LX
Non placebat Atiae matri Philippoque vitrico adiri nomen invidiosae fortunae Caesaris, sed adserebant salutaria rei publicae terrarumque orbis fata conditorem conservatoremque Romani nominis. Sprevit itaque caelestis animus humana consilia et cum periculo potius summa quam tuto humilia proposuit sequi maluitque avunculo et Caesari de se quam vitrico credere, dictitans nefas esse, quo nomine Caesari dignus esset visus, semet ipsum sibi videri indignum. Hunc protinus Antonius consul superbe excepit (neque is erat contemptus, sed metus) vixque admisso in Pompeianos hortos loquendi secum tempus dedit, mox etiam velut insidiis eius petitus sceleste insimulare coepit, in quo turpiter deprehensa eius vanitas est. Aperte deinde Antonii ac Dolabellae consulum ad nefandam dominationem erupit furor. Sestertium septiens miliens, depositum a C. Caesare ad aedem Opis, occupatum ad Antonio, actorum eiusdem insertis falsis civitatibus inmunitatibusque corrupti commentarii atque omnia pretio temperata, vendente rem publicam consule. Idem provinciam D. Bruto designato consuli decretam Galliam occupare statuit, Dolabella transmarinas decrevit sibi; interque naturaliter dissimillimos ac diversa volentis crescebat odium eoque C. Caesar iuvenis cotidianis Antonii petebatur insidiis.
[60] (1) His mother Atia and Philippus his stepfather disliked the thought of his assuming the name of Caesar, whose fortune had aroused such jealousy, but the fates that preside over the welfare of the commonwealth and of the world took into their own keeping the second founder and preserver of the Roman name. (2) His divine soul therefore spurned the counsels of human wisdom, and he determined to pursue the highest goal with danger rather than a lowly estate and safety. He preferred to trust the judgement concerning himself of a great-uncle who was Caesar, rather than that of a stepfather, saying that he had no right to think himself unworthy of the name of which Caesar had thought him worthy. (3) On his arrival, Antony, the consul, received him haughtily — out of fear, however, rather than contempt — and grudgingly gave him, after he had secured admission to Pompey’s gardens, a few moments’ conversation with himself; and it was not long before Antony began wickedly to insinuate that an attempt had been made upon his life through plots fostered by Octavius. In this matter, however, the untrustworthiness of the character of Antony was disclosed, to his discredit. (4) Later the mad ambition of Antony and Dolabella, the consuls, for the attainment of an unholy despotism, burst into view. The seven hundred thousand sestertia deposited by Gaius Caesar in the temple of Ops were seized by Antony; the records of his acts were tampered with by the insertion of forged grants of citizenship and immunity; and all his documents were garbled for money considerations, the consul bartering away the public interests. (5) Antony resolved to seize the province of Gaul, which had been assigned by decree to Decimus Brutus, the consul designate, while Dolabella had the provinces beyond the sea assigned to himself. Between men by nature so unlike and with such different aims there grew up a feeling of hatred, and in consequence, the young Gaius Caesar was the object of daily plots on the part of Antony.
LXI
Torpebat oppressa dominatione Antonii civitas. Indignatio et dolor omnibus, vis ad resistendum nulli aderat, cum C. Caesar undevicesimum annum ingressus, mira ausus ac summa consecutus privato consilio maiorem senatu pro re publica animum habuit primumque a Calatia, mox a Casilino veteranos excivit paternos; quorum exemplum secuti alii brevi in formam iusti coiere exercitus. Mox cum Antonius occurrisset exercitui, quem ex transmarinis provinciis Brundusiuni venire iusserat, legio Martia et quarta cognita et senatus voluntate et tanti iuvenis indole sublatis signis ad Caesarem se contulerunt. Eum senatus honoratum equestri statua, quae hodieque in rostris posita aetatem eius scriptura indicat (qui honor non alii per trecentos annos quam L. Sullae et Cn. Pompeio et C. Caesari contigerat), pro praetore una cum consulibus designatis Hirtio et Pansa bellum cum Antonio gerere iussit. Id ab eo annum agente vicesimum fortissime circa Mutinam administratum est et D. Brutus obsidione liberatus. Antonius turpi ac nuda fuga coactus deserere Italiam, consulum autem alter in acie, alter post paucos dies ex volnere mortem obiit.
[61] (1) The state languished, oppressed by the tyranny of Antony. All felt resentment and indignation, but no one had the power to resist, until Gaius Caesar, who had just entered his nineteenth year, with marvellous daring and supreme success, showed by his individual sagacity a courage in the state’s behalf which exceeded that of the senate. (2) He summoned his father’s veterans first from Calatia then from Casilinum; other veterans followed their example, and in a short time they united to form a regular army. Not long afterwards, when Antony had met the army which he had ordered to assemble at Brundisium from the provinces beyond the sea, two legions, the Martian and the fourth, learning of the feeling of the senate and the spirit shown by this courageous youth, took up their standards and went over to Caesar. (3) The senate honoured him with an equestrian statue, which is still standing upon the rostra and testifies to his years by its inscription. This is an honour which in three hundred years had fallen to the lot of Lucius Sulla, Gnaeus Pompeius, and Gaius Caesar, and to these alone. The senate commissioned him, with the rank of propraetor, to carry on the war against Antony in conjunction with Hirtius and Pansa, the consuls designate. (4) Now in his twentieth year, he conducted the war at Mutina with great bravery, and the siege of Decimus Brutus there was raised. Antony was compelled to abandon Italy in undisguised and disgraceful flight. Of the two consuls, the one died upon the field of battle, and the other of his wound a few days afterwards.
LXII
Omnia ante quam fugaretur Antonius honorifice a senatu in Caesarem exercitumque eius decreta sunt maxime auctore Cicerone; sed ut recessit metus, erupit voluntas protinusque Pompeianis partibus rediit animus. Bruto Cassioque provinciae, quam iam ipsi sine ullo senatus consulto occupaverant, decretae, laudati quicumque se iis exercitus tradidissent, omnia transmarina imperia eorum commissa arbitrio. Quippe M. Brutus et C. Cassius, nunc metuentes arma Antonii, nunc ad augendam eius invidiam simulantes se metuere, testati edictis libenter se vel in perpetuo exilio victuros, dum rei publicae constaret concordia, nec uliam belli civilis praebituros materiam, plurimum sibi honoris esse in conscientia facti sui, profecti urbe atque Italia, intento ac pari animo sine auctoritate publica provincias exercitusque occupaverant et, ubicumque ipsi essent, praetexentes esse rem pubblicam, pecunias etiam, quae ex transmarinis provinciis Romam ab quaestoribus deportabantur, a volentibus acceperant. Quae omnia senatus decretis comprensa et comprobata sunt et D. Bruto, quod alieno beneficio viveret, decretus triumphus, Pansae atque Hirtii corpora publica sepultura honorata, Caesaris adeo nulla habita mentio, ut legati, qui ad exercitum eius missi erant, iuberentur summoto eo milites adloqui. Non fuit tam ingratus exercitus, quam fuerat senatus; nam cum eam iniuriam dissimulando Caesar ipse ferret, negavere milites sine imperatore suo ulla se audituros mandata. Hoc est illud tempus, quo Cicero insito amore Pompeianarum partium Caesarem laudandum et tollendum censebat, cum aliud diceret, aliud intellegi vellet.
[62] (1) Before the defeat of Antony the senate, chiefly on the motion of Cicero, passed all manner of resolutions complimentary to Caesar and his army. But, now that their fears had vanished, their real feelings broke through their disguise, and the Pompeian party once more took heart. (2) By vote of the senate, Brutus and Cassius were now confirmed in possession of the provinces which they had seized upon their own authority without any decree of the senate; the armies which had gone over to them were formally commended; (3) and Brutus and Cassius were given all authority and jurisdiction beyond the sea. It is true that these two men had issued manifestoes — at first in real fear of armed violence at the hands of Antony, and later to increase Antony’s unpopularity, with the pretence of fear — manifestos in which they declared that for the sake of ensuring harmony in the republic they were even ready to live in perpetual exile, that they would furnish no grounds for civil war, and that the consciousness of the service they had rendered by their act was ample reward. But, when they had once left Rome and Italy behind them, by deliberate agreement
and without government sanction they had taken possession of provinces and armies, and under the pretence that the republic existed wherever they were, they had gone so far as to receive from the quaestors, with their own consent, it is true, the moneys which these men were conveying to Rome from the provinces across the sea. (4) All these acts were now included in the decrees of the senate and formally ratified. Decimus Brutus was voted a triumph, presumably because, thanks to another’s services, he had escaped with his life. Hirtius and Pansa were honoured with a public funeral. (5) Of Caesar not a word was said. The senate even went so far as to instruct its envoys, who had been sent to Caesar’s army, to confer with the soldiers alone, without the presence of their general. But the ingratitude of the senate was not shared by the army; for, though Caesar himself pretended not to see the slight, the soldiers refused to listen to any orders without the presence of their commander. (6) It was at this time that Cicero, with his deep-seated attachment for the Pompeian party, expressed the opinion, which said one thing and meant another, to the effect that Caesar “should be commended and then — elevated.”
LXIII
Interim Antonius fuga transgressus Alpes, primo per conloquia repulsus a M. Lepido, qui pontifex maximus in C. Caesaris locum furto creatus decreta sibi Hispania adhuc in Gallia morabatur, mox saepius in conspectum veniens militum (cum et Lepido omnes imperatores forent meliores et multis Antonius, dum erat sobrius), per aversa castrorum proruto vallo a militibus receptus est. Qui titulo imperii cedebat Lepido, cum summa virium penes eum foret. Sub Antonii ingressum in castra Iuventius Laterensis, vir vita ac morte consentaneus, cum acerrime suasisset Lepido, ne se cum Antonio hoste iudicato iungeret, inritus consilii gladio se ipse transifixit. Plancus deinde dubia, id est sua, fide, diu quarum esset partium secum luctatus ac sibi difficile consentiens, et nunc adiutor D. Bruti designati consulis, collegae sui, senatuique se litteris venditans, mox eiusdem proditor, Asinius autem Pollio firmus proposito et Iulianis partibus fidus, Pompeianis adversus, uterque exercitus tradidere Antonio.
[63] (1) Meanwhile Antony in his flight had crossed the Alps, and at first made overtures to Marcus Lepidus which were rejected. Now Lepidus had surreptitiously been made pontifex in Caesar’s place, and, though the province of Spain had been assigned to him, was still lingering in Gaul. Later, however, Antony showed himself several times to the soldiers of Lepidus, and being, when sober, better than most commanders, whereas none could be worse than Lepidus, he was admitted by the soldiers through a breach which they made in the fortifications in the rear of the camp. Antony still permitted Lepidus to hold the nominal command, while he himself held the real authority. (2) At the time when Antony entered the camp, Juventius Laterensis, who had strongly urged Lepidus not to ally himself with Antony now that he had been declared an enemy of the state, finding his advice of no avail ran himself through with his own sword, consistent unto death. Later Plancus and Pollio both handed over their armies to Antony. (3) Plancus, with his usual loose idea of loyalty, after a long debate with himself as to which party to follow, and much difficulty in sticking to his resolutions when formed, now pretended to co-operate with his colleague, Decimus Brutus, the consul designate, thus seeking to ingratiate himself with the senate in his dispatches, and again betrayed him. But Asinius Pollio, steadfast in his resolution, remained loyal to the Julian party and continued to be an adversary of the Pompeians.
LXIV
D. Brutus desertus primo a Planco, postea etiam insidiis eiusdem petitus, paulatim relinquente eum exercitu fugiens in hospitis cuiusdam nobilis viri, nomine Cameli, domo ab iis, quos miserat Antonius, iugulatus est iustissimasque optime de se merito viro C. Caesari poenas dedit, cuius cum primus omnium amicorum fuisset, interfector fuit et fortunae, ex qua fructum tulerat, invidiam in auctorem relegabat censebatque aequum, quae acceperat a Caesare retinere, Caesarem, qui illa dederat, perire. Haec sunt tempora, quibus M. Tullius continuis, actionibus aeternas Antonii memoriae inussit notas, sed hic fulgentissimo et caelesti ore, at tribunus Cannutius canina rabie lacerabat Antonium. Utrique vindicta ]ibertatis morte stetit; sed tribuni sanguine commissa proscriptio, Ciceronis velut satiato Antonio paene finita. Lepidus deinde a senatu hostis iudicatus est, ut ante fuerat Antonius.
[64] (1) Decimus Brutus, first abandoned by Plancus, and later actually the object of his plots, deserted little by little by his army, and now a fugitive, was slain by the emissaries of Antony in the house of a noble named Camelus with whom he had taken refuge. He thus met his just deserts and paid the penalty of his treason to Gaius Caesar by whom he had been treated so well. (2) He who had been the foremost of all Caesar’s friends became his assassin, and while he threw upon Caesar the odious responsibility for the fortune of which he himself had reaped the benefits, he thought it fair to retain what he had received at Caesar’s hands, and for Caesar, who had given it all, to perish.
(3) This is the period when Cicero in a series of speeches branded the memory of Antony for all time to come. Cicero assailed Antony with his brilliant and god-given tongue, whereas Cannutius the tribune tore him to pieces with the ravening of a mad dog. Each paid with his life for his defence of liberty. (4) The proscription was ushered in by the slaying of the tribune; it practically ended with the death of Cicero, as though Antony were now sated with blood. Lepidus was now declared by the senate an enemy of the state, as Antony had been before him.
LXV
Tum inter eum Caesaremque et Antonium commercia epistularum et condicionum facta mentio, cum Antonius subinde Caesarem admoneret, quam inimicae ipsi Pompeianae partes forent et in quod iam emersissent fastigium et quanto Ciceronis studio Brutus Cassiusque attollerentur, denuntiaretque se cum Bruto Cassioque, qui iam decem et septem legionum potentes erant, iuncturum vires suas, si Caesar eius aspernaretur concordiam, diceretque plus Caesarem patris quam se amici ultioni debere. Tum inita potentiae societas et hortantibus orantibusque exercitibus inter Antonium etiam et Caesarem facta adfinitas, cum esset privigna Antonii desponsata Caesari. Consulatumque iniit Caesar pridie quam viginti annos impleret decimo Kal. Octobres cum collega Q. Pedio post urbem conditam annis septingentis et novem, ante duos et septuaginta, quam tu, M. Vinici, consulatum inires. Vidit hic annus Ventidium, per quam urbem inter captivos Picentium in triumpho ductus erat, in ea consularem praetextam iungentem praetoria. Idem hic postea triumphavit.
[65] (1) Then began an interchange of letters between Lepidus, Caesar, and Antony, and terms of agreement were suggested. Antony reminded Caesar how hostile to him the Pompeian party was, to what a height they had now risen, and how zealously Cicero was extolling Brutus and Cassius. Antony threatened to join forces with Brutus and Cassius, who had now control of seventeen legions, if Caesar rejected this friendly gesture, and said that Caesar was under greater obligations to avenge a father than he to avenge a friend. (2) Then began their partnership in political power, and, on the urgent advice and entreaty of the armies, a marriage alliance was also made between Antony and Caesar, in which Antony’s stepdaughter was betrothed to Caesar. Caesar, with Quintus Pedius as colleague, entered on the consulship one day before the completion of his twentieth year on the twenty-second of September, seven hundred and nine years after the founding of the city and seventy-two, Marcus Vinicius, before the beginning of your consulship.
(3) This year saw Ventidius joining the robes of the consular office to those of praetor in the very city in which he had been led in triumph among the Picentine captives. He also lived to celebrate a triumph of his own.
LXVI
Furente deinde Antonio simulque Lepido, quorum uterque, ut praediximus, hostes iudicati erant, cum ambo mallent sibi nuntiari, quid passi essent, quam quid meruissent, repugnante Caesare, sed frustra adversus duos, instauratum Sullani exempli malum, proscriptio. Nihil tam indignum illo tempore fuit, quam quod aut Caesar aliquem proscribere coactus est aut ab ullo Cicero proscriptus est. Abscisaque scelere Antonii vox publica est, cum eius salutem nemo defendisset, qui per tot annos et publicam civitatis et privatam civium defend
erat. Nihil tamen egisti, M. Antoni (cogit enim excedere propositi formam operis erumpens animo ac pectore indignatio) nihil, inquam, egisti mercedem caelestissimi oris et clarissimi capitis abscisi numerando auctoramentoque funebri ad conservatoris quondam rei pubIicae tantique consulis inritando necem. Rapuisti tu M. Ciceroni lucem sollicitam et aetatem senilem et vitam miseriorem te principe quam sub te triumviro mortem, famam vero gloriamque factorum atque dictorum adeo non abstulisti, ut auxeris. Vivit vivetque per omnem saeculorum memoriam, dumque hoc vel forte vel providentia vel utcumque constitutum rerum naturae corpus, quod ille paene solus Romanorum animo vidit, ingenio complexus est, eloquentia inluminavit, manebit incolume, comitem aevi sui laudem Ciceronis trahet omnisque posteritas illius in te scripta mirabitur, tuum in eum factum execrabitur citiusque e mundo genus hominum quam Ciceronis nomen cedet.
[66] (1) Then the vengeful resentment of Antony and Lepidus — for each of them had been declared public enemies, as has already been stated, and both preferred to hear accounts of what they had suffered, rather than of what they had deserved, at the hands of the senate — renewed the horror of the Sullan proscription. Caesar protested, but without avail, being but one against two. (2) The climax of the shame of this time was that Caesar should be forced to proscribe any one, or that any one should proscribe the name of Cicero. By the crime of Antony, when Cicero was beheaded the voice of the people was severed, nor did anyone raise a hand in defence of the man who for so many years had protected the interests both of the state and of the private citizen. (3) But you accomplished nothing, Mark Antony — for the indignation that surges in my breast compels me to exceed the bounds I have set for my narrative — you accomplished nothing, I say, by offering a reward for the sealing of those divine lips and the severing of that illustrious head, and by encompassing with a death-fee the murder of so great a consul and of the man who once had saved the state. (4) You took from Marcus Cicero a few anxious days, a few senile years, a life which would have been more wretched under your domination than was his death in your triumvirate; but you did not rob him of his fame, the glory of his deeds and words, nay you but enhanced them. (5) He lives and will continue to live in the memory of the ages, and so long as this universe shall endure — this universe which, whether created by chance, or by divine providence, or by whatever cause, he, almost alone of all the Romans, saw with the eye of his mind, grasped with his intellect, illumined with his eloquence — so long shall it be accompanied throughout the ages by the fame of Cicero. All posterity will admire the speeches that he wrote against you, while your deed to him will call forth their execrations, and the race of man shall sooner pass from the world than the name of Cicero be forgotten.
Complete Works of Velleius Paterculus Page 53