THE TENTH
PHILIPPIC.
THE
ARGUMENT.
Soon after the delivery of
the last speech, dispatches were received from Brutus by the consuls, giving an
account of his success against Caius Antonius in Macedonia; stating that he had
secured Macedonia, Illyricum, and Greece, with the armies in those countries;
that Caius Antonius had retired to Apollonia with seven cohorts; that a legion
under Lucius Piso had surrendered to young Cicero, who was commanding his
cavalry; that Dolabella's cavalry had deserted to him; and that Vatinius had
surrendered Dyrrachium and its garrison to him: He likewise praised Quintus
Hortensius, the proconsul of Macedonia, as having assisted him in gaining over
the Grecian provinces and the armies in those districts.
As soon as Pansa received the dispatches, he summoned the senate to have them read; and in a set speech greatly extolled Brutus, and moved a vote of thanks to him; but Calenus, who followed him, declared his opinion that as Brutus had acted without any public commission or authority, he should be required to give up his army to the proper governors of the provinces, or to whoever the senate should appoint to receive it. After he had sat down,
[1] We all, O Pansa, ought both to feel and to show the greatest gratitude to you, who,though we did not expect that you would hold any senate today,the moment that you received the letters of Marcus Brutus, that most excellent citizen, did not interpose even the slightest delay to our enjoying the most excessive delight and mutual congratulation at the earliest opportunity. And not only ought this action of yours to be grateful to us all, but also the speech which you addressed to us after the letters had been read. For you showed plainly, that that was true which I have always felt to be so, that no one envied the virtue of another who was confident of his own.
[2] Therefore I, who have been connected with Brutus
by many mutual good offices and by the greatest intimacy, need not say so much
concerning him; for the part that I had marked out for myself your speech has
anticipated me in. But, O conscript fathers, the opinion delivered by the man
who was asked for his vote before me, has imposed upon me the necessity of
saying rather more than I otherwise should have said; and I differ from him so
repeatedly at present, that I am afraid (what certainly ought not to be the case)
that our continual disagreement may appear to diminish our friendship.
[3] What can be the meaning of this argument of yours, O Calenus? what can be your intention? How is it that you have never once since the first of January been of the same opinion with him who asks you your opinion first? {Pansa} How is it that the senate has never yet been so full as to enable you to find one single person to agree with your sentiments? Why are you always defending men who in no point resemble you? why, when both your life and your fortune invite you to tranquillity and dignity, do you approve of those measures, and defend those measures, and declare those sentiments, which are adverse both to the general tranquillity and to your own individual dignity?
[4] For to say nothing of former speeches of yours, at all events. I can not pass over in silence this which excites my most especial wonder. What war is there between you and the Bruti? Why do you alone attack those men whom we are all bound almost to worship? Why are you not indignant at one of them being besieged, and why do you as far as your vote goes strip the other of those troops which by his own exertions and by his own danger he has got together by himself, without any one to assist him, for the protection of the republic, not for himself? What is your meaning in this? What are your intentions? Is it possible that you should not approve of the Bruti, and should approve of Antonius? that you should hate those men whom every one else considers most dear? and that you should love with the greatest constancy those whom every one else hates most bitterly? You have a most ample fortune; you are in the highest rank of honor; your son, as I both hear and hope, is born to glory,a youth whom I favor not only for the sake of the republic, but for your sake also.
[5] I ask, therefore, would you rather have him like
Brutus or like Antonius? and I will let you choose whichever of the three
Antonii you please. “God forbid!” you will say. Why, then, do you not favor
those men and praise those men whom you wish your own son to resemble? For by
so doing you will be both consulting the interests of the republic, and
proposing him an example for his imitation.
But in this instance, I hope, O Quintus Fufius, to be allowed to expostulate with you, as a senator who greatly differs from you, without any prejudice to our friendship. For you spoke in this matter, and that too from a written paper; for I should think you had made a slip from want of some appropriate expression, [if I were not acquainted with your ability in speaking]. You said that the letters of Brutus appeared properly and regularly {²Recte et ordine” means “rightly and properly”} expressed. What else is this than praising Brutus's secretary, not Brutus?
[6] You both ought to have great experience in the
affairs of the republic, and you have. When did you ever see a decree framed in
this manner? or in what resolution of the senate passed on such occasions. (and
they are innumerable), did you ever hear of its being decreed that the letters
had been well drawn up? And that expression did not as is often the case with
other men fall from you by chance, but you brought it with you written down,
deliberated on, and carefully meditated on.
Ch.
If any one could take from you this habit of
disparaging good men on almost every occasion, then what qualities would not be
left to you which every one would desire for himself? Do, then, recollect
yourself; do at last soften and quiet that disposition of yours; do take the
advice of good men, with many of whom you are intimate; do converse with that
wisest of men, your own son-in-law, oftener than with yourself; and then you
will obtain the name of a man of the very highest character. Do you think it a
matter of no consequence (it is a matter in which I, out of the friendship
which I feel for you, constantly grieve in your stead), that this should be
commonly said out of doors, and should be a common topic of conversation among
the Roman people, that the man who delivered his opinion first did not find a
single person to agree with him? And that I think will be the case today.
You propose to take the legions away from Brutus:
which legions? Why, those which he has gained over from the wickedness of Caius
Antonius, and has by his own authority gained over to the republic. Do you wish
then that he should again appear to be the only person stripped of his
authority, and as it were banished by the senate?
[7] And you, O conscript fathers, if you abandon and betray Marcus Brutus, what citizen in the world will you ever distinguish? Whom will you ever favor? Unless, indeed, you think that those men who put a diadem on a man's head deserve to be preserved, and those who have abolished the very name of kingly power deserve to be abandoned. And of this divine and immortal glory of Marcus Brutus I will say no more; it is already embalmed in the grateful recollection of all the citizens, but it has not yet been sanctioned by any formal act of public authority. Such patience! O ye good gods! such moderation! such tranquillity and submission under injury! A man who, while he was praetor of the city, was driven from the city, was prevented from sitting as judge in legal proceedings, when it was he who had restored all law to the republic; and, though he might have been hedged round by the daily concourse of all virtuous men, who were constantly flocking round him in marvelous numbers, he preferred to be defended in his absence by the judgment of the good, to being present and protected by their force;who was not even present to celebrate the games to Apollo, which had been prepared in a manner suitable to his own dignity and to that of the Roman people, lest he should open any road to the audacity of most wicked men.
[8] Although, what games or what days were ever more joyful than those on which at every verse that the actor uttered, the Roman people did honor to the memory of Brutus, with loud shouts of applause? The person of their liberator was absent, the recollection of their liberty was present, in which the appearance of Brutus himself seemed to be visible. But the man himself I beheld on those very days of the games, in the country-house {Nesis, between Puteoli and Neapolis (ad Att.16, 1-4)} of a most illustrious young man, Lucullus, his relation, thinking of nothing but the peace and concord of the citizens. I saw him again afterward at Velia {Velia (Castellannare della Bruca) (Velia (Elea), on the coast of Lucania, founded in c.535 BC.}, departing from
[9] Brutus, therefore, bided his time. For, as long as he saw you endure every thing, he himself behaved with incredible patience; after that he saw you roused to a desire of liberty, he prepared the means to protect you in your liberty.
But what a pest, and how great a pest was it which he resisted? For if Caius Antonius {He had, about the end of November 44 BC., left Rome to take up the government of Macedonia, which had been allotted to him in the “religiosa sortitio” of November 28. (Phil.III.10,24) The title to this, and other provinces, was complicated.} had been able to accomplish what he intended in his mind (and he would have been able to do so if the virtue of Marcus Brutus had not opposed his wickedness), we should have lost
[10] I wish, indeed, that Antonius may hear this news as speedily as possible, so that he may understand that it is not Decimus Brutus whom he is surrounding with his ramparts, but he himself who is really hemmed in.
He possesses three towns {Bononia, Regium Lepidi (Reggio), and
{The allotment of
[11] What a storm, O ye immortal gods! what a
conflagration! what a devastation! what a pestilence to Greece Illyricum ? What had he to do with the
army of Publius Vatinius, our general? He, as he said himself, was the
successor of Hortensius. The boundaries of Macedonia Illyricum
and with the legions of Vatinius?
But Brutus had nothing to do with them either. For
that, perhaps, is what some worthless man may say.
[12] All the legions, all the forces which exist any where,
belong to the Roman people. Nor shall those legions which have quitted Marcus
Antonius be called the legions of Antonius rather than of the republic; for he
loses all power over his army, and all the privileges of military command, who
uses that military command and that army to attack the republic.
Ch.
But if the republic itself could give a decision, or
if all rights were established by its decrees, would it adjudge the legions of
the Roman people to Antonius or to Brutus? The one had flown with precipitation
to the plunder and destruction of the allies, in order, wherever he went, to
lay waste, and pillage, and plunder everything, and to employ the army of the
Roman people against the Roman people itself. The other had laid down this law
for himself, that wherever he came he should appear to come as a sort of light
and hope of safety. Lastly, the one was seeking aids to overturn the republic;
the other to preserve it. Nor, indeed, did we see this more clearly than the
soldiers themselves; from whom so much discernment in judging was not to have
been expected. [13] He writes, that Antonius is at Apollonia with seven cohorts, and he is either by this time taken prisoner (may the gods grant it!) or, at all events, like a modest man, he does not come near
[14] The Roman people then is now in possession of Macedonia , and Illyricum, and Greece
Ch.
Does any one then fear war from this man, who, until
we commenced the war, being compelled to do so, preferred lying unknown in
peace to flourishing in war? Although he, in truth, never did lie unknown, nor
can this expression possibly be applied to such great eminence in virtue. For
he was the object of regret to the state; he was in every one's mouth, the
subject of every one's conversation. But he was so far removed from an
inclination to war, that, though he was burning with a desire to see
[15] But I see now what it is they mean: nor, in
truth, do they use much disguise. They say that they are afraid how the
veterans may endure the idea of Brutus having an army. As if there were any
difference between the troops of Aulus Hirtius, of Caius Pansa, of Decimus
Brutus, of Caius Caesar, and this army of Marcus Brutus. For if these four
armies which I have mentioned are praised because they have taken up arms for
the sake of the liberty of the Roman people, what reason is there why this army
of Marcus Brutus should not be classed under the same head? Oh, but the very
name of Marcus Brutus is unpopular among the veterans.More than that of Decimus
Brutus? I think not; for although the action is common to both the Bruti, and
although their share in the glory is equal, still those men who were indignant
at that deed were more angry with Decimus Brutus, because they said, that it
was more improper for it to be executed by him. What now are all those armies
laboring at, except to effect the release of Decimus Brutus from a siege? And
who are the commanders of those armies? Those men, I suppose, who wish the acts
of Caius Caesar to be overturned, and the cause of the veterans to be betrayed.
Ch.
[16] If Caesar himself were alive, could he, do you imagine, defend his
own acts more vigorously than that most gallant man Hirtius defends them? or,
is it possible that any one should be found more friendly to the cause than his
son? But the one of these, though not long recovered from a year long attack of
a most severe disease, has applied all the energy and influence which he had to
defending the liberty of those men by whose prayers he considered that he
himself had been recalled from death; the other, stronger in the strength of
his virtue than in that of his age, has set out with those very veterans to
deliver Decimus Brutus. Therefore, those men who are both the most certain and
at the same time the most energetic defenders of the acts of Caesar, are waging
war for the safety of Decimus Brutus; and they are followed by the veterans.
For they see that they must fight to the uttermost for the freedom of the Roman
people, not for their own advantages. [17] What reason, then, is there why the army of Marcus Brutus should be an object of suspicion to those men who with the whole of their energies desire the preservation of Decimus Brutus?
But, moreover, if there were any thing which were to be feared from Marcus Brutus, would not Pansa perceive it? Or if he did perceive it, would not he, too, be anxious about it? Who is either more acute in his conjectures of the future, or more diligent in warding off danger? But you have already seen his zeal for, and inclination toward Marcus Brutus. He has already told us in his speech what we ought to decree, and how we ought to feel with respect to Marcus Brutus. And he was so far from thinking the army of Marcus Brutus dangerous to the republic, that he considered it the most important and the most trusty bulwark of the republic. Either, then, Pansa does not perceive this (no doubt he is a man of dull intellect), or he disregards it. For he is clearly not anxious that the acts which Caesar executed should be ratified,he, who in compliance with our recommendation is going to bring forward a bill at the comitia centuriata for sanctioning and confirming them.
Let those, then, who have no fear, cease to pretend to be alarmed, and to be exercising their foresight in the cause of the republic. And let those who really are afraid of every thing, cease to be too fearful, lest the pretense of the one party and the inactivity of the other be injurious to us.
[18] What, in the name of mischief! is the object of always opposing the name of the veterans to every good cause? For even if I were attached to their virtue, as indeed I am, still, if they were arrogant I should not be able to tolerate their airs. While we are endeavoring to break the bonds of slavery, shall any one hinder us by saying that the veterans do not approve of it? For they are not, I suppose, beyond all counting who are ready to take up arms in defense of the common freedom! There is no man, except the veteran soldiers, who is stimulated by the indignation of a freeman to repel slavery! Can the republic then stand, relying wholly on veterans, without a great reinforcement of the youth of the state? Whom, indeed, you ought to be attached to, if they be assistants to you in the assertion of your freedom, but whom you ought not to follow if they be the advisers of slavery.
[19] Lastly (let me at last say one true word, one word worthy of myself!) if the inclinations of this order are governed by the nod of the veterans, and if all our words and actions are to be referred to their will, death is what we should wish for, which has always, in the minds of Roman citizens, been preferable to slavery. All slavery is miserable; but some may have been unavoidable. Do you think, then, that there is never to be a beginning of our endeavors to recover our freedom? Or, when we would not bear that fortune which was unavoidable, and which seemed almost as if appointed by destiny, shall we tolerate the voluntary bondage! All
[20] We have, indeed, undertaken our present course of action with a great and almost certain hope of liberty. But even if I allow that the events of war are uncertain, and that the chances of Mars are common to both sides, still it is worth while to fight for freedom at the peril of one's life. For life does not consist wholly in breathing; there is literally no life at all for one who is a slave. All nations can endure slavery. Our state can not. Nor is there any other reason for this, except that those nations shrink from toil and pain, and are willing to endure any thing so long as they may be free from those evils; but we have been trained and bred up by our forefathers in such a manner, as to measure all our designs and all our actions by the standard of dignity and virtue. The recovery of freedom is so splendid a thing that we must not shun even death when seeking to recover it. But if immortality {Muretus suggests that Cicero thinks of Sarpedon’s speech to Glaucus in Homer’s Il.12.322, where he says that, if they two could escape the war, and become immortal, neither would be himself fight, or urge Glaucus. “But”, says
[21] Men flock together from all quarters to extinguish a general conflagration. The veterans were the first to follow the authority of Caesar and to repel the attempts of Antonius; afterward the Martial legion checked his frenzy; the fourth legion crushed it. Being thus condemned by his own legions, he burst into
[22] What can be more foul than that beast? what more savage? who appears born for the express purpose of preventing Marcus Antonius from being the basest of all mortals. They have with them Trebellius, who, now that all debts are canceled, is become reconciled to them {Trebonius as tribunus plebis opposed a general abolition of debts and later supported it (Phil.VI.4)}; and Titus Plancus, and other like them; who are striving with all their hearts, and whose sole object is to appear to have been restored against the will of the republic. Saxa and Capho, themselves rustic and clownish men, men who never have seen and who never wish to see this republic firmly established, are tampering with the ignorant classes; men who are not upholding the acts of Caesar but those of Antonius; who are led away by the unlimited occupation of the Campanian district; and who I marvel are not somewhat ashamed when they see that they have actors and actresses for their neighbors.
[23] Why then should we be displeased that the army of Marcus Brutus is thrown into the scale to assist us in overwhelming these pests of the commonwealth? It is the army, I suppose, of an intemperate and turbulent man. I am more afraid of his being too patient; although in all the counsels and actions of that man there never has been any thing either too much or too little. The whole inclinations of Marcus Brutus, O conscript fathers, the whole of his thoughts, the whole of his ideas, are directed toward the authority of the senate and the freedom of the Roman people. These are the objects which he proposes to himself; these are what he desires to uphold. He has tried what he could do by patience; as he did nothing, he has thought it necessary to encounter force by force. And, O conscript fathers, you ought at this time to grant him the same honors which on the nineteenth of December you conferred by my advice on Decimus Brutus and Caius Caesar, whose designs and conduct in regard to the republic, while they also were but private individuals, was approved of and praised by your authority.
[24] And you ought to do the same now with respect to
Marcus Brutus, by whom an unhoped for and sudden reinforcement of legions and
cavalry, and numerous and trusty bands of allies, have been provided for the
republic.
Quintus Hortensius also ought to have a share of your praise, who, being governor of
[25] And since this is the case,
As Caius Pansa the consul has addressed to us a speech concerning the letters which have been received from Quintus Caepio Brutus, proconsul, and have been read in this assembly, I give my vote in this matter thus:
Since, by the exertions and wisdom and industry and
valor of Quintus Caepio Brutus, proconsul, at a most critical period of the
republic, the province of Macedonia, and Illyricum, and all Greece, and the
legions and armies and cavalry, have been preserved in obedience to the consuls
and senate and people of Rome; Quintus Caepio Brutus, proconsul, has acted
well, and in a manner advantageous to the republic, and suitable to his own
dignity and to that of his ancestors, and to the principles according to which
alone the affairs of the republic can be properly managed; and that conduct is
and will be grateful to the senate and people of Rome.
[26] And moreover, as Quintus Caepio Brutus,
proconsul, is occupying and defending and protecting the province of Macedonia,
and Illyricum, and all Greece, and is preserving them in safety; and as he is
in command of an army which he himself has levied and collected, he is at
liberty if he has need of any, to exact money for the use of the military
service, which belongs to the public, and can lawfully be exacted, and to use
it, and to borrow money for the exigencies of the war from whomsoever he thinks
fit, and to exact corn, and to endeavor to approach Italy as near as he can
with his forces. And as it has been understood from the letters of Quintus
Caepio Brutus, proconsul, that the republic has been greatly benefited by the
energy and valor of Quintus Hortensius, proconsul, and that all his counsels
have been in harmony with those of Quintus Caepio Brutus, proconsul, and that
that harmony has been of the greatest service to the republic; Quintus
Hortensius has acted well and becomingly, and in a manner advantageous to the
republic. And the senate decrees that Quintus Hortensius, proconsul, shall
occupy the province
of Macedonia
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