glory that you do not thoroughly appreciate, and not present itself daily to your mind without exhortation from any one. But I, who, while I read your letters, think that I am. listening to yon, aiid while I am writing to you, think that I am converBiug with you, am consequently most delighted with your longest letters, and am myself oftea somewhat prolix in oddres^ng you.
4fi. In conclusion, I entreat and eshort you, that as good poets and careful actors are accustomed to do, so you, at the end and termination of your office and administration, should be especially careful, that this third year of your command may, like tbo thii'd act of a play,' appear to be tlic most highly-finiBhed aud ornate of the whole. This you ■will do most easily if you shall imagine that I, whom you have always desired to please more than all the rest of the world, am always present with you, and take part in eveiy- thjng which you shall say and do.
It only remains for me to beg yon to take most diligent care of your health, if you wish me and all your friends to be well. Farewell.
LETTER II.
The following letter waB written in the jear after LettBT I. Cmbbi" hod begun hia conteata with the ariatocratio party; and hud brought in an agrarian law aubatantiallj tho same as tljat of Rullua: proponing amon^ other enactrntrnta, to plant 20,000 colotllata in the public doraun in Campania; and the appointniant of the eommissionera to fiuperiiit«nd tbe distributiona of tbaae laoda v/aa to be Teatad in Csaar hioiaeliL Cato opposed the bill in the eenate, and Cieaar ordered hia lictora to seize hitn and carrj him to prison, thoagh he was iteterred from executing thia menace by the indignation of the whole Beaate. His colleagao Bibuloa waa isaolute in hill oppoaition; but when ha endeavoured to renjet the paadng of the meuure in the comitia, he waa thmwD down the stepa of the temple ' Wh? does Cicero aa; the third act, vbich in the middle act of a play! Doea he mean by octi tboao three ports of a, play to which the poeta paid ao much Btteotion, the proEcuu, cpUatii, and ailailrBphe, and on the laat of whicb Uiey beBtowed the utmoat art and industry to Becnra the applanae of the audience! He baa used the mme cnmpBriaan, in almost the eatae words, in his Cato, If this eiplanation gatiafy the learned, there is no reaaon why we should read, aa haa been proposed, titremtu or WImiim, contrary to tbo old copies,— jVafesTiina.
Gcero apeaka aa if Quintoa were engaged in a play consisting only of three acts; assigning one year to eocb acL~i-V. ISuSomann/ia, I infl CICEaOB LETTERS . i broken, and he liimaelf mid ed, Cxaar now releiiSBd the Eu'nierB I from some of the conditluns of their e diEBalieSed. {See pretseding Letter.^ Ana on cne motion oi r aiimnE. the prOTmce at Ciaalpiae Qaul and IllTrioimi was uaigned to him far Gre jeaze; to which TrBnBslpina Qaul woa niterwEtrda added, through the influence of Fompe;. wha mairiad Julia, CcFKar'B daughter. Clodiua waa carrying on the mea- Biire of his adoption into a plebeian family, and openly threatening Cicero with impeachment The consuls-elect for the enauing jear, 68S A.C.C.. were Aulas Oabinius, and L. Ca]pumtuH Piao, vhoae daoghter Csesar had jnst married.
Marcof to his brother Qui^us, greeting. I. 1. St4Tid3^ arrived at my iiouse oq tho25th of October. His arrival, as you hail written that you should be torn tw. pieces by your people while he was away, was a disngreeabls one to me. But as it put abide the eipectatton of yourself- and that concourse of people which would have occurred,' if be had departed at the saiae time with you, and had not appeared till you did yourself, it seemed to me to have hap- pened not altogether diaadvaiitageously; for the talk of men 13 now exhausted, and expressions of this kind are uttered by many, ■which I am glad ia accomplished in your absence. " 2. But whereas he eeems to have been sent by you fia" the purpose of clearing himself in my opinion, that waa not- at all neoeeatiry; for, in the first place, he never was sus- pected by me; nor, in what I wrote to you about him, did I write on my own judgment: but as the estimation and safety of all of us who have joined in the affairs of the common- wealth depended not only on truth, but also on reputation, I.
' A freedman of Qnintua Cicero, and on» who had had far too mudi influenas over him, Iha linea in Homer, Od. ii. 613, are— 'AAA' dei Ti^a ^Ura fuyaif Hal KoAoir iSiyfiij^ NSf Si li iiir oAl^oi rt Kal oiriiiiri! Kol Sjcuiiis "OffloAfiou n' aAiHffW istl |U' iia)iiiaaaTO olva. Thus trandatad by Pope: — I deem'd aome godliie giant to behold, Or lofty hero, hauRhty, brays, and bold; Not this woik pigmy-wretch, of mean destgn, Who not by strength subdued me, but tiy wine.
I TO ms BKOTEKK QUINTUa.
have constantly writtea to you. the reports of others, and not my own opinJouB. How common, indeed, and how nn- fevourable, airci reports were, Statiua himself learned on hia arrival; for he come just in time to hear the compltuats of certain pergoos, which were made to me concerning himself, and had an opportunity of eiperiencLng that the convereation of the disaffected broke forth especially against hia name, 3. But that which used to move me moat, was when I heard thut he had greater influence with you than the gravity of yoiu- age, or the prudence requisite for such a command required; (for how many people do you think have applied to me to recommend them to Statins) how many things do you think he has himself made known, without intending it, in cottversatiou to the same effect 1) that did not please me; I warned, advised, deterred you. In such proceediuga, even, if there is the greatest fidelity is him, (as, indeed, I fully believe, since such is your opinion of him,) yet the mere appearance of a freedman or of a slave having bo much influence over yon, caa contribute nothing to your dignity. Aud you may be assured, (for I feel bound neither to say anything without reason, nor to suppress anything througu policy,) that Statins has furnished entire matter for the con- versation of those who seek to disparage you: previously, it oonld only have been understood that some persons were offended with your severity; but since he has been emanci- pated, there has not boon wanting to those who were oflended a subject on which they might enlarge.
II. 4. 1 will now reply to those letters which L. Csesiua delivered to me, (whom, as I understand that such is your wish, I will on no occasion fail to support,) one of which relates to Zeusia of Blandua,^ who, you write, is urgently recommended by me to you, while he baa most unques- tionably murdered his motHer. On this subject, and con- cerning this whole class of persons, attend to a few words from nie, lest yon should, perchance, be surprised that I am become so solicitous of plesfing the Greeks. As I perceived that the complaints of the Greeks had too much weight, owing to the natural talent of that nation for deceiving, I sought to pacify, by every means in my power, whomsoever I heard make any complaint of you. In the first placo, 1 ' A town of Pbiygitt.
I I CICEKO S LETXEBa soothed the people of Dionjaopolis, who were moat bitter enemies of mine; and their cliief man, Hermippus, I wou over, not merely by talking to him, but by admitting liim to intimacy. I received, ivith all the couiteay and friend- ship in my power, Hephaestus of Apamea, and tliat most contemptible of men, Megaristua of Antandroa, and Nicios of Smyrna, and all the despicable fellowa of the district, eveu Nymphoa of Colophon. All this I did, not becanee those men, or their whole nation, gave me any pleasure; for I am thoroughly weary of their levity, their flattery, and their minda that regard no duty but merely time-serving.
6, But, to return to Zeuiis, when he repeated the very samBf things which you write, about a oonverBation hold by Marcus Cascellius with him, I objected to what he said, and odmittad the man to my intimacy. But I know not what strong desire there was in you, when you say that you wished, since you had sewn up two Mysians in a sack at Smyrna, to give a similar example of your severity in the upper part of the province, and therefore desired by all means to draw forth Zeuxia, — who, if brought before the tribunal, ought perhaps not to have been let go; but it was not DeceBsaiy that he should be sought out and enticed by blandishments,, aa you write, before the court, especially being a man of suob a character, that I know him, ft'om the reports of his fellow- citizens, and, every day move and more, from those of mat^ other persons, to be almost of greater respectability than hi native city.
6. But, you will say, I am partial to Greeks only. WhattJ did I not pacify Lucius CsEcilius by every means power? and what a man ho was I of what anger! i prido 1 Whom, indeed, except Tuscenius, whose case be mended, have I not paciliedl There just occurs to Catieuus, a fickle and sordid nfbn, though of the equestrian- order: even he shall be staoothed down. That you wera somewhat severe to his father, I do not blame you, for I well know that you acted with sufficient reason. But what need was there of letters of such a character as you sent to himl telling him that he was of hia own accord erecting a cross for himself, from which you had already taken him down; and that yon would now take care that he should be burnt nlive with the applause of the whole province. Again, what did.
I I yoa write to an uuknowu ftllo-w called CoiuB Fnbius, ffor Titus CatienuB carries about that letter too,) telling him that it was reported to you that Liciuius, the kidnapper, with his young chick of an oitortioner, is esaoting tribute 1 You then ask Fabius to bum both father and aon alive if he can, and if not, to send them to you, that they may be burnt by judicial seutenco. These Iett«ra, sent doubtless in joke by you to Cftiua Fabius, if indeed they are yonra at all, appear, when they are read, to contain a barbarity of language cal- culated to excite odium.
7. And if you look back at the preccpte contained in all my letters, you will see that there ia nothing censured by me except the bitterness of your language and your pronenesa to anger, and perhaps, in one or two instances, your care- lesBneas as to letters sent by you. If in these laattera my authority had had a little more influence over you than either your own natural disposition, which is eomewhat too hasty, or a certain pleasure which you find in pasBiouatenoss, or wit and ihcetiousness in speaking, there would really be nothing whatever for us to regret. And do you think that I feel only El trifling concern, when I hear in what estimation Vergilius, and your neighbour Cains Octavius, are held! for if you prefer yourself to your inland neighbours, the Cilician and the Syrian, you do something very great! And it ia a bitter feeling, that while those men whom I have mentioned are not superior to you in innocence, they yet surpass you in the art of conciliating good-will; men who have neyer read either the Cyrus of Xenophoa or his Agesilaus, kings from whom, though possessed of absolute power, no one ever heard a single harsh word. But how much good I have done in recom- mending this conduct to you fi-oui the first, I am not unaware.
III. 8. Now however that you are departing, as you seem to me to be already doing, leare behind yuu, I entreat, aa pleasant a recollection of yourself as possible. You have an exceedingly courteous successor. Your other qualities will be much regretted on his arrival. In sending letters, as I have often written to yon, jou have shown yourself too easy. Put out of the way, if you can, all that are unjust, all that are of an imusual character, all that are inconsistent one with another. Statins has told me that the letters written to you ire often brought, and read by him, and that, if they are najust, yon ore infonaed o£ it; but that, before he came to jou, there was no selection of your lettei-e, though eince that time there have been rolk of Beleoted letters which commonly met with reprobatioa.
9. On this subject, indeed, I do not give you any advioa now, for it ia too late, and you must be aware that I have giren yon much advice, in various ways, and with great care. Attend to that, however, which I bade Theopompus tell you, when I was reminded of the circumstance by himself namely, that by means of miiu well affected to you, these dif- ferent kinds of letters, as is easy, may be put out of the way: in the first place, those which are unjust; nert, those which are contradictory; then those written in an absurd and un- usnal manner; and lastly, &11 that are insulting to any one, I do not indeed believe that these are exactly such as they are stated to be, and if they have escaped observation through the pressure of your business, at least examine them now, and get rid of them. I have read a letter which your uomen- ciator Syllii was said to have written himself, a ' cannot be approved; I have read some very angry i 10. We will speak, however, of the letters at _ time. For while 1 had hold of this page, Lucius Flavlus th» prffitor-etect came in to me, a mau with whom I am on terms of great intimacy. He told me that you had sent letters to his agents which appeared to me most unreasonable, com- manding them to take nothing fixim the property which had belonged to Lucius Octavi us Naso, to whom Lucius Flavins is heir, until they had paid a sum of money toOaiusFundanius; and that you had sent also to the people of Apollonia not to allow any portion of the property which had belonged to Octavius to be taken aivay, until the debt due to Fundauiua vraa paid. These things do not seem to rae to be probable, for they are wholly inconsistent with your usual prudence. That the heir shall take none of the property! What if he demurs! What if there is no debt at all owing! What! ia the pnetor accustomed to decide that there is a debt owing? What I (you will say) shall I not desire to serve Fundaniua t Am I not his firiendl Am I not moved with compassion him? — No one more so, but in some cases the path of of such a character that there is no room for favour. Flavins told me that it was so expressed in that letter ■ men- 'hidj ttinjl th»V be afSnned to be yonrs. thnt you would either give the people thanks &a your friends, or bring trouble on them cis enemies.
11. In short, he was greatly concerned; he addressed vehenneDt complaints to me oa ttie aubject, and aitreatcd me to write to you nitb all the eameBtnesB po^fale; as I now do, and entreat you most earnestly again and again, to allow the agents of Flavins to use their own discretion as to taking the property, and to write nothing to the people of Apollonia that is contrary to the interest of Flavius, and, besides, to do everything to gratify Flavius, and consequently Porapey. I should, in truth, be reluctant to appear to you over liberal, because of your injustice to him; but I entreat you to leave of your own accord some authority and some record of a. decree or paper in your own hand-writing, which may have a &yoarable bearing on the business and cauBo of Flavius. For the man being at the some time one who pays me great req>ect, while he ia tenacious of his own rights and dignity, is diBsatisSed that he had no iufluence with you, either &om considerations of friendship or of right. And, I believe, on sonie occasion or other, both Pompey and Csesar recommended Flavius'B interest to you, and Flavius had written to you himeelf on the subject, and so, I am sure, did I. I^ therefore, there ia any one thing which you think, you ought to do at my request, let this matter be that one. If you have any regard for me, take care, strive, and ma?iiige, that Flavius may feel all the gratitude possible both to yuu and to me. I ask this of you with such earnestness that I cannot ask any- thing with greater solicitude.
IV. 12. As to what you write to me about Hermias, it was indeed a matter of great anuoyauce to me. I had written you a letter, by no means in a brotherly style, which I wrote in esoafisive anger, when I wna provoked by a com- munication from Diodotus, the freedman of Lucullus, stating^ what I had heard at the moment about the agreement; and I wished to recal it. This letter, written in aa uu&aternal spirit, you ought iu ft fraternal spirit to forgive.
13. With rrapeet to Censoriuus and Antouius, Cassius and ScBsvoIa, I am very glad indeed that you are, as yon write, beloved by them. Tlia otljor matters in that letter were of a graver character than I wished: 6p$ay rav ravr, and axa^ Savoy.
I Those raattera will be more Berioua. My reproofs were full of ftffeotion; they were not absolutely of co importance, but moderate and light.^ I should never have thought you de- serving of the Tery elighteat reprehension in anything, while you were conducting yourself with the moHt rigid propriety, if we had not many eaemieB. Whatever I wrotfl at all in the tone of admonition or reproof, I WTote from the aniiety of my caution, in which I etill continue, and shall continue, and Bhall not cease to press you to act in a Bimilar way.
14. Attalus the Iphemian has appUed to me to prevail on jou not to hinder the money which has been voted for the (rtatue of Quintns Publicenua from being levied; and I do l»eg this of you, and eihort. yon not to allow the honour of an of such a character, and so intimately connected with to bo at all diminished or obstructed by your means. In the next place, Llciuiua, the slave of jEsop the tragedian, my great friend, with whose person you are acquainted, has fled; he was at Athens, staying with Patro the Epicurean, OS a free man: from thence he proceeded into Asia. After- wards, a man called Plato, a citizen of Sardis, and an Epi- curean, who is accustomed to be a good deal at Athens, and who was at Athens at the time when Liciniua went thither, arrested the man, when he subsequently learned from j$isop's letters that he was a runaway slave, and deUvered him into custody at Ephesus; hut whether he put him in the public prison, or in the private house of correction, I could not welt understand ftum his letter. As he is at Ephesus, I should wish you, by some means or other, to search for the man, and use all your diligence to bring him over witb you. Do not consider of what value he is, for he is of little value who has now proved himself worthless; but jEsop is So con- cerned and indignant at the wickedness and audacity of the slave, that you can do him no greater favour than to be the means of his recovering him.
V. 16. Attend now to what you are most desirous to hear.
' This ia rather ohsoure. Maoutjus interprets it, that tho meiming of the Greek quotationa in the letter which Cicero repented of, wna, — Let ua keep tha vessel stroight on her cMiuraa; if we fail, we can die but once. And now lie Baya, the advice which 1 am giving vau is of greater canBequeuce than the sffaira which impelled me uae that Ungiiugs, in whiuh despondency was nungled wi<^ i EBOTHEB QUINTUS.
The republic we Lave utterly lost; icBorauch, lliat Cato, n young roan of no wisdotu, but Etiil a Eomaii citizen and a Cato, scarcely escaped with his life, because, when he was resolved to impeach Gahiiiius for corruption, and the prtctora would not grant access for Bome days, or give him any oppor- tunity of addressing thorn, he made his way to the rostrum, and called Pompey a " private dictator." Nothing was ever more nearly happening, tbau that he should be killed. From this circumstance you may see what the state of the whole republic must be, 16. Still men are not likely to be wanting to my own cause.^ They make profesaiona of adherence to me to a wonderful extent, and offer themselves, and make promiaes. In truth, I am in the greatest hopes, and even in greater confidence. I hope that we shall get the upper-band. I feel confident tbat I need fear no misfortune in this state of afOiiis. But still this is the coudition of things. If Clodius tmpeacheB me, all Italy will throng arouud me to secure my coming off with increased glory; but if be attempts to carry hia point by violence, I then hope that we shall resist him with force, not only through the efforts of our friends, but even those of strangera. All men promise me the aid trf themselves, and their &iends, and freedmen, and slaves, and even of their money. Our ancient band of worthies glows with zeal and love for me. If in times past any of them have been at all alienated, or cool, they now, from hatred to these kiugs,^ unite themselves with the good citizens. Pompey promises everything, and so does Ciesar; whom I trust so far as to abate nothing of my own preparation. The of the people elect are my friends; tbo consuls smselves in a vety iavourable light. I find the praitors 'excellent friends, and most energetic citizens, especially Nigidius, Memmius, and Lentulus; I find the Otliers^ also good, but these particularly so. Study there- fore to cherish much courage and good hope. Of everything, however, which takes place from day to day I will keep you oontiiiaally informed.
' The attBck with wMoh Clodiufl waa tbreateaiDg ^<"\.
' There were eight ptwtors altogether.
I LETTER IIL This letter wa* written in the next year, 686 i.i;.c. Cfesar, on tho eipiratioQ of his canBulehiii, did not depart at once foe his prarince, but remuned outside the oitj with his legiona. CIodiuH, through his infliieiioe, obtajned the tribuneahip, Kad having won over the cunaulB by hii promiBBS, began a set of reTalutionary meannres j introducing a hill to limit tlie power of the oensora, mid another to rertore tha oollegea or guilds which had been Buppresaed a few yeare before; and a. tliird to Topml the Lex -£lia Fulia, which gave the conaule a power of disBOlving the comitia by declaring the aiiBpicea unfavourablB, Having strengthened bimeelf by tbeae measures, he proceeded in hia -threatoned attaok upon Cicero. Cffaar offered him one of his Cnim- paniaji commiaaionershipa ob a means of withdrawing in honour for a while; or a lieutenancy in Gaul under liiraself; but be refused these offajB, trusting to the attachment of the people and Pompey. When be found them likely to fail bim, he, and the greater part of the senate imd knigbta, put on black garments, as a dress of suppli- cation i and Cicero tnade personal application to Fiso for bis proteo- tioD. At last, in the beginniiig of April, by the advice of bis friends, Cicero withdrew from the city, taldng an image of Minerva, and placing it in the temple o! Jupiter Capitotinus as a deposit; sod this letter was written while he was in exile at ThessaloDioa, Marcus to Ids brother Quintics, grteting, I, 1. Ml brother, toy brother, my brother, were yoa afraid that, under the influeaoe of Bome angry feeling, I had sent to you elaveB without any letters; or that I was even unwilling to see youl I angry with youl How could I have been angry with you! I dare say; for yon, I auppose, have crushed ■ me; your enemies, your unpopularity has ruined me; aud it I is not I who have miserably uadoue you. That conBulship laiue, BO much estollod, has torn from me yon, my children, my countjy, my fortunes; would that it may have takes nothing from you b\it me alone! But certainly, on your partj everything honourable, agreeable, has befallen me; from me there arises to you only sorrow for my ill-fortuae, fear for your own, regret, grief, and aelitude. Could I be un- willing to see yon) Nay, rather I was unwilling to be seen fay you.^ For you would wot have seen your brother; you ' QuintuB was juat quitting his government in Asia, and returning to Home, where Ma encmiea were prepating to impeach bim. He pro- posed to come ont of hi» way to ThesaalgnioB, to eee hia brother; but Cicero urged bim rather to hasten to Kome. Me says to Attious, (Ep. ill ] D,) that it wna necessary for bis brother " to hasten to Rome with all speed, leat any injury should be done to Mm in his abaonce."...
TO HIS BBOTHEK (jniNTUB. Si TOold not have seen Lira whom you bad left, him whom yoa b&d known, him to whom, weeping, you had hidden Earewell, yoiuaelf weepiug, of whom you, when departing, had taken leave, after he had attended you. Bome way on your journey; you would have seen not even a trace or image of him, but A sort of effigy of a breathing corpse. And I wish that you had rather seen or heard that I was dead; I wish tliat I had left you surviving, not only my life, but ray dignity.