2 “You too, my son?” Dio XLIV 19 and Suet I 82
Chapter 1—Fault Lines: First Century BC
Readers who wish to go beyond this summary account should read Cowell, Scullard and Crawford. Among the sources for the historical narrative from Tiberius Gracchus to Cicero’s youth are Appian and Plutarch.
3 “rank, position, magnificence” Clu LVI 154
4 Tribal or General Assembly. Two other types of assembly existed, the concilium plebis, which had the same membership as the comitia tributa minus the Patricians, and the comitia curiata, which was largely concerned with legal approvals.
5 “This was the first time” Vell II 3 3
Chapter 2—“Always Be the Best, My Boy, the Bravest”: 106–82 BC
The description of Cicero’s childhood is based on Plutarch together with the evocation of Arpinum in On law (De legibus). The section on education is indebted to E. B. Castle. The historical account draws on Appian, Plutarch, Sallust and Diodorus Siculus.
6 “Whenever I can get out” Leg II 1 “We consider” Leg II 5
7 “With your courage” Leg III 16 36
8 “This is what I prayed for!” Hor Sat 6 1ff.
9 “I am going to make my cognomen” Plut Cic II 1
10 “how our mother in the old days” Fam 351 (XVI 26) “We rule the world” Val Max VI 3
11 Twelve Tables Leg I 21 55
12 “Didn’t you learn your unbridled loquacity” Sall Inv I 2
13 “The time which others spend” Arch VI 13
14 “Caesar and Brutus also wrote” Tac 21 “Our people are like Syrian slaves” De or II 265 “For as far as I can cast my mind back” Arch 148
15 “I love Pomponius” Fam 63 (XIII 1)
16 Crassus’s “swan song” De or III 2–5
17 “We are not asking you to pardon” Plut Sull
18 “No, please, I beg you” Corn Nep IV 1 “He always belonged to the best party” Boiss 137f.
19 “the proscriptions of the rich” Para Stoic VI 2 46
“Victories in the field” Off I 74
“it appeared that the whole institution of the courts” Brut LXXXIX 306
“Seeing that the whole state” Plut Cic III 2
20 “that we do not recklessly and presumptuously assume” De inv II 10 “Always be the best” Homer Il VI 247
Chapter 3—The Forum and the Fray: 81–77 BC
The description of the Forum, as well as being based on personal visits, draws on The Roman Forum (Electa, 1998); and that of Rome on Florence Dupont. The accounts of the Roscius, Verres and Cluentius trials are largely drawn from the relevant speeches by Cicero. For the characters and early careers of Pompey and Crassus, Plutarch has been used.
21 “planted in mountains” Leg ag II 35 96
“Two of my shops” Att 363 XIV 9
22 “not (as most do) to learn my trade in the Forum” Brut XCI 312
“a disreputable victory” Off II 27
23 “Personally, I am always very nervous” Clu XVIII 51 “Why, you always come” Dio XLVI 7
24 “According to the custom of our ancestors” Mod Dig XLVIII 9 9
“He comes down from his mansion” Rosc XLV 132–35
25 “Terentia was never at any time” Plut Cic XX 2
26 “I was at that time very slender” Brut XCI 313
27 “we have learned from them” Leg II 36 C “planned that, if he were finally deprived” Plut Cic IV 2
28 “not only a pleader” Brut XCI 316
Chapter 4—Politics and Foreign Postings: 77–63 BC
The story of Cicero’s early political career derives from Plutarch, his speeches and the correspondence with Atticus.
29 “Just as in the music of harps” Rep II 42
30 “When I was Quaestor” Tusc V XXIII 64–66
31 The incident at Puteoli Planc XXVI, XXVII
32 “his hair swept back in a kind of wave” Plut Pomp II 1/2
33 “Today the eyes of the world” Verr I 16 46–47
“I am afraid I’m no good at solving riddles” Plut Cic VII 6
34 C’s jokes at the Verres trial Plut Cic VII 4–5
“Gentlemen of the jury” Verr II 8 22
35 “It is the judge’s responsibility” Off II 51 “my brother, Quintus” Att I (I 5)
36 “All the pleasure” Att I (I 5)
“I am delighted with my place at Tusculum” Att 2 (I 6)
C’s citrus table Pliny XIII 91
C’s estimate of his income Phil II 16
37 “You know the game I am playing” Att 10 (I 1)
38 “Such is his unbelievable, superhuman genius” Imp Pomp XIII 37 “My handling of C. Macer’s case” Att 9 (I 4)
39 “both that he did not assault the standing” Asc: Pro Cornelio argumentum
Chapter 5—Against Catilina: 63 BC
The account of the Catilinarian conspiracy is largely based on Sallust, Cicero’s Catilinarian speeches and Asconius, together with Appian and Dio Cassius for the general picture.
40 “People naturally prefer you to lie” Comm 48
41 “No one has ever had such a talent for seducing young men” Cat II 4 5
“debauchees, adulterers and gamblers” Sall Cat XIV 2ff.
“There are shouts and screams” Off 1
42 “Catilina had many excellent qualities” Cael V 12
Catilina’s first “conspiracy” is a mysterious affair; for further discussion see Gelzer, pp. 38ff. and S. A. Handford (Sallust, Jugurthine War and Conspiracy of Catiline), pp. 164ff.
43 “We have the jury we want” Att 11 (I 2)
“Can any man be a friend” Asc: In toga candida
44 “I assert” Asc: In toga candida
45 “What I assert” Rab XII 332–34
“I see two bodies” Plut Cic XIII 4–5
46 Catilina reported to sacrifice a boy, Dio XXXVII 147/149
47 “quite overcome by the news” Plut Cic XV 2
48 “I am able to report” Cat I iv 8
49 “I do not intend” Sall Cat XXXVI 1f.
50 “But I must change my tone” Mur XXXV 74
51 “Imprisonment, [Caesar] says” Cat IV iv 8
“ought to distribute the accused around the towns of Italy” App II 6
52 “sluggish of comprehension” Plut Cat I 3 “If we could afford” Sall Cat LIII 4
Chapter 6—Pretty-Boy’s Revenge: 62–58 BC
The events leading to Cicero’s exile are covered by various lives of Plutarch, Dio and, to a lesser extent, Appian but, increasingly, by Cicero’s letters, which now begin to be available in large numbers. Cicero’s speech In Defense of Caelius throws a brilliant light on the Clodian circle.
53 “One could not attend the Senate” Plut Cic XXIV 1–2
“This unpleasing habit of his” Plut Cic XXIV 2
“a certain foolish vanity” Att 38 (II 18)
54 “I swear to you” Plut Cic XXIII 2
55 “This district, let me tell you, is charming” Att 392 (XV 16a)
56 “I imagine you have heard” Att 12 (I 12)
57 “passion for fornication” Sall Cat XIII 3–5
58 “at the cross-roads” Catull 58
“You [Mark Antony] assumed a man’s toga” Phil II 18 44–45
59 “Silver-tongued among the sons of Rome” Catull 49
60 “When the day came for the bill to be put” Att 14 (I 14)
“Inside a couple of days” Att 16 (I 16)
61 Cicero’s jokes at Clodius’s expense Att 16 (I 16) and 21 (II 1)
62 “as if he were coming back from a foreign holiday” Plut Pomp XLII 3
63 “He professes the highest regard for me” Att 13 (I 13)
64 “Life out of uniform” Plut Pomp XXIII 4
“I need 25 million sesterces” App II 8
65 “I brought the house down” Att 14 (I 14)
The description of Pompey’s Triumph is based on Plutarch’s life of him but also draws on some material fr
om his life of Aemilius Paulus.
66 “Giving up all attempts to equal Pompey” Plut Crass VII 2
“The demand was disgraceful” Att 17 (I 17)
“the dregs of the urban population” Att 19 (I 19)
67 “AS for our dear friend Cato” Att 21 (XI 1)
68 “those conspirators of the wine table” Att 16 (I 16)
“had used up the entire perfume cabinet of Isocrates” Att 21 (II 1)
“What I most badly need at the present is a confidant” Att 18 (I 18)
69 “I trusted and indeed convinced myself” Att 17 (I 17)
70 “Meantime the paths” Att 23 (II 3)
71 “When I notice how carefully arranged his hair is” Plut Caes IV 4
72 Cato’s arrest Dio XXXVIII 2–3
73 “Let us wait then” Plut Cic XXVI 3
“the Queen of Bithynia” Suet I 49
74 “I have taken so kindly to idleness” Att 26 (II 6)
“When I read a letter of yours” Att 35 (II 15)
75 “I have so lost my manly spirit” Att 34 (II 14)
“Sampsiceramus … is out for trouble” Att 37 (II 17)
76 “Dear Publius is threatening me” Att 39 (II 19)
“For himself he wanted a high command” Sall Cat LIV
77 “all Catilina’s forces” Post red XIII 33
78 “the Senate met to pass a vote” Plut Cic XXXI 1
79 “could not face seeing him” Plut Cic XXXI 2–3
Chapter 7—Exile: 58–52 BC
Appian and Dio Cassius continue to give the general background with Plutarch providing additional color. (Also, with Caesar’s growing prominence, Suetonius’s life of him begins to be useful.) Cicero’s letters and speeches are the crucial resource. For Clodius’s death Asconius is more to be trusted than Cicero’s almost completely unreliable account in his defense of Milo. Quintus’s adventures in Gaul are taken from Caesar’s Conquest of Gaul.
80 “I miss my daughter” Quint 3 (I 3)
“Has any man ever fallen” Att 55 (III 10)
81 “I will only say this” Att 54 (III 9)
82 “The Tiber was full of citizens’ corpses” Sest LVII
83 “From your letter and from the facts themselves” Att 72 (III 27)
“by which I did not simply return home” Dom XVIII 75
84 “It is a sort of second life” Att 73 (IV 1)
“heavy with wine … talking with him” Post red VI 13–14 praise of Pompey Post red II 5
“The decree was read out” Att 73 (IV 1)
85 “Those same gentlemen” Att 74 (IV 2)
“On November 11” Att 75 (IV 3)
“My heart is high” Att 75 (IV 3)
86 “Pale with fury” Quint 7 (II 3)
87 “My refutation” Cael XIII 32
88 “The Germans’ left was routed” Bell gall II 2
89 “Ah, just the man I want” Quint 20 (I 9)
90 “Come on! Do you really think” Att 80 (IV 5)
“These years of my life” Quint 25 (III 5)
“I was weary of it” Fam 24 (VII 1)
91 “After all, what could be more humiliating” Att 83 (IV 6)
“I believe in moving with the times” Fam 20 (I 9)
92 “talked to me at length” Quint 10 (II 6)
“Those shelves of yours” Att 79 (IV 8)
“But seriously, while all other amusements” Att 84 (IV 10)
93 “perfidy, artifice and betrayal.… Waive the laws of history” Fam 22 (V 12)
“What pleasure” Fam 24 (VII 1)
94 “the first gladiatorial show” Val Max II 4 7
95 “What pleasure can a cultivated man” Fam 24 (VII 1) “Caesar’s friends” Att 89 (IV 16)
96 “Pompey is putting a lot of pressure on me” Quint 21 (III 1)
97 “In all the world Caesar is the only man” Fam 25 (III 5)
“Cicero himself, although in very poor health” Bell gall VI 2
98 “Escaped from the great heat wave.… I was very pleased with the house” Quint 21 (III 1)
“Our affairs stand as follows” Quint 23 (III 3)
99 “a friend to us” Fam 44 (XVI 16)
100 “See about the dining room” Fam 185 (XVI 22)
“My (or our) literary brainchildren” Fam 43 (XVI 10)
“Aegypta arrived today” Fam 42 (XVI 15)
Tiro “is extraordinarily useful to me” Att 128 (VII 5)
“Well, you are a man of landed property!” Fam 337 (XVI 21)
Chapter 8—The Ideal Constitution: 55–43 BC
101 “When we inherited the Republic” Rep V I 2
102 “The government was so administered” Rep II 32 56
103 “ ‘is the highway to heaven’ ” Rep VI 16
“Law is the highest reason” Leg I 6 18–19
104 “Virtue is reason completely developed” Leg I 16 45
“science of distinguishing.” … The mind “must employ” Leg I 24 62
“The most foolish notion of all” Leg I 15 1
“two officeholders” Leg III 3 8
votes cast should be scrutinized by the “traditional leaders of the state” Leg III 15 33
“everyone knows that laws” Leg III 15 34
Chapter 9—The Drift to Civil War: 52–50 BC
This chapter relies on Cicero’s correspondence with Caelius and Plutarch. Appian, Dio and the others set the larger scene. The opening discussion on the date that Caesar’s Gallic governorship came to an end and his legal predicament is tracked in Matthias Gelzer and examined by John Carter in Appian, 409–10.
105 “Caesar had long ago decided” Plut Caes XXVIII 1–2
106 “My one consolation” Att 95 (V 2)
107 “When we arrived” Att 94 (V 1)
108 “I leave him in the most patriotic frame of mind” Att 100 (V 7)
109 Pompey “is apt to say one thing, and think another” Fam 77 (VIII 1)
“The creatures are in remarkably short supply” Fam 2 (II 11)
“When all’s said, … this isn’t the kind of thing” Att 108 (V 15)
110 “forlorn and, without exaggeration.… In a phrase” Att 109 (V 16)
111 “Malicious persons” Fam 69 (III 6)
“Your army is hardly capable” Fam 83 (VIII 5)
112 “My best resource is winter” Att III (V 18)
113 “On October 13 we made a great slaughter” Att 113 (V 20)
“A merry Saturnalia was had by all” Att 113 (V 20)
114 “Our Consuls are paragons” Fam 88 (VIII 6)
“What he wants” Att 355 (XIV 1)
115 “I shall be sorry to have incurred his displeasure” Att 115 (VI 1)
“He is apt in his letters to me” Att 115 (VI 1)
“My dear Atticus” Att 116 (VI 2)
“I shall keep him on a tighter rein” Att 113 (V 20)
116 “Let me say only one thing” Att 116 (VI 2)
“He does seem very fond of his mother” Att 116 (VI 2)
“There’s something” Att 118 (VI 4)
117 “Here I am in my province” Att 121 (VI 6)
“We all find him charming” Att 126 (VII 3)
Chapter 10—“A Strange Madness”: 50–48 BC
The main sources for these years are Appian, Dio Cassius and Cicero’s correspondence, together with Caesar, Plutarch and Suetonius.
118 “From the day I arrived in Rome” Fam 146 (XVI 12)
“Pompey the Great’s digestion” Fam 94 (VIII 13)
“great quarrels ahead” Fam 97 (VIII 14)
119 “There looms ahead a tremendous contest” Att 124 (VII 1)
“While I am not cowardly” Quintil XII I 17
120 Caesar’s “army is incomparably superior” Fam 97 (VIII 14)
121 “He at once sent a few troops” Suet I 31
122 “Since nearly all Italy” Plut Pomp LXI 1–3
“thoroughly cowed” Att 177 (IX 10)
123 “I have decided on the spu
r of the moment” Att 133 (VII 10)
“He scorns me” Att 179 (IX 12)
“It looks to me” Att 141 (VII 17)
124 “I am sure you find” Att 164 (VIII 14)
“How utterly down he is” Att 145 (VII 21)
125 “Our Cnaeus is marvelously covetous of despotism” Att 174 (IX 7)
126 “I was made anxious before” Att 172 (IX 6)
“Nothing in [Pompey’s] conduct” Att 177 (IX 10)
Cicero’s meeting with Caesar Att 187 (IX 18)
127 “you have disapproved” Att 199B (X 83)
128 “I cannot believe that you mean to go abroad” Att 199a (X 8a)
“Do you think that if Spain is lost” Att 199 (X 8)
129 “I hope my plan won’t involve any risk” Att 208 (X 16)
“You ask me about the war news” Att 214 (XI 4a)
130 “I’ll make you win” Fam 156 (VIII 17)
131 “To go against him now” Fam 153 (VIII 16)
“He has no idea how to win a war” Suet I 36
“Consult your own best interests” Fam 157 (IX 9)
132 “I came to regret my action” Fam 183 (VII 3)
133 “[There] could be seen artificial arbors” Bell civ III 96
“They insisted on it” Suet I 30
“Excellent, if we were fighting jackdaws” Plut Cic XXXVIII 5
Chapter 11—Pacifying Caesar: 48–45 BC
The same sources as for the preceding chapter, with the addition of speeches by Cicero.
134 “He expressed himself pretty strongly on these points” Att 218 (XI 7)
135 “As to Pompey’s end” Att 217 (XI 6)
“It is the most unbelievable thing” Att 219 (XI 8)
136 “Her own beauty” Plut Ant XXVII 2ff.
137 “Came, saw, conquered” Plut Caes L 2
“Her own courage, thoughtfulness” Att 228 (XI 17)
138 “I must ask you to get me out of here” Att 230 (XI 18)
“quite a handsome one” Fam 171 (XIV 23)
“Kindly see that everything is ready” Fam 173 (XIV 20)
139 “I think the victory of either” Fam 182 (V 21)
140 “I decline to be under an obligation” Plut Cat LXVI 2
“The gods favored the winning side” Luc I 128
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