamantine coil, + Until the eagle, faint with pain and toil, + Remitted his strong flight, and near the sea + Languidly fluttered, hopeless so to foil + His adversary, who then reared on high + His red and burning crest, radiant with victory. + + "Then on the white edge of the bursting surge, + Where they had sunk together, would the snake + Relax his suffocating grasp, and scourge + The wind with his wild writhings; for, to break + That chain of torment, the vast bird would shake + The strength of his unconquerable wings + As in despair, and with his sinewy neck + Dissolve in sudden shock those linked rings, + Then soar--as swift as smoke from a volcano springs. + + "Wile baffled wile, and strength encountered strength, + Thus long, but unprevailing--the event + Of that portentous fight appeared at length. + Until the lamp of day was almost spent + It had endured, when lifeless, stark, and rent, + Hung high that mighty serpent, and at last + Fell to the sea, while o'er the continent, + With clang of wings and scream, the eagle past, + Heavily borne away on the exhausted blast." + +I have repudiated the adverse criticism on Cicero's poetry which has +been attributed to Juvenal; but, having done so, am bound in fairness +to state that which is to be found elsewhere in any later author of +renown as a classic. In the treatise De Oratoribus, attributed to +Tacitus, and generally published with his works by him--a treatise +commenced, probably, in the last year of Vespasian's reign, and +completed only in that of Domitian--Cicero as a poet is spoken of +with a severity of censure which the writer presumes to have been his +recognized desert. "For Cæsar," he says, "and Brutus made verses, and +sent them to the public libraries; not better, indeed, than Cicero, but +with less of general misfortune, because only a few people knew that +they had done so." This must be taken for what it is worth. The treatise, +let it have been written by whom it might, is full of wit, and is +charming in language and feeling. It is a dialogue after the manner of +Cicero himself, and is the work of an author well conversant with the +subjects in hand. But it is, no doubt, the case that those two +unfortunate lines which have been quoted became notorious in Rome when +there was a party anxious to put down Cicero. + + + + +APPENDIX B. + + +(_See_ ch. IV., note [84]) + +FROM THE BRUTUS--CA. XCII., XCIII. + +"There were at that time two orators, Cotta and Hortensius, who +towered above all others, and incited me to rival them. The first +spoke with self-restraint and moderation, clearly and easily, +expressing his ideas in appropriate language. The other was +magnificent and fierce; not such as you remember him, Brutus, when he +was already failing, but full of life both in his words and actions. I +then resolved that Hortensius should, of the two, be my model, because +I felt myself like to him in his energy, and nearer to him in his age. +I observed that when they were in the same causes, those for Canuleius +and for our consular Dolabella, though Cotta was the senior counsel, +Hortensius took the lead. A large gathering of men and the noise of +the Forum require that a speaker shall be quick, on fire, active, and +loud. The year after my return from Asia I undertook the charge of +causes that were honorable, and in that year I was seeking to be +Quæstor, Cotta to be Consul, and Hortensius to be Prætor. Then for a +year I served as Quæstor in Sicily. Cotta, after his Consulship, went +as governor into Gaul, and then Hortensius was, and was considered to +be, first at the bar. When I had been back from Sicily twelve months +I began to find that whatever there was within me had come to such +perfection as it might attain. I feel that I am speaking too much of +myself, but it is done, not that you may be made to own my ability or +my eloquence--which is far from my thoughts--but that you may see how +great was my toil and my industry. Then, when I had been employed for +nearly five years in many cases, and was accounted a leading advocate, +I specially concerned myself in conducting the great cause on behalf +of Sicily--the trial of Verres--when I and Hortensius were Ædile and +Consul designate. + +"But as this discussion of ours is intended to produce not a mere +catalogue of orators, but some true lessons of oratory, let us see +what there was in Hortensius that we must blame. When he was out of +his Consulship, seeing that among past Consuls there was no one on a +par with him, and thinking but little of those who were below consular +rank, he became idle in his work to which from boyhood he had devoted +himself, and chose to live in the midst of his wealth, as he thought +a happier life--certainly an easier one. The first two or three years +took off something from him. As the gradual decay of a picture will +be observed by the true critic, though it be not seen by the world at +large, so was it with his decay. From day to day he became more and +more unlike his old self, failing in all branches of oratory, but +specially in the rapidity and continuity of his words. But for myself +I never rested, struggling always to increase whatever power there was +in me by practice of every kind, especially in writing. Passing over +many things in the year after I was Ædile, I will come to that in +which I was elected first Prætor, to the great delight of the public +generally; for I had gained the good-will of men, partly by my +attention to the causes which I undertook, but specially by a certain +new strain of eloquence, as excellent as it was uncommon, with which +I spoke." Cicero, when he wrote this of himself, was an old man +sixty-two years of age, broken hearted for the loss of his daughter, +to whom it was no doubt allowed among his friends to praise himself +with the garrulity of years, because it was understood that he had +been unequalled in the matter of which he was speaking. It is easy for +us to laugh at his boastings; but the account which he gives of his +early life, and of the manner in which he attained the excellence for +which he had been celebrated, is of value. + + + + +APPENDIX C. + + +(_See_ ch. VI., note [117]) + +There was still prevailing in Rome at this time a strong feeling that +a growing taste for these ornamental luxuries was injurious to the +Republic, undermining its simplicity and weakening its stability. We +are well aware that its simplicity was a thing of the past, and its +stability gone The existence of a Verres is proof that it was so; but +still the feeling remained--and did remain long after the time of +Cicero--that these beautiful things were a sign of decay. We know +how conquering Rome caught the taste for them from conquered Greece. +"Græcia capta ferum victorem cepit, et artes intulit agresti Latio." +[286] Cicero submitted himself to this new captivity readily, but with +apologies, as shown in his pretended abnegation of all knowledge +of art. Two years afterward, in a letter to Atticus, giving him +instructions as to the purchase of statues, he declares that he is +altogether carried away by his longing for such things, but not +without a feeling of shame. "Nam in eo genere sic studio efferimur ut +abs te adjuvandi, ab aliis propre reprehendi simus"[287]--"Though you +will help me, others I know will blame me." The same feeling is +expressed beautifully, but no doubt falsely, by Horace when he +declares, as Cicero had done, his own indifference to such delicacies: + + "Gems, marbles, ivory, Tuscan statuettes, + Pictures, gold plate, Gætulian coverlets, + There are who have not. One there is, I trow, + Who cares not greatly if he has or no."[288] + +Many years afterward, in the time of Tiberius, Velleius Paterculus says +the same when he is telling how ignorant Mummius was of sculpture, who, +when he had taken Corinth, threatened those who had to carry away the +statues from their places, that if they broke any they should be made to +replace them. "You will not doubt, however," the historian says, "that +it would have been better for the Republic to remain ignorant of these +Corinthian gems than to understand them as well as it does now. That +rudeness befitted the public honor better than our present taste."[289] +Cicero understood well enough, with one side of his intelligence, that +as the longing for these things grew in the minds of rich men, as the +leading Romans of the day became devoted to luxury rather than to work, +the ground on which the Republic stood must be sapped. A Marcellus or a +Scipio had taken glory in ornamenting the city. A Verres or even an +Hortensius--even a Cicero--was desirous of beautiful things for his own +house. But still, with the other side of his intelligence, he saw that a +perfect citizen might appreciate art, and yet do his duty, might +appreciate art, and yet save his country. What he did not see was, that +the temptations of luxury, though compatible with virtue, are +antagonistic to it. The camel may be made to go through the eye of the +needle--but it is difficult. + + + + +APPENDIX D. + + +(_See_ ch. VII., note [144]) + +PRO LEGE MANILIA--CA. X., XVI. + +"Utinam, Quirites, virorum fortium, atque innocentium copiam tantam +haberetis, ut hæc vobis deliberatio difficilis esset, quemnam +potissimum tantis rebus ac tanto bello præficiendum putaretis! Nunc +vero cum sit unus Cn. Pompeius, qui non modo eorum hominum, qui nunc +sunt, gloriam, sed etiam antiquitatis memoriam virtute superarit; quæ +res est, quæ cujusquam animum in hac causa dubium facere posset? +Ego enim sic existimo, in summo imperatore quatuor has res inesse +oportere, scientiam rei militaris, virtutem, auctoritatem, +felicitatem. Quis igitur hoc homine scientior umquam aut fuit, aut +esse debuit? qui e ludo, atque pueritiæ disciplina, bello maximo +atque acerrimis hostibus, ad patris exercitum atque in militiæ +disciplinam profectus est? qui extrema pueritia miles fuit summi +imperatoris? ineunte adolescentia maximi ipse exercitus imperator? qui +sæpius cum hoste conflixit, quam quisquam cum inimico concertavit? +plura bella gessit, quam cæteri legerunt? plures provincias confecit, +quam alii concupiverunt? cujus adolescentia ad scientiam rei militaris +non alienis præceptis, sed suis imperiis; non offensionibus belli, +sed victoriis; non stipendiis, sed triumphis est erudita? Quod +denique genus belli esse potest, in quo illum non exercuerit fortuna +reipublicæ? Civile; Africanum; Transalpinum; Hispaniense; mistum +ex civitatibus atque ex bellicosissimis nationibus servile; navale +bellum, varia et diversa genera, et bellorum et hostium, non solum +gesta ab hoc uno, sed etiam confecta, nullam rem esse declarant, in +usu militari positam, quæ hojus viri scientiam fugere posset. + + * * * * * + +"Quare cum et bellum ita necessarium sit, ut negligi non possit; ita +magnum, ut accuratissime sit administrandum; et cum ei imperatorem +præficere possitis, in quo sit eximia belli scientia, singularis +virtus, clarissima auctoritas, egregia fortuna; dubitabitis, Quirites, +quin hoc tantum boni, quod vobis a diis immortalibus oblatum et datum +est, in rempublicam conservandam atque amplificandam conferatis?" + + * * * * * + +"I could wish, Quirites, that there was open to you so large a choice +of men capable at the same time, and honest, that you might find a +difficulty in deciding who might best be selected for command in a +war so momentous as this. But now when Pompey alone has surpassed in +achievements not only those who live, but all of whom we have read in +history, what is there to make any one hesitate in the matter? In my +opinion there are four qualities to be desired in a general--military +knowledge, valor, authority, and fortune. But whoever was or was ever +wanted to be more skilled than this man, who, taken fresh from school +and from the lessons of his boyhood, was subjected to the discipline +of his father's army during one of our severest wars, when our enemies +were strong against us? In his earliest youth he served under our +greatest general. As years went on he was himself in command over +a large army. He has been more frequent in fighting than others in +quarrelling. Few have read of so many battles as he has fought. +He has conquered more provinces than others have desired to pillage. He +learned the art of war not from written precepts, but by his own +practice; not from reverses, but from victories. He does not count his +campaigns, but the triumphs which he has won. What nature of warfare is +there in which the Republic has not used his services? Think of our +Civil war[290]--of our African war[291]--of our war on the other side of +the Alps[292]--of our Spanish wars[293]--of our Servile war[294]--which +was carried on by the energies of so many mighty people--and this +Maritime war.[295] How many enemies had we, how various were our +contests! They were all not only carried through by this one man, but +brought to an end so gloriously as to show that there is nothing in the +practice of warfare which has escaped his knowledge. + + * * * * * + +"Seeing, therefore, that this war cannot be neglected; that its +importance demands the utmost care in its administration; that it +requires a general in whom should be found sure military science, +manifest valor, conspicuous authority, and pre-eminent good +fortune--do you doubt, Quirites, but that you should use the great +blessing which the gods have given you for the preservation and glory +of the Republic?" + + * * * * * + +On reading, however, the piece over again, I almost doubt whether +there be any passages in it which should be selected as superior to +others. + + + + +APPENDIX E. + + +(_See_ ch. XI., note [235]) + +_LUCAN, LIBER I._ + + "O male concordes, nimiaque cupidine cæci, + Quid miscere juvat vires orbemque tenere + In medio." + + "Temporis angusti mansit concordia discors, + Paxque fuit non sponte ducum. Nam sola futuri + Crassus erat belli medius mora. Qualiter undas + Qui secat, et geminum gracilis mare separat isthmos, + Nec patitur conferre fretum; si terra recedat, + Ionium Ægæo frangat mare. Sic, ubi sæva + Arma ducum dirimens, miserando funere Crassus + Assyrias latio maculavit sanguine Carras." + + "Dividitur ferro regnum; populique potentis, + Quæ mare, quæ terras, quæ totum possidet orbem, + Non cepit fortuna duos." + + "Tu nova ne veteres obscurent acta triumphos, + Et victis cedat piratica laurea Gallis, + Magne, times; te jam series, ususque laborum + Erigit, impatiensque loci fortuna secundi. + Nec quemquam jam ferre potest Cæsarve priorem, + Pompeiusve parem. Quis justius induit arma, + Scire nefas; magno se judice quisque tuetur, + Victrix causa deis placuit sed victa, Catoni.[296] + Nec coiere pares; alter vergentibus annis + In senium, longoque togæ tranquillior usu + Dedidicit jam pace ducem; famæque petitor + Multa dare in vulgas; totus popularibus auris + Impelli, plausuque sui gaudere theatri; + Nec reparare novas vires, multumque priori + Credere fortunæ. Stat magni nominis umbra." + + "Sed non in Cæsare tantum + Nomen erat, nec fama ducis; sed nescia virtus + Stare loco; solusque pudor non vincere bello. + Acer et indomitus; quo spes, quoque ira vocasset, + Ferre manum, et nunquam te merando parcere ferro; + Successus urgere suos; instare favori + Numinis."--Lucan, lib. i. + + * * * * * + +"O men so ill-fitted to agree, O men blind with greed, of what service +can it be that you should join your powers, and possess the world +between you?" + +"For a short time the ill-sorted compact lasted, and there was a peace +which each of them abhorred. Crassus alone stood between the others, +hindering for a while the coming war--as an isthmus separates two +waters and forbids sea to meet sea. If the morsel of land gives way, +the Ionian waves and the Ægean dash themselves in foam against each +other. So was it with the arms of the two chiefs when Crassus fell, +and drenched the Assyrian Carræ with Roman blood." + +"Then the possession of the Empire was put to the arbitration of the +sword. The fortunes of a people which possessed sea and earth and the +whole world, were not sufficient for two men." + +"You, Magnus, you, Pompeius, fear lest newer deeds than yours should +make dull your old triumphs, and the scattering of the pirates should +be as nothing to the conquering of Gaul. The practice of many wars has +so exalted you, O Cæsar, that you cannot put up with a second place. +Cæsar will endure no superior; but Pompey will have no equal. Whose +cause was the better the poet dares not inquire! Each will have his +own advocate in history. On the side of the conqueror the gods ranged +themselves. Cato has chosen to follow the conquered. + +"But surely the men were not equal. The one in declining years, who +had already changed his arms for the garb of peace, had unlearned the +general in the statesman--had become wont to talk to the people, +to devote himself to harangues, and to love the applause of his own +theatre. He has not cared to renew his strength, trusting to his old +fortune. There remains of him but the shadow of his great name." + +"The name of Cæsar does not loom so large; nor is his character as a +general so high. But there is a spirit which can content itself with +no achievements; there is but one feeling of shame--that of not +conquering; a man determined, not to be controlled, taking his arms +wherever lust of conquest or anger may call him; a man never sparing +the sword, creating all things from his own good-fortune trusting +always the favors of the gods." + + [1] Froude's Cæsar, p. 444. + + [2] Ibid., p. 428. + + [3] Ad Att., lib. xiii., 28. + + [4] Ad Att., lib. ix., 10. + + [5] Froude, p. 365. + + [6] Ad Att., lib. ii., 5: "Quo quidem uno ego ab istis + capi possum." + + [7] The Cincian law, of which I shall have to speak + again, forbade Roman advocates to take any payment for + their services. Cicero expressly declares that he has + always obeyed that law. He accused others of disobeying + it, as, for instance, Hortensius. But no contemporary + has accused him. Mr. Collins refers to some books which + had been given to Cicero by his friend P[oe]tus. They are + mentioned in a letter to Atticus, lib. i., 20; and + Cicero, joking, says that he has consulted + Cincius--perhaps some descendant of him who made the law + 145 years before--as to the legality of accepting the + present. But we have no reason for supposing that he had + ever acted as an advocate for P[oe]tus. + + [8] Virgil, Æneid, i., 150: + + "Ac, veluti magno in populo quum sæpe coorta est + Seditio, sævitque animis ignobile vulgus; + Jamque faces, et saxa volant; furor arma ministrat: + Tum, pietate gravem ac meritis si forte virum quem + Conspexere, silent, arrectisque auribus adstant; + Iste regit dictis animos, et pectora mulcet." + + [9] The author is saying that a history from Cicero + would have been invaluable, and the words are "interitu + ejus utrum respublica an historia magis doleat." + + [10] Quintilian tells us this, lib. ii., c. 5. The + passage of Livy is not extant. The commentators suppose + it to have been taken from a letter to his son. + + [11] Velleius Paterculus, lib. ii., c. 34. + + [12] Valerius Maximus, lib. iv., c. 2; 4. + + [13] Pliny, Hist. Nat., lib. vii., xxxi., 30. + + [14] Martial, lib. xiv., 188. + + [15] Lucan, lib. vii., 62: + + "Cunctorum voces Romani maximus auctor + Tullius eloquii, cujus sub jure togaque + Pacificas sævus tremuit Catilina secures, + Pertulit iratus bellis, cum rostra forumque + Optaret passus tam longa silentia miles + Addidit invalidæ robur facundia causæ." + + [16] Tacitus, De Oratoribus, xxx. + + [17] Juvenal, viii., 243. + + [18] Demosthenes and Cicero compared. + + [19] Quintilian, xii., 1. + + [20] "Repudiatus vigintiviratus." He refused a position + of official value rendered vacant by the death of one + Cosconius. See Letters to Atticus, 2,19. + + [21] Florus, lib. iv., 1. In a letter from Essex to Foulke + Greville, the writing of which has been attributed to + Bacon by Mr. Spedding, Florus is said simply to have + epitomized Livy (Life, vol. ii., p. 23). In this I think + that Bacon has shorn him of his honors. + + [22] Florus, lib. iv., 1. + + [23] Sallust, Catilinaria, xxiii. + + [24] I will add the concluding passage from the pseudo + declamation, in order that the reader may see the nature + of the words which were put into Sallust's mouth: "Quos + tyrannos appellabas, eorum nunc potentiæ faves; qui + tibi ante optumates videbantur, eosdem nunc dementes ac + furiosos vocas; Vatinii caussam agis, de Sextio male + existumas; Bibulum petulantissumis verbis lædis, laudas + Cæsarem; quem maxume odisti, ei maxume obsequeris. + Aliud stans, aliud sedens, de republica sentis; his + maledicis, illos odisti; levissume transfuga, neque in + hac, neque illa parte fidem habes." Hence Dio Cassius + declared that Cicero had been called a turncoat. [Greek: + kai automalos ônomazeto.] + + [25] Dio Cassius, lib. xlvi., 18: [Greek: pros hên + kai autên toiautas epistolas grapheis hoias an grapseien + anêr skôptolês athuroglôrros ... kai proseti kai to + stoma autou diaballein epecheirêse tosautê aselgeia + kai akatharsia para panta ton bion chrômenos hôste mêde + tôn sungenestatôn apechesthai, alla tên te gunaika + proagôgeuein kai tên thugatera moicheuein.] + + [26] As it happens, De Quincey specially calls Cicero a + man of conscience. "Cicero is one of the very few pagan + statesmen who can be described as a thoroughly + conscientious man," he says. The purport of his + illogical essay on Cicero is no doubt thoroughly hostile + to the man. It is chiefly worth reading on account of + the amusing virulence with which Middleton, the + biographer, is attacked. + + [27] Quintilian, lib. ii., c. 5. + + [28] De Finibus, lib. v., ca. xxii.: "Nemo est igitur, qui + non hanc affectionem animi probet atque laudet." + + [29] De Rep., lib. vi., ca. vii.: "Nihil est enim illi + principi deo, qui omnem hunc mundum regit, quod quidem + in terris fiat acceptius." Tusc. Quest., lib. i., ca. xxx.: + "Vetat enim dominans ille in nobis deus." + + [30] De Rep., lib. vi., ca. vii.: "Certum esse in c[oe]lo + definitum locum, ubi beati ævo sempiterno fruantur." + + [31] Hor., lib. i., Ode xxii., + + "Non rura quæ; Liris quieta + Mordet aqua taciturnus amnis." + + [32] Such was the presumed condition of things at Rome. + By the passing of a special law a plebeian might, and + occasionally did, become patrician. The patricians had + so nearly died out in the time of Julius Cæsar that he + introduced fifty new families by the Lex Cassia. + + [33] De Orat., lib. ii., ca. 1. + + [34] Brutus, ca. lxxxix. + + [35] It should be remembered that in Latin literature it + was the recognized practice of authors to borrow + wholesale from the Greek, and that no charge of + plagiarism attended such borrowing. Virgil, in taking + thoughts and language from Homer, was simply supposed to + have shown his judgment in accommodating Greek delights + to Roman ears and Roman intellects. + + The idea as to literary larceny is of later date, and + has grown up with personal claims for originality and + with copyright. Shakspeare did not acknowledge whence he + took his plots, because it was unnecessary. Now, if a + writer borrow a tale from the French, it is held that he + ought at least to owe the obligation, or perhaps even + pay for it. + + [36] Juvenal, Sat. x., 122, + + "O fortunatam natam me Consule Romam! + Antoni gladios potuit contemnere, si sic + Omnia dixisset." + + [37] De Leg., lib. i., ca. 1. + + [38] Life and Times of Henry Lord Brougham, written by + himself, vol. i., p. 58. + + [39] I give the nine versions to which I allude in an + Appendix A, at the end of this volume, so that those + curious in such matters may compare the words in which + the same picture has been drawn by various hands. + + [40] Pro Archia, ca. vii. + + [41] Brutus, ca. xc. + + [42] Tacitus, De Oratoribus, xxx. + + [43] Quintilian, lib. xii., c. vi., who wrote about the + same time as this essayist, tells us of these three + instances of early oratory, not, however, specifying the + exact age in either case. He also reminds us that + Demosthenes pleaded when he was a boy, and that Augustus + at the age of twelve made a public harangue in honor of + his grandmother. + + [44] Brutus, ca. xc. + + [45] Brutus, xci. + + [46] Quintilian, lib. xii., vi.: "Quum jam clarum + meruisset inter patronos, qui tum erant, nomen, in Asiam + navigavit, seque et aliis sine dubio eloquentiæ ac + sapientiæ magistris, sed præcipue tamen Apollonio + Moloni, quem Romæ quoque audierat, Rhodi rursus + formandum ac velut recognendum dedit." + + [47] Brutus, xci. + + [48] The total correspondence contains 817 letters, of + which 52 were written to Cicero, 396 were written by + Cicero to Atticus, and 369 by Cicero to his friends in + general. We have no letters from Atticus to Cicero. + + [49] Quintilian, lib. x., ca. 1. + + [50] Clemens of Alexandria, in his exhortation to the + Gentiles, is very severe upon the iniquities of these + rites. "All evil be to him," he says, "who brought them + into fashion, whether it was Dardanus, or Eetion the + Thracian, or Midas the Phrygian." The old story which he + repeats as to Ceres and Proserpine may have been true, + but he was altogether ignorant of the changes which the + common-sense of centuries had produced. + + [51] De Legibus, lib. ii., c. xiv. + + [52] It was then that the foreign empire commenced, in + ruling which the simplicity and truth of purpose and + patriotism of the Republic were lost. + + [53] The reverses of fortune to which Marius was + subjected, how he was buried up to his neck in the mud, + hiding in the marshes of Minturnæ, how he would have + been killed by the traitorous magistrates of that city + but that he quelled the executioners by the fire of his + eyes; how he sat and glowered, a houseless exile, among + the ruins of Carthage--all which things happened to him + while he was running from the partisans of Sulla--are + among the picturesque episodes of history. There is a + tragedy called the _Wounds of Civil War_, written by + Lodge, who was born some eight years before Shakspeare, + in which the story of Marius is told with some exquisite + poetry, but also with some ludicrous additions. The Gaul + who is hired to kill Marius, but is frightened by his + eyes, talks bad French mingled with bad English, and + calls on Jesus in his horror! + + [54] Brutus, ca. xc. + + [55] Florus tells us that there were 2000 Senators and + Knights, but that any one was allowed to kill just whom + he would. "Quis autem illos potest computare quos in + urbe passim quisquis voluit occidit" (lib. iii., ca. + 21). + + [56] About £487 10_s._ In Smith's Dictionary of Greek and + Roman Antiquities the Attic talent is given as being + worth £243 15_s._ Mommsen quotes the price as 12,000 + denarii, which would amount to about the same sum. + + [57] Suetonius speaks of his death. Florus mentions the + proscriptions and abdication. Velleius Paterculus is + eloquent in describing the horrors of the massacres and + confiscation. Dio Cassius refers again and again to the + Sullan cruelty. But none of them give a reason for the + abdication of Sulla. + + [58] Vol. iii., p. 386. I quote from Mr. Dickson's + translation, as I do not read German. + + [59] In defending Roscius Amerinus, while Sulla was + still in power, he speaks of the Sullan massacres as + "pugna Cannensis," a slaughter as foul, as disgraceful, + as bloody as had been the defeat at Cannæ. + + [60] Mommsen, vol. iii., p. 385. + + [61] Pro Sexto Roscio, ca. xxi.: "Quod antea causam + publicam nullam dixerim." He says also in the Brutus, + ca. xc., "Itaque prima causa publica, pro Sex. Roscio + dicta." By "publica causa" he means a criminal + accusation in distinction from a civil action. + + [62] Pro Publio Quintio, ca. i.: "Quod mihi consuevit in + ceteris causis esse adjumento, id quoque in hac causa + deficit." + + [63] Pro Publio Quintio, ca. xxi.: "Nolo eam rem + commemorando renovare, cujus omnino rei memoriam omnem + tolli funditus ac deleri arbitror oportere." + + [64] Pro Roscio, ca. xlix. Cicero says of him that he + would be sure to suppose that anything would have been + done according to law of which he should be told that it + was done by Sulla's order. "Putat homo imperitus morum, + agricola et rusticus, ista omnia, quæ vos per Sullam + gesta esse dicitis, more, lege, jure gentium facta." + + [65] Pro Sexto Roscio, ca. 1. + + [66] Pro Sexto Roscio, ca. xxix.: "Ejusmodi tempus erat, + inquit, ut homines vulgo impune occiderentur." + + [67] Pro T. A. Milone, ca. xxi.: "Cur igitur cos + manumisit? Metuebat scilicit ne indicarent; ne dolorem + perferre non possent." + + [68] Pro T. A. Milone, ca. xxii.: "Heus tu, Ruscio, verbi + gratia, cave sis mentiaris. Clodius insidias fecit + Miloni? Fecit. Certa crux. Nullas fecit. Sperata + libertas." + + [69] Pro Sexto Roscio, ca. xxviii. + + [70] Ibid. + + [71] Ibid., ca. xxxi. + + [72] Pro Sexto Roscio, ca. xlv. + + [73] Pro Sexto Roscio, ca. xlvi. The whole picture of + Chrysogonus, of his house, of his luxuries, and his + vanity, is too long for quotation, but is worth + referring to by those who wish to see how bold and how + brilliant Cicero could be. + + [74] They put in tablets of wax, on which they recorded + their judgment by inscribing letter, C, A, or + NL--Condemno, Absolvo, or Non liquet--intending to show + that the means of coming to a decision did not seem to + be sufficient. + + [75] Quintilian tells us, lib. x., ca. vii., that Cicero's + speeches as they had come to his day had been + abridged--by which he probably means only arranged--by + Tiro, his slave and secretary and friend. "Nam Ciceronis + ad præsens modo tempus aptatos libertus Tiro + contraxit." + + [76] Quintilian, lib. xi., ca. iii.: "Nam et toga, et + calecus, et capillus, tam nimia cura, quam negligentia, + sunt reprehendenda." * * * "Sinistrum brachium eo usque + allevandum est, ut quasi normalem illum angulum faciat." + Quint., lib. xii., ca. x., "ne hirta toga sit;" don't let + the toga be rumpled; "non serica:" the silk here + interdicted was the silk of effeminacy, not that silk of + authority of which our barristers are proud. "Ne + intonsum caput; non in gradus atque annulos comptum." It + would take too much space were I to give here all the + lessons taught by this professor of deportment as to the + wearing of the toga. + + [77] A doubt has been raised whether he was not married + when he went to Greece, as otherwise his daughter would + seem to have become a wife earlier than is probable. The + date, however, has been generally given as it is stated + here. + + [78] Tacitus, Annal., xi., 5, says, "Qua cavetur + antiquitus, ne quis, ob causam orandam, pecuniam donumve + accipiat." + + [79] De Off., lib. i., ca. xlii.: "Sordidi etiam putandi, + qui mercantur a mercatoribus, quod statim vendant. Nihil + enim proficiunt, nisi admodum mentiantur." + + [80] De Off., lib. i., ca. xlii.: "Primum improbantur ii + quæstus, qui in odia hominum incurrunt: ut portitorum + ut f[oe]neratorum." The Portitores were inferior + collectors of certain dues, stationed at seaports, who + are supposed to have been extremely vexatious in their + dealings with the public. + + [81] Philipp., 11-16. + + [82] Let any who doubt this statement refer to the fate + of the inhabitants of Alesia and Uxellodunum. Cæsar did + not slay or torture for the sake of cruelty, but was + never deterred by humanity when expediency seemed to him + to require victims. Men and women, old and young, many + or few, they were sacrificed without remorse if his + purpose required it. + + [83] Pro Pub. Quintio, ca. xxv. + + [84] See Appendix B, Brutus, ca. xcii., xciii. + + [85] Brutus, ca. xciii.: "Animos hominum ad me dicendi + novitate converteram." + + [86] It must be remembered that this advice was actually + given when Cicero subsequently became a candidate for + the Consulship, but it is mentioned here as showing the + manner in which were sought the great offices of State. + + [87] Cicero speaks of Sicily as divided into two + provinces, "Quæstores utriusque provinciæ." There was, + however, but one Prætor or Proconsul. But the island + had been taken by the Romans at two different times. + Lilybæum and the west was obtained from the + Carthaginians at the end of the first Punic war, + whereas, Syracuse was conquered by Marcellus and + occupied during the second Punic war. + + [88] Tacitus, Ann., lib. xi., ca. xxii.: "Post, lege + Sullæ, viginti creati supplendo senatui, cui judicia + tradiderat." + + [89] De Legibus, iii., xii. + + [90] Pro P. Sexto, lxv. + + [91] Pro Cluentio, lvi. + + [92] Contra Verrem, Act. iv., ca. xi.: "Ecquæ civitas + est, non modo in provinciis nostris, verum etiam in + ultimis nationibus, aut tam potens, aut tam libera, aut + etiam am immanis ac barbara; rex denique ecquis est, qui + senatorem populi Romani tecto ac domo non invitet?" + + [93] Contra Verrem, Act. i., ca. xiii.: "Omnia non modo + commemorabuntur, sed etiam, expositis certis rebus, + agentur, quæ inter decem annos, posteaquam judicia ad + senatum translata sunt, in rebus judicandis nefarie + flagitioseque facta sunt." + + Pro Cluentio, lvi.: "Locus, auctoritas, domi splendor, + apud exteras nationes nomen et gratia, toga prætexta, + sella curulis, insignia, fasces, exercitus, imperia, + provincia." + + [94] Contra Verrem, Act. i., ca. xviii.: "Quadringenties + sestertium ex Sicilia contra leges abstulisse." In + Smith's Dictionary of Grecian and Roman Antiquities we + are told that a thousand sesterces is equal in our money + to £8 17_s._ 1_d._ Of the estimated amount of this plunder + we shall have to speak again. + + [95] Pro Plancio, xxvi. + + [96] Pro Plancio, xxvi. + + [97] M. du Rozoir was a French critic, and was joined + with M. Guéroult and M. de Guerle in translating and + annotating the Orations of Cicero for M. Panckoucke's + edition of the Latin classics. + + [98] In Verrem Actio Secunda, lib. i., vii. + + [99] Plutarch says that Cæcilius was an emancipated + slave, and a Jew, which could not have been true, as he + was a Roman Senator. + + [100] De Oratore, lib. ii., c. xlix. The feeling is + beautifully expressed in the words put into the mouth of + Antony in the discussion on the charms and attributes of + eloquence: "Qui mihi in liberum loco more majorum esse + deberet." + + [101] In Q. Cæc. Divinatio, ca. ii. + + [102] Divinatio, ca. iii. + + [103] Ibid., ca. vi. + + [104] Ibid., ca. viii. + + [105] Divinatio, ca. ix. + + [106] Ibid., ca. xi. + + [107] Ibid. + + [108] Ibid., ca. xii. + + [109] Actio Secunda, lib. ii., xl. He is speaking of + Sthenius, and the illegality of certain proceedings on + the part of Verres against him. "If an accused man could + be condemned in the absence of the accuser, do you think + that I would have gone in a little boat from Vibo to + Velia, among all the dangers prepared for me by your + fugitive slaves and pirates, when I had to hurry at the + peril of my life, knowing that you would escape if I + were not present to the day?" + + [110] Actio Secunda, l. xxi. + + [111] In Verrem, Actio Prima, xvi. + + [112] In Verrem, Actio Prima, xvi. + + [113] We are to understand that the purchaser at the + auction having named the sum for which he would do the + work, the estate of the minor, who was responsible for + the condition of the temple, was saddled with that + amount. + + [114] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. ii., vii. + + [115] Ibid., ix. + + [116] Ibid., lib. ii., xiv. + + [117] See Appendix C. + + [118] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. ii., ca. xxxvi. + + [119] Ibid. "Una nox intercesserat, quam iste Dorotheum + sic diligebat, ut diceres, omnia inter eos esse + communia."--wife and all. "Iste" always means Verres in + these narratives. + + [120] These were burning political questions of the + moment. It was as though an advocate of our days should + desire some disgraced member of Parliament to go down to + the House and assist the Government in protecting Turkey + in Asia and invading Zululand. + + [121] "Sit in ejus exercitu signifer." The "ejus" was + Hortensius, the coming Consul, too whom Cicero intended + to be considered as pointing. For the passage, see In + Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. ii., xxxi. + + [122] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. iii., 11. + + [123] "Exegi monumentum ære perennius," said Horace, + gloriously. "Sum pius Æneas" is Virgil's expression, + put into the mouth of his hero. "Ipse Menaleas," said + Virgil himself. Homer and Sophocles introduce their + heroes with self-sounded trumpetings: + + [Greek: Eim' Odysseus Daertiadês hos pasi doloisi + Anthrôpoisi melô, kai meu kleos ouranon ikei.] + Odyssey, book ix., 19 and 20. + + [Greek: Ho pasi kleinos Oidipous kaloumenos.] + [OE]dipus Tyrannus, 8. + + [124] Pro Plancio, xxvi.: "Frumenti in summa caritate + maximum numerum miseram; negotiatoribus comis, + mercatoribus justus, municipibus liberalis, sociis + abstinens, omnibus eram visus in omni officio + diligentissimus." + + [125] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. iii., ix.: "Is erit + Apronius ille; qui, ut ipse non solum vita, sed etiam + corpore atque ore significat, immensa aliqua vorago est + ac gurges vitiorum turpitudinumque omnium. Hunc in + omnibus stupris, hunc in fanorum expilationibus, hunc in + impuris conviviis principem adhibebat; tantamque + habebat morum similitudo conjunctionem atque concordiam, + ut Apronius, qui aliis inhumanus ac barbarus, isti uni + commodus ac disertus videretur; ut quem omnes odissent + neque videre vellent sine eo iste esse non posset; ut + quum alii ne conviviis quidem iisdem quibus Apronius, + hic iisdem etiam poculis uteretur, postremo, ut, odor + Apronii teterrimus oris et corporis, quem, ut aiunt, ne + bestiæ quidem ferre possent, uni isti suavis et + jucundus videretur. Ille erat in tribunali proximus; in + cubiculo socius; in convivio dominus, ac tum maxime, + quum, accubante prætextato prætoris filio, in convivio + saltare nudus c[oe]perat." + + [126] A great deal is said of the _Cybea_ in this and + the last speech. The money expended on it was passed + through the accounts as though the ship had been built + for the defence of the island from pirates, but it was + intended solely for the depository of the governor's + plunder. + + [127] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. iv., vii. + + [128] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. iv., lvii. + + [129] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. v., lxvi.: "Facinus + est vinciri civem Romanum; scelus verberari; prope + parricidium necari; quid dicam in crucem tollere!" + + [130] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. v., lxv. + + [131] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. v., xx.: "Onere suo + plane captam atque depressam." + + [132] In Verrem, Actio Secunda, lib. v., xxvi. + + [133] Ibid., xxviii. + + [134] Pro Fonteio, xiii. + + [135] De Oratore, lib. ii., lix.: "Perspicitis, hoc genus + quam sit facetum, quam elegans, quam oratorium, sive + habeas vere, quod narrare possis, quod tamen, est + mendaciunculis aspergendum, sive fingas." Either invent + a story, or if you have an old one, add on something so + as to make it really funny. Is there a parson, a bishop, + an archbishop, who, if he have any sense of humor about + him, does not do the same? + + [136] Cicero, Pro Cluentio, l., explains very clearly + his own idea as to his own speeches as an advocate, and + may be accepted, perhaps, as explaining the ideas of + barristers of to-day. "He errs," he says, "who thinks + that he gets my own opinions in speeches made in law + courts; such speeches are what the special cases + require, and are not to be taken as coming from the + advocate as his own." + + [137] When the question is discussed, we are forced + rather to wonder how many of the great historical doings + of the time are not mentioned, or are mentioned very + slightly, in Cicero's letters. Of Pompey's treatment of + the pirates, and of his battling in the East, little or + nothing is said, nothing of Cæsar's doings in Spain. + Mention is made of Cæsar's great operations in Gaul + only in reference to the lieutenancy of Cicero's brother + Quintus, and to the employment of his young friend + Trebatius. Nothing is said of the manner of Cæsar's + coming into Rome after passing the Rubicon; nothing of + the manner of fighting at Dyrrachium and Pharsalia; very + little of the death of Pompey; nothing of Cæsar's delay + in Egypt. The letters deal with Cicero's personal doings + and thoughts, and with the politics of Rome as a city. + The passage to which allusion is made occurs in the life + of Atticus, ca. xvi: "Quæ qui legat non multum + desideret historiam contextam illorum temporum." + + [138] Jean George Greefe was a German, who spent his + life as a professor at Leyden, and, among other + classical labors, arranged and edited the letters of + Cicero. He died in 1703. + + [139] It must be explained, however, that continued + research and increased knowledge have caused the order + of the letters, and the dates assigned to them, to be + altered from time to time; and, though much has been + done to achieve accuracy, more remains to be done. In my + references to the letters I at first gave them, both to + the arrangement made by Grævius and to the numbers + assigned in the edition I am using; but I have found + that the numbers would only mislead, as no numbering has + been yet adopted as fixed. Arbitrary and even fantastic + as is the arrangement of Grævius, it is better to + confine myself to that because it has been acknowledged, + and will enable my readers to find the letters if they + wish to do so. Should Mr. Tyrrell continue and complete + his edition of the correspondence, he will go far to + achieve the desired accuracy. A second volume has + appeared since this work of mine has been in the press. + + [140] The peculiarities of Cicero's character are + nowhere so clearly legible as in his dealings with and + words about his daughter. There is an effusion of love, + and then of sorrow when she dies, which is un-Roman, + almost feminine, but very touching. + + [141] I annex a passage from our well known English + translation: "The power of the pirates had its + foundation in Cilicia. Their progress was the more + dangerous, because at first it had been but little + noticed. In the Mithridatic war they assumed new + confidence and courage, on account of some services + which they had rendered the king. After this, the Romans + being engaged in civil war at the very gates of their + capital, the sea was left unguarded, and the pirates by + degrees attempted higher things--not only attacking + ships, but islands and maritime towns. Many persons + distinguished for their wealth, birth and capacity + embarked with them, and assisted in their depredations, + as if their employment had been worthy the ambition of + men of honor. They had in various places arsenals, + ports, and watch-towers, all strongly fortified. Their + fleets were not only extremely well manned, supplied + with skilful pilots, and fitted for their business by + their lightness and celerity, but there was a parade of + vanity about them, more mortifying than their strength, + in gilded sterns, purple canopies, and plated oars, as + if they took a pride and triumphed in their villany. + Music resounded, and drunken revels were exhibited on + every coast. Here generals were made prisoners; and + there the cities which the pirates had seized upon were + paying their ransom, to the great disgrace of the Roman + power. The number of their galleys amounted to a + thousand, and the cities taken to four hundred." The + passage is taken from the life of Pompey. + + [142] Florus, lib. iii., 6: "An felicitatem, quod ne una + cuidam navis amissa est; an vero perpetuitatem, quod + amplius piratæ non fuerunt." + + [143] Of the singular trust placed in Pompey there are + very many proofs in the history of Rome at this period, + but none, perhaps, clearer than the exception made in + this favor in the wording of laws. In the agrarian law + proposed by the Tribune Rullus, and opposed by Cicero + when he was Consul, there is a clause commanding all + Generals under the Republic to account for the spoils + taken by them in war. But there is a special exemption + in favor of Pompey. "Pompeius exceptus esto." It is as + though no Tribune dared to propose a law affecting + Pompey. + + [144] See Appendix D. + + [145] Asconius Pedianus was a grammarian who lived in + the reign of Tiberius, and whose commentaries on + Cicero's speeches, as far as they go, are very useful in + explaining to us the meaning of the orator. We have his + notes on these two Cornelian orations and some others, + especially on that of Pro Milone. There are also + commentaries on some of the Verrine orations--not by + Asconius, but from the pen of some writer now called + Pseudo-Asconius, having been long supposed to have come + from Asconius. They, too, go far to elucidate much which + would otherwise be dark to us. + + [146] Quint., lib. viii., 3. The critic is explaining the + effect of ornament in oratory--of that beauty of + language which with the people has more effect than + argument--and he breaks forth himself into perhaps the + most eloquent passage in the whole Institute: "Cicero, + in pleading for Cornelius, fought with arms which were + as splendid as they were strong. It was not simply by + putting the facts before the judges, by talking + usefully, in good language and clearly, that he + succeeded in forcing the Roman people to acknowledge by + their voices and by their hands their admiration; it was + the grandeur of his words, their magnificence, their + beauty, their dignity, which produced that outburst." + + [147] Orator., lxvii. and lxx. + + [148] De Lege Agraria, ii., 2: "Meis comitiis non + tabellam, vindicem tacitæ libertatis, sed vocem vivam + præ vobis, indicem vestrarum erga me voluntatum ac + studiorum tulistis. Itaque me * * * una voce universus + populus Romanus consulem declaravit." + + [149] Sall., Conj. Catilinaria, xxi.: "Petere consulatum + C. Antonium, quem sibi collegam fore speraret, hominem + et familiarem, et omnibus necessitudinibus + circumventum." Sallust would no doubt have put anything + into Catiline's mouth which would suit his own purpose; + but it was necessary for his purpose that he should + confine himself to credibilities. + + [150] Cicero himself tells us that many short-hand + writers were sent by him--"Plures librarii," as he calls + them--to take down the words of the Agrarian law which + Rullus proposed. De Lege Agra., ii., 5. Pliny, + Quintilian, and Martial speak of these men as Notarii. + Martial explains the nature of their business: + + "Currant verba licet, manus est velocior illis; + Nondum lingua suum, dextra peregit opus."--xiv., 208. + + [151]Ad Att., ii., 1. "Oratiunculas," he calls them. It + would seem here that he pretends to have preserved these + speeches only at the request of some admiring young + friends. Demosthenes, of course, was the + "fellow-citizen," so called in badinage, because + Atticus, deserting Rome, lived much at Athens. + + [152] This speech, which has been lost, was addressed to + the people with the view of reconciling them to a law in + accordance with which the Equites were entitled to + special seats in the theatre. It was altogether + successful. + + [153] This, which is extant, was spoken in defence of an + old man who was accused of a political homicide + thirty-seven years before--of having killed, that is, + Saturninus the Tribune. Cicero was unsuccessful, but + Rabirius was saved by the common subterfuge of an + interposition of omens. There are some very fine + passages in this oration. + + [154] This has been lost. Cicero, though he acknowledged + the iniquity of Sulla's proscriptions, showed that their + effects could not now be reversed without further + revolutions. He gained his point on this occasion. + + [155] This has been lost. Cicero, in accordance with the + practice of the time, was entitled to the government of + a province when ceasing to be Consul. The rich province + of Macedonia fell to him by lot, but he made it over to + his colleague Antony, thus purchasing, if not Antony's + co-operation, at any rate his quiescence, in regard to + Catiline. He also made over the province of Gaul, which + then fell to his lot, to Metellus, not wishing to leave + the city. All this had to be explained to the people. + + [156] It will be seen that he also defended Rabirius in + his consular year, but had thought fit to include that + among his consular speeches. Some doubt has been thrown, + especially by Mr. Tyrrell, on the genuineness of + Cicero's letter giving the list of his "oratiunculas + consulares," because the speeches Pro Murena and Pro + Pisone are omitted, and as containing some "rather + un-Ciceronian expressions." My respect for Mr. Tyrrell's + scholarship and judgment is so great that I hardly dare + to express an opinion contrary to his; but I should be + sorry to exclude a letter so Ciceronian in its feeling. + And if we are to have liberty to exclude without + evidence, where are we to stop? + + [157] Corn. Nepo., Epaminondas, I.: "We know that with + us" (Romans) "music is foreign to the employments of a + great man. To dance would amount to a vice. But these + things among the Greeks are not only pleasant but + praiseworthy." + + [158] Conj. Catilinaria, xxv. + + [159] Horace, Epis. i., xvii.: + + "Si sciret regibus uti + Fastidiret olus qui me notat." + + [160] Pro Murena, xxix. + + [161] Pro Murena, x. This Sulpicius was afterward Consul + with M. Marcellus, and in the days of the Philippics was + sent as one of a deputation to Antony. He died while on + the journey. He is said to have been a man of excellent + character, and a thorough-going conservative. + + [162] Pro Murena, xi. + + [163] Ibid., xi. + + [164] Ibid., xii. + + [165] Ibid., xiii. + + [166] Ibid., xi. + + [167] Pro Cluentio, 1. + + [168] De Lege Agraria, ii., 5. + + [169] He alludes here to his own colleague Antony, whom + through his whole year of office he had to watch lest + the second Consul should join the enemies whom he + fears--should support Rullus or go over to Catiline. + With this view, choosing the lesser of the two evils, he + bribes Antony with the government of Macedonia. + + [170] De Lege Agraria, i., 7 and 8. + + [171] The "jus imaginis" belonged to those whose + ancestors was counted an Ædile, a Prætor, or a Consul. + The descendants of such officers were entitled to have + these images, whether in bronze, or marble, or wax, + carried at the funerals of their friends. + + [172] Forty years since, Marius who was also "novus + homo," and also, singularly enough, from Arpinum, had + been made Consul, but not with the glorious + circumstances as now detailed by Cicero. + + [173] De Lege Agraria, ii., 1, 2, and 3. + + [174] See Introduction. + + [175] Pliny the elder, Hist. Nat., lib. vii., ca. xxxi. + + [176] The word is "proscripsisti," "you proscribed him." + For the proper understanding of this, the bearing of + Cicero toward Antony during the whole period of the + Philippics must be considered. + + [177] Catiline, by Mr. Beesly. Fortnightly Review, 1865. + + [178] Pro Murena, xxv.: "Quem omnino vivum illinc exire + non oportuerat." I think we must conclude from this that + Cicero had almost expected that his attack upon the + conspirators, in his first Catiline oration, would have + the effect of causing him to be killed. + + [179] Æneid, viii., 668: + + "Te, Catilina, minaci + Pendentem scopulo." + + [180] Velleius Paterculus, lib. ii., xxxiv. + + [181] Juvenal, Sat. ii., 27: "Catilina Cethegum!" Could + such a one as Catiline answer such a one as Cethegus? + Sat. viii., 232: "Arma tamen vos Nocturna et flammas + domibus templisque parastis." Catiline, in spite of his + noble blood, had endeavored to burn the city. Sat. xiv., + 41: "Catilinam quocunque in populo videas." It is hard + to find a good man, but it is easy enough to put your + hand anywhere on a Catiline. + + [182] Val Maximus, lib. v., viii., 5; lib. ix., 1, 9; + lib. ix., xi., 3. + + [183] Florus, lib. iv. + + [184] Mommsen's History of Rome, book v., chap v. + + [185] I feel myself constrained here to allude to the + treatment given to Catiline by Dean Merivale in his + little work on the two Roman Triumvirates. The Dean's + sympathies are very near akin to those of Mr. Beesly, + but he values too highly his own historical judgment to + allow it to run on all fours with Mr. Beesly's + sympathies. "The real designs," he says, "of the + infamous Catiline and his associates must indeed always + remain shrouded in mystery. * * * Nevertheless, it is + impossible to deny, and on the whole it would be + unreasonable to doubt, that such a conspiracy there + really was, and that the very existence of the + commonwealth was for a moment seriously imperilled." It + would certainly be unreasonable to doubt it. But the + Dean, though he calls Catiline infamous, and + acknowledges the conspiracy, nevertheless give us ample + proof of his sympathy with the conspirators, or rather + of his strong feeling against Cicero. Speaking of + Catiline at a certain moment, he says that he "was not + yet hunted down." He speaks of the "upstart Cicero," and + plainly shows us that his heart is with the side which + had been Cæsar's. Whether conspiracy or no conspiracy, + whether with or without wholesale murder and rapine, a + single master with a strong hand was the one remedy + needed for Rome! The reader must understand that + Cicero's one object in public life was to resist that + lesson. + + [186] Asconius, "In toga candida," reports that + Fenestella, a writer of the time of Augustus, had + declared that Cicero had defended Catiline; but Asconius + gives his reasons for disbelieving the story. + + [187] Cicero, however, declares that he has made a + difference between traitors to their country and other + criminals. Pro P. Sulla, ca. iii.: "Verum etiam quædam + contagio sceleris, si defendas eum, quem obstrictum esse + patriæ parricidio suspicere." Further on in the same + oration, ca. vi., he explains that he had refused to + defend Autronius because he had known Autronius to be a + conspirator against his country. I cannot admit the + truth of the argument in which Mr. Forsyth defends the + practice of the English bar in this respect, and in + doing so presses hard upon Cicero. "At Rome," he says, + "it was different. The advocate there was conceived to + have a much wider discretion than we allow." Neither in + Rome nor in England has the advocate been held to be + disgraced by undertaking the defence of bad men who have + been notoriously guilty. What an English barrister may + do, there was no reason that a Roman advocate should not + do, in regard to simple criminality. Cicero himself has + explained in the passage I have quoted how the Roman + practice did differ from ours in regard to treason. He + has stated also that he knew nothing of the first + conspiracy when he offered to defend Catiline on the + score of provincial peculations. No writer has been + heavy on Hortensius for defending Verres, but only + because he took bribes from Verres. + + [188] Publius Cornelius Sulla, and Publius Autronius + P[oe]tus. + + [189] Pro P. Sulla, iv. He declares that he had known + nothing of the first conspiracy and gives the reason: + "Quod nondum penitus in republica versabar, quod nondum + ad propositum mihi finem honoris perveneram, quod mea me + ambitio et forensis labor ab omni illa cogitatione + abstrahebat." + + [190] Sallust, Catilinaria, xviii. + + [191] Livy, Epitome, lib. ci. + + [192] Suetonius, J. Cæsar, ix. + + [193] Mommsen, book v., ca. v., says of Cæsar and + Crassus as to this period, "that this notorious action + corresponds with striking exactness to the secret action + which this report ascribes to them." By which he means + to imply that they probably were concerned in the plot. + + [194] Sallust tells us, Catilinaria, xlix., that Cicero + was instigated by special enemies of Cæsar to include + Cæsar in the accusation, but refused to mix himself up + in so great a crime. Crassus also was accused, but + probably wrongfully. Sallust declares that an attempt + was made to murder Cæsar as he left the Senate. There + was probably some quarrel and hustling, but no more. + + [195] Sallust, Catilinaria, xxxvii.: "Omnino cuncta + plebes, novarum rerum studio, Catilinæ incepta + probabat." By the words "novarum rerum studio"--by a love + of revolution--we can understand the kind of popularity + which Sallust intended to express. + + [196] Pro Murena, xxv. + + [197] "Darent operam consules ne quid detrimenti + respublica capiat." + + [198] Catilinaria, xxxi. + + [199] Quintilian, lib. xii., 10: "Quem tamen et suorum + homines temporum incessere audebant, ut tumidiorem, et + asianum, et redundantem." + + [200] Orator., xxxvii.: "A nobis homo audacissimus + Catilina in senatu accusatus obmutuit." + + [201] 2 Catilinaria, xxxi. + + [202] In the first of them to the Senate, chap. ix., he + declares this to Catiline himself: "Si mea voce + perterritus ire in exsilium animum induxeris, quanta + tempestas invidiæ nobis, si minus in præsens tempus, + recenti memoria scelerum tuorum, at in posteritatem + impendeat." He goes on to declare that he will endure + all that, if by so doing he can save the Republic. "Sed + est mihi tanti; dummodo ista privata sit calamitas, et a + reipublicæ periculis sejungatur." + + [203] Sallust, Catilinaria, xli.: "Itaque Q. Fabio + Sangæ cujus patrocinio civitas plurimum utebatur rem + omnem uti cognoverant aperiunt." + + [204] Horace, Epo. xvi., 6: "Novisque rebus infidelis + Allobrox." The unhappy Savoyard has from this line been + known through ages as a conspirator, false even to his + fellow-conspirators. + + Juvenal, vii., 214: "Rufum qui toties Ciceronem + Allobroga dixit." Some Rufus, acting as advocate, had + thought to put down Cicero by calling him an + Allobrogian. + + [205] The words in which this honor was conferred he + himself repeats: "Quod urbem incendiis, cæde cives, + Italiam bello liberassem"--"because I had rescued the + city from fire, the citizens from slaughter, and Italy + from war." + + [206] It is necessary in all oratory to read something + between the lines. It is allowed to the speaker to + produce effect by diminishing and exaggerating. I think + we should detract something from the praises bestowed on + Catiline's military virtues. The bigger Catiline could + be made to appear, the greater would be the honor of + having driven him out of the city. + + [207] In Catilinam, iii., xi. + + [208] In Catilinam, ibid., xii.: "Ne mihi noceant + vestrum est providere." + + [209] "Prince of the Senate" was an honorary title, + conferred on some man of mark as a dignity--at this + period on some ex-Consul; it conferred no power. Cicero, + the Consul who had convened the Senate, called on the + speakers as he thought fit. + + [210] Cæsar, according to Sallust, had referred to the + Lex Porcia. Cicero alludes, and makes Cæsar allude, to + the Lex Sempronia. The Porcian law, as we are told by + Livy, was passed B.C. 299, and forbade that a Roman + should be scourged or put to death. The Lex Sempronia + was introduced by C. Gracchus, and enacted that the life + of a citizen should not be taken without the voice of + the citizens. + + [211] Velleius Paterculus, xxxvi.: "Consulatui Ciceronis + non mediocre adjecit decus natus eo anno Divus + Augustus." + + [212] In Pisonem, iii.: "Sine ulla dubitatione juravi + rempublicam atque hanc urbem mea unius opera esse + salvam." + + [213] Dio Cassius tells the same story, lib. xxxvii., + ca. 38, but he adds that Cicero was more hated than ever + because of the oath he took: [Greek: kai ho men kai ek + toutou poly mallon emisêthê.] + + [214] It is the only letter given in the collection as + having been addressed direct to Pompey. In two letters + written some years later to Atticus, B.C. 49, lib. + viii., 11, and lib. viii., 12, he sends copies of a + correspondence between himself and Pompey and two of the + Pompeian generals. + + [215] Lib. v., 7. It is hardly necessary to explain that + the younger Scipio and Lælius were as famous for their + friendship as Pylades and Orestes. The "Virtus Scipiadæ + et mitis sapientia Læli" have been made famous to us + all by Horace. + + [216] These two brothers, neither of whom was remarkable + for great qualities, though they were both to be + Consuls, were the last known of the great family of the + Metelli, a branch of the "Gens Cæcilia." Among them had + been many who had achieved great names for themselves in + Roman history, on account of the territories added to + the springing Roman Empire by their victories. There had + been a Macedonicus, a Numidicus, a Balearicus, and a + Creticus. It is of the first that Velleius Paterculus + sings the glory--lib. i., ca. xi., and the elder Pliny + repeats the story, Hist. Nat., vii., 44--that of his + having been carried to the grave by four sons, of whom + at the time of his death three had been Consuls, one had + been a Prætor, two had enjoyed triumphal honors, and + one had been Censor. In looking through the consular + list of Cicero's lifetime, I find that there were no + less than seven taken from the family of the Metelli. + These two brothers, Metellus Nepos and Celer, again + became friends to Cicero; Nepos, who had stopped his + speech and assisted in forcing him into exile, having + assisted as Consul in obtaining his recall from exile. + It is very difficult to follow the twistings and + turnings of Roman friendships at this period. + + [217] Velleius Paterculus, lib. ii., ca. xiv. Paterculus + tells us how, when the architect offered to build the + house so as to hide its interior from the gaze of the + world, Drusus desired the man so to construct it that + all the world might see what he was doing. + + [218] It may be worth while to give a translation of the + anecdote as told by Aulus Gellius, and to point out that + the authors intention was to show what a clever fellow + Cicero was. Cicero did defend P. Sulla this year; but + whence came the story of the money borrowed from Sulla + we do not know. "It is a trick of rhetoric craftily to + confess charges made, so as not to come within the reach + of the law. So that, if anything base be alleged which + cannot be denied, you may turn it aside with a joke, and + make it a matter of laughter rather than of disgrace, as + it is written that Cicero did when, with a drolling + word, he made little of a charge which he could not + deny. For when he was anxious to buy a house on the + Palatine Hill, and had not the ready money, he quietly + borrowed from P. Sulla--who was then about to stand his + trial, 'sestertium viciens'--twenty million sesterces. + When that became known, before the purchase was made, + and it was objected to him that he had borrowed the + money from a client, then Cicero, instigated by the + unexpected charge, denied the loan, and denied also that + he was going to buy the house. But when he had bought it + and the fib was thrown in his teeth, he laughed + heartily, and asked whether men had so lost their senses + as not to be aware that a prudent father of a family + would deny an intended purchase rather than raise the + price of the article against himself."--Noctes Atticæ, + xii., 12. Aulus Gellius though he tells us that the + story was written, does not tell us where he read it. + + [219] I must say this, "pace" Mr. Tyrrell, who, in his + note on the letter to Atticus, lib. i., 12, attempts to + show that some bargain for such professional fee had + been made. Regarding Mr. Tyrrell as a critic always + fair, and almost always satisfactory, I am sorry to have + to differ from him; but it seems to me that he, too, has + been carried away by the feeling that in defending a + man's character it is best to give up some point. + + [220] I have been amused at finding a discourse, + eloquent and most enthusiastic, in praise of Cicero and + especially of this oration, spoken by M. Guéroult at the + College of France in June, 1815. The worst literary + faults laid to the charge of Cicero, if committed by + him--which M. Guéroult thinks to be doubtful--had been + committed even by Voltaire and Racine! The learned + Frenchman, with whom I altogether sympathize, rises to + an ecstasy of violent admiration, and this at the very + moment in which Waterloo was being fought. But in truth + the great doings of the world do not much affect + individual life. We should play our whist at the clubs + though the battle of Dorking were being fought. + + [221] Pro P. Sulla, iv.: "Scis me * * * illorum expertem + temporum et sermonum fuisse; credo, quod nondum penitus + in republica versabar, quod nondum ad propositum mihi + finem honoris perveneram. * * * Quis ergo intererat vestris + consiliis? Omnes hi, quos vides huic adesse et in primis + Q. Hortensius." + + [222] Ad Att., lib. i., 12. + + [223] Ad Att., lib. i., 13. + + [224] Ibid., i., 14. + + [225]Ibid., i., 16: "Vis scire quomodo minus quam soleam + præliatus sum." + + [226] "You have bought a fine house," said Clodius. + "There would be more in what you say if you could accuse + me of buying judges," replied Cicero. "The judges would + not trust you on your oath," said Clodius, referring to + the alibi by which he had escaped in opposition to + Cicero's oath. "Yes," replied Cicero, "twenty-five + trusted me; but not one of the thirty-one would trust + you without having his bribe paid beforehand." + + [227] Ad Att., i., 14: "Proxime Pompeium sedebam. + Intellexi hominem moveri." + + [228] Ibid.: "Quo modo [Greek: eneperpereusamên], novo + auditori Pompeio." + + [229] Mommsen, book v., chap. vi. This probably has been + taken from the statement of Paterculus, lib. ii., 40: + "Quippe plerique non sine exercitu venturum in urbem + adfirmabant, et libertati publicæ statuturum arbitrio + suo modum. Quo magis hoc homines timuerant, eo gratior + civilis tanti imperatoris reditus fuit." No doubt there + was a dread among many of Pompey coming back as Sulla + had come: not from indications to be found in the + character of Pompey, but because Sulla had done so. + + [230] Florus, lib. ii., xix. Having described to us the + siege of Numantia, he goes on "Hactenus populus Romanus + pulcher, egregius, pius, sanctus atque magnificus. + Reliqua seculi, ut grandia æque, ita vel magis turbida + et f[oe]da." + + [231] We have not Pollio's poem on the conspiracy, but + we have Horace's record of Pollio's poem: + + Motum ex Metello consule civicum, + Bellique causas et vitia, et modos, + Ludumque Fortunæ, gravesque + Principum amicitias, et arma + Nondum expiatis uncta cruoribus, + Periculosæ plenum opus aleæ, + Tractas, et incedis per ignes + Suppositos cineri doloso.--Odes, lib. ii., 1. + + [232] The German index appeared--very much after the + original work--as late as 1875. + + [233] Mommsen, lib. v., chap. vi. I cannot admit that + Mommsen is strictly accurate, as Cæsar had no real + idea of democracy. He desired to be the Head of + the Oligarchs, and, as such, to ingratiate himself + with the people. + + [234] For the character of Cæsar generally I would refer + readers to Suetonius, whose life of the great man + is, to my thinking, more graphic than any that has + been written since. For his anecdotes there is + little or no evidence. His facts are not all + historical. His knowledge was very much less + accurate than that of modern writers who have had + the benefit of research and comparison. But there + was enough of history, of biography, and of + tradition to enable him to form a true idea of the + man. He himself as a narrator was neither + specially friendly nor specially hostile. He has + told what was believed at the time, and he has + drawn a character that agrees perfectly with all + that we have learned since. + + [235] By no one has the character and object of the + Triumvirate been so well described as by Lucan, who, + bombastic as he is, still manages to bring home to the + reader the ideas as to persons and events which he + wishes to convey. I have ventured to give in an + Appendix, E, the passages referred to, with such a + translation in prose as I have been able to produce. It + will be found at the end of this volume. + + [236] Plutarch--Crassus: [Greek: kai synestêsen ek tôn + triôn ischyn amachon.] + + [237] Velleius Paterculus, lib. ii., 44: "Hoc igitur + consule, inter eum et Cn. Pompeium et M. Crassum inita + potentiæ societas, quæ urbi orbique terrarum, nec + minus diverso quoque tempore ipsis exitiabilis fuit." + Suetonius, Julius Cæsar, xix., "Societatem cum utroque + iniit." Officers called Triumviri were quite common, as + were Quinqueviri and Decemviri. Livy speaks of a + "Triumviratus"--or rather two such offices exercised by + one man--ix., 46. We remember, too, that wretch whom + Horace gibbeted, Epod. iv.: "Sectus flagellis hic + triumviralibus." But the word, though in common use, was + not applied to this conspiracy. + + [238] Ad Att., lib. ii., 3: "Is affirmabat, illum omnibus + in rebus meo et Pompeii consilio usurum, daturumque + operam, ut cum Pompeio Crassum conjungeret. Hic sunt + hæc. Conjunctio mihi summa cum Pompeio; si placet etiam + cum Cæsare; reditus in gratiam cum inimicis, pax cum + multitudine; senectulis otium. Sed me [Greek: katakleis] + mea illa commovet, quæ est in libro iii. + + "Interea cursus, quos prima a parte juventæ + Quosque adeo consul virtute, animoque petisti, + Hos retine, atque, auge famam laudesque bonorum." + + [239] Homer, Iliad, lib. xii., 243: [Greek: Eis oiônos + aristos amynesthai peri patrês.] + + [240] Middleton's Life of Cicero, vol. i., p. 291. + + [241] Pro Domo Sua, xvi. This was an oration, as the + reader will soon learn more at length, in which the + orator pleaded for the restoration of his town mansion + after his return from exile. It has, however, been + doubted whether the speech as we have it was ever made + by Cicero. + + [242] Suetonius, Julius Cæsar, xx. + + [243] Ad Att., lib. ii., 1: "Quid quæris?" says Cicero. + "Conturbavi Græcam nationem"--"I have put all Greece + into a flutter." + + [244] De Divinatione, lib. i. + + [245] Ad Quin. Fratrem, lib. i., 1: "Non itineribus tuis + perterreri homines? non sumptu exhauriri? non adventu + commoveri? Esse, quocumque veneris, et publice et + privatim maximam lætitiam; quum urbs custodem non + tyrannum; domus hospitem non expilatorem, recipisse + videatur? His autem in rebus jam te usus ipse profecto + erudivit nequaquam satis esse, ipsum hasce habere + virtutis, sed esse circumspiciendum diligentur, ut in + hac custodia provinciæ non te unum, sed omnes ministros + imperii tui, sociis, et civibus, et reipublicæ + præstare videare." + + [246] Ad Quin. Fratrem, lib. i., 1: "Ac mihi quidem + videntur huc omnia esse referenda iis qui præsunt + aliis; ut ii, qui erunt eorum in imperio sint quam + beatissimi, quod tibi et esse antiquissimum et ab initio + fuisse, ut primum Asiam attigisti, constante fama atque + omnium sermone celebratum est. Est autem non modo ejus, + qui sociis et civibus, sed etiam ejus qui servis, qui + mutis pecudibus præsit, eorum quibus præsit commodis + utilitatique servire." + + [247] "Hæc est una in toto imperio tuo difficultas." + + [248] Mommsen, book v., ca. 6. + + [249] Mommsen, vol. v., ca. vi. + + [250] Ad Att., lib. ii., 7: "Atque hæc, sin velim + existimes, non me abs te [Greek: kata to praktikon] + quærere, quod gestiat animus aliquid agere in + republica. Jam pridem gubernare me tædebat, etiam quum + licebat." + + [251] Ad Att., lib. ii., 8: "Scito Curionem adolescentem + venisse ad me salutatum. Valde ejus sermo de Publio cum + tuis litteris congruebat, ipse vero mirandum in modum + Reges odisse superbos. Peræque narrabat incensam esse + juventutem, neque ferre hæc posse." The "reges + superbos" were Cæsar and Pompey. + + [252] Ad Att., lib. ii., 5: [Greek: Aideomai Trôas kai + Trôadas helkesipeplous].--Il., vi., 442. "I fear what + Mrs. Grundy would say of me," is Mr. Tyrrell's homely + version. Cicero's mind soared, I think, higher when he + brought the words of Hector to his service than does the + ordinary reference to our old familiar critic. + + [253] Quint., xii., 1. + + [254] Enc. Britannica on Cicero. + + [255] Ad Att., lib. ii., 9. + + [256] Ibid.: "Festive, mihi crede, et minore sonitu, + quam putaram, orbis hic in republica est conversus." + "Orbis hic," this round body of three is the + Triumvirate. + + [257] We cannot but think of the threat Horace made, + Sat., lib. ii., 1: + + "At ille + Qui me commorit, melius non tangere! clamo, + Flebit, et insignis tota cantabitur urbe." + + [258] Ad Att., lib. ii., 11: "Da ponderosam aliquam + epistolam." + + [259] Josephus, lib. xviii., ca. 5. + + [260] Ad Att., lib. ii., 16. + + [261] Ad Att., lib. ii., 18: "A Cæsare valde liberaliter + invitor in legationem illam, sibi ut sim legatus; atque + etiam libera legatio voti causa datur." + + [262] De Legibus, lib. iii., ca. viii.: "Jam illud apertum + prefecto est nihil esse turpius, quam quenquam legari + nisi republica causa." + + [263] It may be seen from this how anxious Cæsar was to + secure his silence, and yet how determined not to screen + him unless he could secure his silence. + + [264] Ad Quintum, lib. i., 2. + + [265] Of this last sentence I have taken a translation + given by Mr. Tyrrell, who has introduced a special + reading of the original which the sense seems to + justify. + + [266] Macrobius, Saturnalia, lib. ii., ca. i.: We are told + that Cicero had been called the consular buffoon. "And + I," says Macrobius, "if it would not be too long, could + relate how by his jokes he has brought off the most + guilty criminals." Then he tells the story of Lucius + Flaccus. + + [267] See the evidence of Asconius on this point, as to + which Cicero's conduct has been much mistaken. We shall + come to Milo's trial before long. + + [268] The statement is made by Mr. Tyrrell in his + biographical introduction to the Epistles. + + [269] The 600 years, or anni DC., is used to signify + unlimited futurity. + + [270] Mommsen's History, book v., ca. v. + + [271] [Greek: Automalos ônomazeto] is the phrase of + Dio Cassius. "Levissume transfuga" is the translation + made by the author of the "Declamatio in Ciceronem." If + I might venture on a slang phrase, I should say that + [Greek: automalos] was a man who "went off on his own + hook." But no man was ever more loyal as a political + adherent than Cicero. + + [272] Ad Att., ii., 25. + + [273] We do not know when the marriage took place, or + any of the circumstances; but we are aware that when + Tullia came, in the following year, B.C. 57, to meet her + father at Brundisium, she was a widow. + + [274] Suetonius, Julius Cæsar, xii.: "Subornavit etiam + qui C. Rabirio perduellionis diem diceret." + + [275] "Qui civem Romanum indemnatum perimisset, ei aqua + at igni interdiceretur." + + [276] Plutarch tells us of this sobriquet, but gives + another reason for it, equally injurious to the lady's + reputation. + + [277] Ad Att., lib. iii., 15. + + [278] In Pisonem, vi. + + [279] Ad Att., lib. x., 4. + + [280] We are told by Cornelius Nepos, in his life of + Atticus, that when Cicero fled from his country Atticus + advanced to him two hundred and fifty sesterces, or + about £2000. I doubt, however, whether the flight here + referred to was not that early visit to Athens which + Cicero was supposed to have made in his fear of Sulla. + + [281] Ad Fam., lib. xiv., iv.: "Tullius to his Terentia, + and to his young Tullia, and to his Cicero," meaning his + boy. + + [282] Pro Domo Sua, xxiv. + + [283] Ad Quin. Fra., 1, 3. + + [284] The reader who wishes to understand with what + anarchy the largest city in the world might still exist, + should turn to chapter viii. of book v. of Mommsen's + History. + + [285] Ad Att., lib. iii., 12. + + [286] Horace, Epis., lib. ii., 1. + + [287] Ad Att., lib. i., 8. + + [288] Horace, Epis., lib. ii., 11. The translation is + Conington's. + + [289] Vell. Pat., lib. i., xiii. + + [290] "Civile;" when Sulla, with Pompey under him, was + fighting with young Marius and Cinna. + + [291] "Africanum;" when he had fought with Domitius, the + son-in-law of Cinna, and with Hiarbas. + + [292] "Transalpinum;" during his march through Gaul into + Spain. + + [293] "Hispaniense;" in which he conquered Sertorius. + + [294] "Servile;" the war with Spartacus, with the slaves + and gladiators. + + [295] "Navale Bellum;" the war with the pirates. + + [296] For the full understanding of this oft-quoted line + the reader should make himself acquainted with Cato's + march across Libya after the death of Pompey, as told by + Lucan in his 9th book. + + +END OF VOLUME I. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of Cicero, by Anthony Trollope + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE OF CICERO *** + +***** This file should be named 8945-8.txt or 8945-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/9/4/8945/ + +Produced by Ted Garvin, Marc D'Hooghe, Steve Whitaker, and +the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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