Cassius Dio
Roman History
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Book XLIV
The following is contained in the Forty-fourth of Dio's Rome:—
1. About the decrees passed in honour of Caesar (chaps. 1-11).
2. About the conspiracy formed against him (chaps. 12-18).
3. How Caesar was murdered (chaps. 19-22).
4. How a decree was passed that the people should not bear malice
against one another (chaps. 23-34).
5. About the burial of Caesar and the oration delivered over him
(chaps. 35-53).
B.C.
44
Duration of time, a part of the fifth dictatorship
of Julius Caesar, held in company with Aemilius Lepidus as master of
the horse, and of his fifth consulship, held with Mark Antony.
All this Caesar did as a preliminary step to his campaign against the
Parthians; but a baleful frenzy which fell upon certain men through
jealousy of his advancement and hatred of his preferment to themselves
caused his death unlawfully, while it added a new name to the annals of
infamy; it scattered the decrees to the winds and brought upon the
Romans seditions and civil wars once more after a state of harmony. His
slayers, to be sure, declared that they had shown themselves at once
destroyers of Caesar and liberators of the people: but in reality they
impiously plotted against him, and they threw the city into disorder
when at last it possessed a stable government. Democracy, indeed, has a
fair-appearing name and conveys the impression of bringing equal rights
to all through equal laws, but its results are seen not to agree at all
with its title. Monarchy, on the contrary, has an unpleasant sound, but
is a most practical form of government to live under. For it is easier
to find a single excellent man than many of them, and if even this
seems to some a difficult feat, it is quite inevitable that the other
alternative should be acknowledged to be impossible; for it does not
belong to the majority of men to acquire virtue. And again, even though
a base man should obtain supreme power, yet he is preferable to the
masses of like character, as the history of the Greeks and barbarians
and of the Romans themselves proves. For successes have always been
greater and more frequent in the case have of cities and of individuals
under kings than under popular rule, and disasters do not happen so
frequently under monarchies as under mob-rule. Indeed, if ever there
has been a prosperous democracy, it has in any case been at its best
for only a brief period, so long, that is, as the people had neither
the numbers nor the strength sufficient to cause insolence to spring up
among them as the result of good fortune or jealousy as the result of
ambition. But for a city, not only so large in itself, but also ruling
the finest and the greatest part of the known world, holding sway over
men of many and diverse natures, possessing many men of great wealth,
occupied with every imaginable pursuit, enjoying every imaginable
fortune, both individually and collectively,— for such a city, I say,
to practise moderation under a democracy is impossible, and still more
is it impossible for the people, unless moderation prevails, to be
harmonious. Therefore, if Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius had only
reflected upon these things, they would never have killed the city's
head and protector nor have made themselves the cause of countless ills
both to themselves and to all the rest of mankind then living.
It happened as follows, and his death was due to the cause now to be
given. He had aroused dislike that was not altogether unjustified,
except in so far as it was the senators themselves who had by their
novel and excessive honours encouraged him and puffed him up, only to
find fault with him on this very account and to spread slanderous
reports how glad he was to accept them and how he behaved more
haughtily as a result of them. It is true that Caesar did now and then
err by accepting some of the honours voted him and believing that he
really deserved them; yet those were most blameworthy who, after
beginning to honour him as he deserved, led him on and brought blame
upon him for the measures they had passed. He neither dared, of course,
to thrust them all aside, for fear of being thought contemptuous, nor,
again, could he be safe in accepting them; for excessive honour and
praise render even the most modest men conceited, especially if they
seem to be bestowed with sincerity.
The privileges that were granted him, in addition to all those
mentioned, were as follows in number and nature; for I shall name them
all together, even if they were not all proposed or passed at one time.
First, then, they voted that he should always ride, even in the city
itself, wearing the triumphal dress, and should sit in his chair of
state everywhere except at the games; for at those he received the
privilege of watching the contests from the tribunes' benches in
company with those who were tribunes at the time. And they gave him the
right to offer spolia opima, as they are called, at the temple of
Jupiter Feretrius, as if he had slain some hostile general with his own
hand, and to have lictors who always carried laurel, and after the
Feriae Latinae to ride from the Alban Mount into the city on horseback.
In addition to these remarkable privileges they named him father of his
country, stamped this title on the coinage, voted to celebrate his
birthday by public sacrifice, ordered that he should have a statue in
the cities and in all the temples of Rome, and they set up two also on
the rostra, one representing him as the saviour of the citizens and the
other as the deliverer of the city from siege, and wearing the crowns
customary for such achievements. They also resolved to build a temple
of Concordia Nova, on the ground that it was through his efforts that
they enjoyed peace, and to celebrate an annual festival in her honour.
When he had accepted these, they assigned to him the charge of filling
the Pontine marshes, cutting a canal through the Peloponnesian isthmus,
and constructing a new senate-house, since that of Hostilius, although
repaired, had been demolished. The reason assigned for its destruction
was that a temple of Felicitas was to be built there, which Lepidus,
indeed, brought to completion while master of the horse; but their real
purpose was that the name of Sulla should not be preserved on it, and
that another senate-house, newly constructed, might be named the
Julian, even as they had called the month in which he was born July,
and one of the tribes, selected by lot, the Julian. And they voted that
Caesar should be sole censor for life and should enjoy the immunities
granted to the tribunes, so that if any one insulted him by deed or
word, that man should be an outlaw and accursed, and further that
Caesar's son, should he beget or even adopt one, should be appointed
high priest. As he seemed to like all this, a gilded chair was granted
him, and a garb that the kings had once used, and body-guard of knights
and senators; furthermore they decided that prayers should be offered
for him publicly every year, that they should swear by Caesar's
Fortune, and should regard as valid all his future acts. Next they
bestowed upon him a quadrennial festival, as to a hero, and a third
priestly college, which they called the Julian, as overseers of the
Lupercalia, and one special day of his own each time in connection with
all gladiatorial combats be in Rome and the rest of Italy. When he
showed himself pleased with these honours also, they accordingly voted
that his golden chair and his crown set with precious gems and overlaid
with gold should be carried into the theatres in the same manner as
those of the gods, and that on the occasion of the games in the Circus
his chariot should be brought in. And finally they addressed him
outright as Jupiter Julius and ordered a temple to be consecrated to
him and to his Clemency, electing Antony as their priest like some
flamen Dialis.
At the same time with these measures they passed another which most
clearly indicated their disposition it gave him the right to place his
tomb within the pomerium; and the decrees regarding this matter they
inscribed in golden letters on silver tablets and deposited beneath the
feet of Jupiter Capitolinus, thus pointing out to him very clearly that
he was a mortal. When they had begun to honour him, it was with the
idea, of course, that he would be reasonable; but as they went on and
saw that he was delighted with what they voted,— indeed he accepted all
but a very few of their decrees,— different me at different times kept
proposing various extravagant honours, some in a spirit of exaggerated
flattery and others by way of ridicule. At any rate, some actually
ventured to suggest permitting him to have intercourse with as many
women as he pleased, because even at this time, though fifty years old,
he still had numerous mistresses. Others, and they were the majority,
followed this course because they wished to make him envied and hated
as quietly as possible, that he might the sooner perish. And this is
precisely what happened, though Caesar was encouraged by these very
measures to believe that he should never be plotted against by the men
who had voted him such honours, nor, through fear of them, by any one
else; and consequently he even dispensed henceforth with a body-guard.
For nominally he accepted the privilege of being watched over by the
senators and knights, and so dismissed the guard he had previously had.
Indeed, when once they had voted to him on a single day an unusually
large number of these honours of especial importance,— which had been
granted unanimously by all except Cassius and a few others, who became
famous for this action, yet suffered no harm, whereby Caesar's clemency
was conspicuously revealed,— they then approached him as he was sitting
in the vestibule of the temple of Venus in order to announce to him in
a body their decisions; for they transacted such business in his
absence, in order to have the appearance of doing it, not under
compulsion, but voluntarily. And either by some heaven-sent fatuity or
even through excess of joy he received them sitting, which aroused so
great indignation among them all, not only the senators but all the
rest, that it afforded his slayers one of their chief excuses for their
plot against him. Some who subsequently tried to defend him claimed, it
is true, that owing to an attack of diarrhoea he could not control the
movement of his bowels and so had remained where he was in order to
avoid a flux. They were not able, however, to convince the majority,
since not long afterwards he rose up and went home on foot; hence most
men suspected him of being inflated with pride and hated him for his
haughtiness, when it was they themselves who had made him disdainful by
the exaggerated character of their honours. After this occurrence,
striking as it was, he increased the suspicion by permitting himself
somewhat later to be chosen dictator for life.
When he had reached this point, the men who were plotting against him
hesitated no longer, but in order to embitter even his best friends
against him, they did their best to traduce him, finally saluting him
as king, a name which they often used also among themselves. When he
kept refusing the title and rebuking in a way those who thus accosted
him, yet did nothing by which it would be thought that he was really
displeased at it, they secretly adorned his statue, which stood on the
rostra, with a diadem. And when the tribunes, Gaius Epidius Marullus
and Lucius Caesetius Flavius, took it down, he became violently angry,
although they uttered no word of abuse and moreover actually praised
him before the populace as not wanting anything of the sort. For the
time being, though vexed, he held his peace. Subsequently, however,
when he was riding in from the Alban Mount and some men again called
him king, he said that his name was not king but Caesar; but when the
same tribunes brought suit against the first man who had termed him
king, he no longer restrained his wrath but showed great irritation, as
if these very officials were really stirring up sedition against him.
And though for the moment to speak their mind freely and safely on
behalf of the public good, he became exceedingly angry and brought them
into the senate-house where he accused them and put their conduct to
the vote. He did not put them to death, though some declared them
worthy even of that penalty, but he first removed them from the
tribuneship, on the motion of Helvius Cinna, their colleague, and then
erased their names from the senate. Some were pleased at this, or
pretended to be, thinking they would have no need to incur danger by
speaking out freely, and since they were not themselves involved in the
business, they could view events as from a watch tower. Caesar,
however, received an ill name from this fact also, that, where he
should have hated those who applied to him the name of king, he let
them go and found fault with the tribunes instead.
Another thing that happened not long after these events proved still
more clearly that, although he pretended to shun the title, in reality
he desired to assume it. For when he had entered the Forum at the
festival of the Lupercalia and was sitting on the rostra in his gilded
chair, adorned with the royal apparel and resplendent in his crown
overlaid with gold, Antony with his fellow-priests saluted him as king
and binding a diadem upon his head, said: "The people offer this to you
through me." And Caesar answered: "Jupiter alone is king of the
Romans," and sent the diadem to Jupiter on the Capitol; yet he was not
angry, but caused it to be inscribed in the records that he had refused
to accept the kingship when offered to him by the people through the
consul. It was accordingly suspected that this thing had been
deliberately arranged and that he was anxious for the name, but wished
to be somehow compelled to take it; consequently the hatred against him
was intense. After this certain men at the elections proposed for
consuls the tribunes previously mentioned, and they not only privately
approached Marcus Brutus and such other persons as were proud-spirited
and attempted to persuade them, but also tried to incite them to action
publicly. Making the most of his having the same name as the great
Brutus who overthrew the Tarquins, they scattered broadcast many
pamphlets, declaring that he was not truly that man's descendant; for
the older Brutus had put to death both his sons, the only ones he had,
when they were mere lads, and left no offspring whatever. Nevertheless,
the majority pretended to accept such a relationship, in order that
Brutus, as a kinsman of that famous man, might be induced to perform
deeds as great. They kept continually calling upon him, shouting out
"Brutus, Brutus!" and adding further "We need a Brutus." Finally on the
statue of the early Brutus they wrote "Would that thou wert living!"
and upon the tribunal of the living Brutus (for he was praetor at the
time and this is the name given to the seat on which the praetor sits
in judgment) "Brutus, thou sleepest," and "Thou art not Brutus."
Now these were the influences that persuaded Brutus to attack Caesar,
whom he had opposed from the beginning in any case, although he had
later accepted benefits from him. He was also influenced by the fact
that he was both nephew and son-in-law of that Cato who was called
Uticensis, as I have stated. And his wife Portia was the only woman, as
they say, who was privy to the plot. For she came upon him while he was
pondering over these very matters and asked him why he was so
thoughtful. When he made no answer, she suspected that she was
distrusted on account of her physical weakness, for fear she might
reveal something, however unwillingly, under torture; hence she
ventured to do a noteworthy deed. She secretly inflicted a wound upon
her own thigh, to test herself and see if she could endure torture. And
as soon as the first intense pain was past, she despised the wound, and
coming to him, said: "You, my husband, though you trusted my spirit
that it would not betray you, nevertheless were distrustful of my body,
and your feeling was but human. But I found that my body also can keep
silence." With these words she disclosed her thigh, and making known
the reason for what she had done, she said: "Therefore fear not, but
tell me all you are concealing from me, for neither fire, nor lashes,
nor goads will force me to divulge a word; I was not born to that
extent a woman. Hence, if you still distrust me, it is better for me to
die than to live; otherwise let no one think me longer the daughter of
Cato or your wife." Hearing this, Brutus marvelled; and he no longer
hid anything from her, but felt strengthened himself and related to her
the whole plot. After this he obtained as an associate Gaius Cassius,
who had also been spared by Caesar and moreover had been honoured with
the praetorship; and he was the husband of Brutus's sister. Next they
proceeded to get together all the others who were of the same mind as
themselves and these proved to be not a few in number. There is no need
to give a full list of the names, for I might thus become wearisome,
but I cannot omit to mention Trebonius and Decimus Brutus, who was also
called Junius and Albinus. For these joined in the plot against Caesar,
notwithstanding that they also had received many benefits at his hands;
Decimus, in fact, had been appointed consul for the next year and had
been assigned to Hither Gaul.
They came very near being detected for two reasons. One was the number
of those who were privy to the plot, although Caesar would not receive
any information about anything of the sort and punished very severely
those who brought any news of the kind. The second reason was their
delay; for they stood in awe of him, for all their hatred of him, and
kept putting the matter off, fearing, in spite of the fact that he no
longer had any guard, that they might be killed by some of the men who
were always with him; and thus they ran the risk of being discovered
and put to death. Indeed, they would have suffered this fate had they
not been forced even against their will to hasten the plot. For a
report, whether true or false, got abroad, as reports will spread, that
the priests known as the Quindecemviri were spreading the report that
the Sibyl had said the Parthians would never be defeated in any other
way than by a king, and were consequently going to propose that this
title be granted to Caesar. The conspirators believed this to be true,
and because a vote would be demanded of the magistrates, among whom
were Brutus and Cassius, owing to the importance of the measure, and
they neither dared to opposite it nor would submit to remain silent,
they hastened forward their plot before any business connected with the
measure should come up.
It had been decided by them to make the attempt in the senate, for they
thought that there Caesar would least expect to be harmed in any way
and would thus fall an easier victim, while they would find a safe
opportunity by having swords instead of documents brought into the
chamber in boxes, and the rest, being unarmed, would not be able to
offer any resistance. But in case any one should be so rash, they hoped
at least that the gladiators, many of whom they had previously
stationed in Pompey's Theatre under the pretext that they were to
contend there, would come to their aid; for these were to lie in wait
somewhere there in a certain room of the peristyle. So the
conspirators, when the appointed day was come, gathered in the
senate-house at dawn and called for Caesar. As for him, he was warned
of the plot in advance by soothsayers, and was warned also by dreams.
For the night before he was slain his wife dreamed that their house had
fallen in ruins and that her husband had been wounded by some men and
had taken refuge in her bosom; and Caesar dreamed he was raised aloft
upon the clouds and grasped the hand of Jupiter. Moreover, omens not a
few and not without significance came to him: the arms of Mars, at that
time deposited in his house, according to ancient custom, by virtue of
his position as high priest, made a great noise at night, and the doors
of the chamber where he slept opened of their own accord. Moreover, the
sacrifices which he offered because of these occurrences were not at
all favourable, and the birds he used in divination forbade him to
leave the house. Indeed, to some the incident of his golden chair
seemed ominous, at least after his murder; for the attendant, when
Caesar delayed his coming, had carried it out of the senate, thinking
that there now would be no need of it.
Caesar, accordingly, was so long in coming that the conspirators feared
there might be a postponement,— indeed, a rumour got abroad that he
would remain at home that day,— and that their plot would thus fall
through and they themselves would be detected. Therefore they sent
Decimus Brutus, as one supposed to be his devoted friend, to secure his
attendance. This man made light of Caesar's scruples and by stating
that the senate desired exceedingly to see him, persuaded him to
proceed. At this an image of him, which he had set up in the vestibule,
fell of its own accord and was shattered in pieces. But, since it was
fated that he should die at that time, he not only paid no attention to
this but would not even listen to some one who was offering him
information of the plot. He received from him a little roll in which
all the preparations made for the attack were accurately recorded, but
did not read it, thinking it contained some indifferent matter of no
pressing importance. In brief, he was so confident that to the
soothsayer who had once warned him to beware of that day he jestingly
remarked: "Where are your prophecies now? Do you not see that the day
which you feared is come and that I am alive?" And the other, they say,
answered merely: "Ay, it is come but is not yet past."
Now when he finally reached the senate, Trebonius kept Antony employed
somewhere at a distance outside. For, though they had planned to kill
both him and Lepidus, they feared they might be maligned as a result of
the number they destroyed, on the ground that they had slain Caesar to
gain supreme power and not to set free the city, as they pretended; and
therefore they did not wish Antony even to be present at the slaying.
As for Lepidus, he had set out on a campaign and was in the suburbs.
When Trebonius, then, talked with Antony, the rest in a body surrounded
Caesar, who was as easy of access and as affable as any one could be;
and some conversed with him, while others made as if to present
petitions to him, so that suspicion might be as far from his mind as
possible. And when the right moment came, one of them approached him,
as if to express his thanks for some favour or other, and pulled his
toga from his shoulder, thus giving the signal that had been agreed
upon by the conspirators. Thereupon they attacked him from many sides
at once and wounded him to death, so that by reason of their numbers
Caesar was unable to say or do anything, but veiling his face, was
slain with many wounds. This is the truest account, though some have
added that to Brutus, when he struck him a powerful blow, he said:
"Thou, too, my son?"
A great outcry naturally arose from all the rest who were inside and
also from those who were standing near by outside, both at the
suddenness of the calamity and because they did not know who the
assassins were, their numbers, or their purpose; and all were excited,
believing themselves in danger. So they not only turned to flight
themselves, every man as best he could, but they also alarmed those who
met them by saying nothing intelligible, but merely shouting out the
words: "Run! bolt doors! bolt doors!" Then all the rest, severally
taking up the cry one from another, kept shouting these words, filled
the city with lamentations, and burst into the workshops and houses to
hide themselves, even though the assassins hurried just as they were to
the Forum, urging them both by their gestures and their shouts not to
be afraid. Indeed, while they were telling them this, they kept calling
for Cicero; but the crowd did not believe in any case that they were
sincere, and was not easily calmed. At length, however, and with
difficulty, they took courage and became quiet, as no one was killed or
arrested. And when they met in the assembly, the assassins had much to
say against Caesar and much in favour of democracy, and they bade the
people take courage and not expect any harm. For they had killed him,
they declared, not to secure power or any other advantage, but in order
that they might be free and independent and be governed rightly. By
speaking such words they calmed the majority, especially since they
injured no one. But faring, for all that, that somebody might plot
against them in turn, they themselves went up to the Capitol, in order,
as they claimed, to pray to the gods, and there they spent the day and
night. And at evening they were joined by some of the other prominent
men, who had not, indeed, shared in the plot, but were minded, when
they saw the perpetrators praised, to lay claim to the glory of it, as
well as to the prizes which they expected. But for them the event
proved most justly the very opposite of their expectations; for they
did not secure any reputation for the deed, because they had not had a
hand in it in any way, but they did share the danger which came to
those who committed it just as much as if they themselves had been in
the plot.
Seeing this, Dolabella likewise thought it incumbent on him not to keep
quiet, but entered upon the office of consul, even though it did not
yet belong to him, and after making a short speech to the people on the
situation ascended to the Capitol. While affairs were in this state
Lepidus, learning what had taken place, occupied the Forum by night
with his soldiers and at dawn delivered a speech against the assassins.
As to Antony, although he had fled immediately after Caesar's death,
casting away his robe of office in order to escape notice and
concealing himself through the night, yet when he ascertained that the
assassins were on the Capitol and Lepidus in the Forum, he assembled
the senate in the precinct of Tellus and brought forward the business
of the hour for deliberation. When some had said one thing and some
another, according to what was in their thoughts, Cicero, whose advice
they actually followed, spoke to this effect:
"No one ought ever, I think, to say anything either out of favour or
out of spite, but every one ought to declare what he believes to be the
best. We demand that those serving as praetors or consuls shall do
everything from upright motives, and if they make any errors, we demand
an accounting from them even for their misfortune; how absurd, then, if
in discussion, where we are complete masters of our own opinion, we
shall sacrifice the general welfare to our private interests! For this
reason, Conscript Fathers, I have always thought that we ought to
advise you with sincerity and justice on all matters, but especially in
the present circumstances, when, if without being over-inquisitive we
come to an agreement, we shall both be preserved ourselves and enable
all the rest to survive, whereas, if we wish to inquire into everything
minutely, I fear that ill — but at very opening of my remarks I do not
wish to say anything that might offend. Formerly, not very long ago,
those who had the arms usually also got control of the government and
consequently issued orders to you as to the subjects on which you were
to deliberate, instead of your determining what it was their business
to do. But now practically everything is at such an opportune point
that matters are in your hands and depend upon you; and from yourselves
you may obtain either harmony and with it liberty, or seditions and
civil wars once more and a master at the close of them. For whatever
you decide on to-daughter, all the rest of the citizens will follow.
This being the state of the case, as I am convinced, I declare that we
ought to give up our mutual enmities, or jealousies, or whatever name
should be applied to them, and return to that old-time state of peace
and friendship and harmony. For you should remember this, if nothing
else, that so long as we have conducted our government in that way we
acquire lands, riches, glory, and allies, but ever since we were led
into injuring one another, so far from becoming better off, we have
become decidedly worse off. Now I am so firmly convinced that nothing
else at present can save the city that if we do not to-day, at once,
with all possible speed, adopt some policy, I believe we shall never be
able to regain our position at all.
"That you may see, now, that I am speaking the truth, look at present
conditions and then consider our position in olden times. Do you not
see what is taking place — that the people are again being divided and
torn asunder and that, with some choosing this side and some that, they
have already fallen into two parties and two camps, and that the one
side seized the Capitol as if they feared the Gauls or somebody, while
the others with headquarters in the Forum are preparing, as if they
were so many Carthaginians and not Romans, to besiege them? Have you
not heard with, though formerly citizens often quarrelled, even to the
extent of occupying the Aventine once, and the Capitol, and some of
them the Sacred Mount, yet as often as they were reconciled on fair
terms, or by yielding a little one to the other, they at once stopped
hating one another, and lived the rest of their lives in such peace and
harmony that together they carried through successfully many great
wars? And how, on the other hand, as often as they had recourse to
murders and bloodshed, the one side deluded by the plea of defending
themselves against aggression, and the other side by an ambition to
appear to be inferior to none, no good ever came of it? Why need I
waste time by reciting to you, who now them equally well, the names of
Valerius, Horatius, Saturninus, Glauca, the Gracchi? With such examples
before you, examples chosen not from foreign countries but from your
own, do not hesitate to imitate the right course and to guard against
the wrong, but in the conviction that you have already had in the
events themselves a proof of the outcome of the plans you are now
making, do not any longer look upon what I say as mere words, but
consider that the interests of the state are already involved. For thus
you will not be led by any vague notion to put to the hazard your
hopes, doubtful at best, but will foresee with justifiable confidence
the certainty of your calculations.
"It is in your power, then, if you will receive this evidence that I
mentioned from your own land and your own ancestors, to decide rightly;
and that is why I did not wish to cite examples from abroad, though I
might have mentioned countless such. One example, however, will offer
from the best and most ancient city, from which even our fathers did
not disdain to introduce certain laws; for it would be disgraceful for
us, who so far surpass the Athenians in might and intelligence, to
deliberate less wisely than they. Now they were once at variance among
themselves, as you all know, and as a result were overcome in war by
the Lacedaemonians and were subjected to a tyranny of the more powerful
citizens; and they did not obtain a respite from their ills until they
made a compact and agreement to forget their past injuries, though
these were many and severe, and never to bring any accusation whatever
or bear any malice against any one because of them. Accordingly, when
they had thus come to their senses, they not only ceased being subject
to tyrannies and seditions, but flourished in every way, regaining
their city, laying claim to the sovereignty of the Greeks, and finally
gaining the authority, as often happened, to save or destroy the
Lacedaemonians themselves and also the Thebans. And yet, if the men who
seized Pyle and returned from the Peiraeus had chosen to take vengeance
on the city party for the wrongs they had suffered, while they would,
to be sure, have been thought to have performed a justifiable action,
yet they would have suffered, as well as caused, many evils. For just
as they exceeded their hopes by defeating their foes, they might
perhaps in turn have been unexpectedly worsted. Indeed, in such matters
there is no certainty with regard to victory, even as a result of one's
power, but vast numbers who are confident fail and vast numbers who
seek to take vengeance upon others perish at the same time themselves.
For the one who is overreached in any transaction is not bound to be
fortunate just because he is wronged, nor is the one who has the
greater power bound to be successful just because he surpasses, but
both are equally subject to the perversity of human affairs and to the
instability of fortune, and the turn of the scale often corresponds,
not to their own hopefulness, but to the unexpected play of these other
factors. As a result of this and of rivalry (for man is very prone when
wronged or believing himself wronged to because bold beyond his power)
many are frequently encouraged to incur dangers even beyond their
strength, with the idea that they will conquer or at least will not
perish unavenged. So it is that, now conquering and now defeated,
sometimes triumphing in turn and in turn succumbing, some perish
utterly, while others gain a Cadmean victory, as the saying goes; and
at a time when the knowledge can avail them nothing they perceive that
they planned unwisely.
"That this is true you also have learned by experience. Consider a
moment: Marius for a time was strong amid civil strife; then he was
driven out, collected a force, and accomplished — you know what.
Likewise Sulla,— not to speak of Cinna or Strabo or the rest who came
between,— powerful at first, later defeated, finally making himself
master, was guilty of every possible cruelty. And why name the second
Marius, or even that same Cinna, or Carbo? After that Lepidus,
ostensibly with the purpose of punishing these men, got together a
faction of his own and stirred up almost all Italy. When we at last got
rid of him, too, remember what we suffered from Sertorius and from his
fellow-exiles. When did Pompey, what did this Caesar himself do, to
make no mention here of Catiline or Clodius? Did they not afterwards
fight against each other, and that in spite of their relationship, and
then fill with countless evils to our own city or even the rest of
Italy, but practically the entire world? Well then, after Pompey's
death and that great slaughter of the citizens, did any quiet appear?
By no means. How could it? Africa knows, Spain knows, the multitudes
who perished in each of those lands. What then? Did we have peace after
this? Peace, when Caesar himself lies slain in this fashion, when the
Capitol is occupied, when the Forum is filled with arms and the whole
city with fear? In this way, when men begin sedition and seek ever to
repay violence with violence and inflict vengeance without regard to
decency or humanity, but according to their desires and the power that
arms give them, there necessarily occurs each time a kind of cycle of
ills, and alternate requitals of outrages take place. For the fortunate
side abounds in insolence and sets no limit to its greed, and the
defeated side, if it does not perish immediately, rages at its
misfortune and is eager to take vengeance on the oppressor, until it
sates its wrath. And the remaining multitude, also, even though it has
not taken sides, now through pity for the vanquished and envy of the
victorious side coöperates with the oppressed, fearing that it may
itself suffer the same evils as the one party, and hoping also that it
may cause the same evils as the other. Thus the citizens who have
remained neutral are brought into the dispute, and one class after
another, on the pretext of avenging the side which is for the moment at
a disadvantage, takes up the sorry business of reprisals as if it were
a legitimate, everyday affair; and while individually they escape, they
ruin the state in every way. Or do you not see how much time we have
wasted in fighting one another, how many great evils we have meanwhile
endured, and, what is worse than this, inflicted? And who could count
the vast amount of money of which we have stripped our allies and
robbed the gods and moreover have even contributed ourselves from what
we did not possess, only to expend it against one another? Or who could
number the multitude of men who have been lost, not only of ordinary
persons (for that is beyond computation) but of knights and senators,
each one of whom was able in foreign wars to preserve the whole city by
his life or by his death? How many Curtii, how many Decii, Fabii,
Gracchi, Marcelli, and Scipios have been killed? And not, by Jupiter,
to repel Samnites or Latins or Spaniards or Carthaginians, but to kill
citizens (?) and to perish also themselves. As for those who have died
under arms, no matter how much we may mourn their loss, yet there is
less reason to lament in their case. For they entered their battles as
volunteers (if it is proper to call by the name of volunteers men
compelled by fear), and they met a death which, even if uncalled for,
was at least a brave one; in an equal struggle and in the hope that
they might really survive and conquer they fell without suffering. But
how can one mourn as they deserve those who have perished miserably in
their homes, in the streets, in the Forum, in the very senate-chamber,
on the very Capitol, all by violence — not only men, but women, too,
not only those in their prime, but also old men and children? And yet,
while subjecting one another to so many and so terrible reprisals as
all our enemies put together never inflicted upon us nor we upon them,
so far from loathing such acts and manfully wishing to have done with
them, we even rejoice and hold festivals and term those who are guilty
of them benefactors. Verily, I do not regard this life that we have
been leading as human; it is rather that of wild beasts which are
destroyed by one another.
"Yet why should we lament further what is already past? We cannot now
prevent its having happened. Let us rather provide for the future.
This, indicate, is the reason why I have been recalling former events,
not for the purpose of giving a list of our public calamities (would to
Heaven they had never occurred!) but that by means of them I might
persuade you to save at least what is left. For this is the only
benefit one can derive from evils, to guard against having ever again
to suffer their like. And this is within your power especially at the
present moment, while the danger is just beginning, while not many have
yet united, and while those who have been stirred to action have gained
no advantage over one another nor suffered any set-back, that they
should be led by hope of their superiority or anger at their
inferiority to incur danger heedlessly and contrary to their own
interests. Great as this task is, however, you will deal with it
successfully without incurring any hardship or danger, without spending
money or causing bloodshed, but imply by voting this one thing, to bear
no malice against one another. Even if mistakes have been made by
certain persons, this is no time to enquire minutely into them, to
convict, or to punish. For you are not at the present moment sitting in
judgment upon any one, that you should need to search out with absolute
accuracy what is just, but you are deliberating about the situation
that has arisen and as to how it may in the safest way be righted. But
this is something we cannot accomplish unless with overlook some
things, as we are wont to do in the case of children. When dealing with
them, now, we do not take careful account of everything, but of
necessity overlook many things, since for moderate errors it is not
right to punish one of them remorselessly, but rather to admonish them
gently. And now, since we are in common the fathers of all the people,
not in name only, but in reality, let us not enter into a discussion of
all the fine points, lest we all perish. For that matter anybody could
find much to blame in Caesar himself, so that he would seem to have
been justly slain, or again might bring numerous charges against those
who killed him, so that they would be thought to deserve punishment.
But such a course is for men who are eager to stir up strife again,
whereas it is necessary for those who deliberate wisely not to cause
their own hurt by meting out strict justice, but to secure their own
safety by employing clemency with justice. Regard this, then, that has
happened as if it were some hail-storm or deluge that had taken place,
and consign it to oblivion. And learn at last to know one another,
since you are countrymen and fellow-citizens and relatives, and so live
in harmony.
"In order, now, that none of you may suspect me of wishing to grant any
indulgence to Caesar's slayer to prevent their paying the penalty, in
view of the fact that I was once a member of Pompey's party, I will
make one statement to you. For I think that all of you are firmly
convinced that I have never adopted an attitude of friendship or
hostility toward any one for purely personal reasons, but that it was
always for your sake and for the public freedom and harmony that I
hated the one side and loved the other; for this reason I will pass
over everything else and make merely one brief statement to you. So
far, indeed, am I from acting in the way I have mentioned, instead of
looking out for the public safety, that I affirm that the others, too,
should not only be granted immunity for their high-handed acts,
contrary to established law, in Caesar's lifetime, but that they also
should keep the honours, offices and gifts which they received from
him, though I am not pleased with some of these. I should not, indeed,
advise you to do or to grant anything further of the kind; but since it
has been done, I think you ought not to be troubled overmuch about any
of these matters, either. For what loss could you sustain, even if this
man or that does hold something that he has obtained apart from justice
and contrary to his deserts, so far-reaching as the benefits you would
obtain by not causing fear or disturbance to the men who were formerly
powerful.
"This is what I have to say for the present, in face of the pressing
need. But when matters have become settled, let us then consider the
questions that remain."
Cicero by the foregoing speech persuaded the senate to vote that no one
should bear malice against any one else. While this was being done, the
assassins also promised the soldiers that they would not undo any of
Caesar's acts. For as soon as they perceived that the troops were very
ill at ease for fear that they would be deprived of what he had given
them, they made haste, before the senate reached any decision whatever,
to get them on their side. Next they invited those who were present at
the foot of the Capitol to come within hearing distance and addressed
suitable words to them; and they also sent down a letter to the Forum
announcing that they would not confiscate anybody's goods or cause
injury in other ways, and that they confirmed the validity of all the
acts of Caesar. They also urged them to harmony, binding themselves by
the strongest oaths that they would faithfully carry out these
promises. When, therefore, the action of the senate also was made
known, the soldiers no longer paid heed to Lepidus nor did the
conspirators have any fear of him, but all hastened to become
reconciled, chiefly at the instance of Antony, and quite contrary to
Lepidus' purpose. For Lepidus, while making a pretence of avenging
Caesar, was really eager for a revolution, and inasmuch as he had
legions also at his command, he expected to succeed to Caesar's
position as ruler and to come to power; with these motives he was
disposed to begin war. Antony, perceiving his rival's favourable
situation and having himself no force at his back, did not dare to
begin any revolutionary movement for the time being, and in order to
prevent the other from becoming stronger, he furthermore persuaded him
to bow to the will of the majority. So they came to an agreement on the
terms that had been voted, but those on the Capitol would not come down
till they had secured the son of Lepidus and the son of Antony as
hostages; then Brutus descended to Lepidus, to whom he was related, and
Cassius to Antony, under promise of safety. And with they were dining
together they naturally, at such a juncture, discussed a variety of
topics and Antony asked Cassius: "Have you perchance a dagger under
your arm even now?" To which he answered: "Yes, and a big one, if you
too should desire to make yourself tyrant."
This was the way things went at that time. No injury was inflicted or
expected, but instead the majority were glad to be rid of Caesar's
rule, some of them even conceiving the idea of casting his body out
unburied, and the conspirators, well pleased at being called liberators
and tyrannicides, did not busy themselves with any further undertaking.
But later, when Caesar's will was read and the people learned that he
had adopted Octavius as his son and had left Antony along with Decimus
and some of the other assassins to be the young man's guardians and
heirs to the property in case it should not come to him, and,
furthermore, that he not only had made various bequests to individuals
but had also given his gardens along the Tiber to the city and one
hundred and twenty sesterces, according to the record of Octavius
himself, or three hundred, according to some others, to each of the
citizens,— at this the people became excited. And Antony aroused them
still more by bringing the body most inconsiderately into the Forum,
exposing it all covered with blood as it was and with gaping wounds,
and then delivering over it a speech, which was very ornate and
brilliant, to be sure, but out of place on that occasion. He spoke
somewhat as follows:
"If this man had died as a private citizen, Quirites, and I had
happened to be in private life, I should not have required many word
nor have rehearsed all his achievements, but after making a few remarks
about his family, his education, and his character, and perhaps
mentioning his services to the state, I should have been satisfied,
desiring only not to become wearisome to those who were unrelated to
him. But since this man when he perished held the highest position
among you and I have received and hold the second, it is requisite that
I should deliver a two-fold address, one as the man set down as his
heir and to the in my capacity as magistrate, and I must not omit
anything that ought to be spoken, but must mention the things which the
whole people would have celebrated with one tongue if they could speak
with one voice. Now I am well aware that it is difficult successfully
to utter your thoughts; for it is no easy task in any case to measure
up to so great a theme — indeed, what speech could equal the greatness
of his deed? — and you, whose wishes are not easily satisfied because
you know the facts as well as I, will prove no lenient judges of my
efforts. To be sure, if my words were being addressed to men ignorant
of the subject, it would be very easy to win their approval by
astounding them with the very magnitude of his achievements; but as the
matter stands, because of your familiarity with them it is inevitable
that everything that shall be said will be thought less than the
reality. Strangers, even if through jealousy they doubt the deeds, yet
for that reason deem each statement they hear strong enough; but your
minds, because of your good-will, must inevitably prove impossible to
satisfy. For you yourselves have profited most by Caesar's virtues, and
you demand their praises, not half-heartedly, as if he were unrelated
to you, but with deep affection as for your own kinsman. I shall
strive, therefore, to meet your wishes to the fullest extent, and I
feel sure that you will not judge my good-will by the feebleness of my
words, but will supply from my zeal whatever is lacking in that respect.
"I shall speak first about his lineage, though not because it is the
most brilliant. Yet this, too, has considerable bearing on the nature
of virtue, that a man should become good, not through force of
circumstances, but by inherited power. Those, to be sure, who are not
born of noble parents may disguise themselves as noble men, but may
also some day be convicted of their base origin by their inborn
character; those, however, who possess the seed of a noble nature,
handed down through a long line of ancestors, cannot possibly help
possessing a virtue both spontaneous and enduring. Still, I am praising
Caesar now, not so much because his recent lineage is through many
noble men, his ancient origin from kings and gods, but because, in the
first place, he is a kinsman of our whole city,— for those who founded
his line also founded our city,— and, secondly, because he not only
confirmed the renown of his forefathers who were believed to have
attained divinity through their virtue, but actually enhanced it; so
that if anyone was inclined formerly to argue that Aeneas could never
have been born of Venus, let him now believe it. For, although in times
past some unworthy sons have been imputed to the gods, yet no one could
deem this man unworthy to have had gods for his ancestors. Indeed,
Aeneas himself ruled as king and so did some of his descendants; but
this man proved himself so much superior to them that, whereas they
were monarchs of Lavinium and Alba, he refused to become king of Rome;
and whereas they laid the foundation of our city, he raised it to such
a height that he even established colonies greater than the cities over
which they ruled.
"So much, then, for his family. That he also received a nurture and a
training corresponding to the dignity of his noble birth how could one
better realize than by the cogent proof his deeds afford? For is it not
inevitable that a man who possessed to a conspicuous degree a body that
was altogether adequate and a spirit that was more than adequate for
all contingencies alike of peace and of war, must have been reared in
the best possible way? And yet it is difficult for any man of
surpassing beauty to show the greatest endurance, and difficult for one
who is powerful in body to attain to the greatest wisdom, but it is
particularly difficult for one and the same man to shine both in words
and in deeds. Yet this man — I speak among those who know the facts, so
that I shall not falsify in the least degree, since I should be caught
in the very act, nor heap up exaggerated praises, since then I should
accomplish the opposite of what I wish. For if I do anything of the
sort, I shall be suspected with full justice of boasting, and it will
be thought that I am making his virtue appear empress than the belief
in it which is already in your own minds. In fact, every utterance
delivered under such conditions, in case it contains even the smallest
amount of falsehood, not only bestows no praise upon its subject but
actually involves censure of him; for the knowledge of the hearers, not
agreeing with the fictitious report, takes refuge in the truth, where
it quietly finds satisfaction, and not only learns what kind of man he
ought to have been, but also, by comparing the two, detects what he
lacked. Stating only the truth, therefore, I affirm that this Caesar
was at the same time most capable in body and most versatile in spirit.
For he enjoyed a wonderful natural force and had been carefully trained
by the most liberal education, which always enabled him, not
unnaturally, to comprehend everything that was needful with the
greatest keenness, to interpret the need most convincingly, and then to
arrange and handle the matter most prudently. No critical turn in a
situation came upon him so suddenly as to catch him off his guard, nor
did a secret menace, no matter how long the postponement, except his
notice. For he decided always with regard to every crisis before it was
at hand, and was prepared beforehand for every contingency that could
happen to one. He understood well how to discern shrewdly what was
concealed, to dissimulate plausibly what was evident, to pretend to
know what was hidden, to conceal what he knew, to adapt occasions to
one another and to draw the proper inferences from them, and
furthermore to accomplish carry out in detail every enterprise. A proof
of this is that in his private affairs he showed himself an excellent
manager and very liberal at the same time, being careful to keep enough
of what he had inherited, yet lavish in spending with an unsparing hand
what he had acquired, and for all his relatives, except the most
impious, he possessed a strong affection. For he did not neglect any of
them in misfortune, nor did he envy those in good fortune, but he
helped these to increase the property they already had, and made up to
the others what they lacked, giving some of them money, some lands,
some offices, and some priesthoods. Again, his conduct toward his
friends and other associates was remarkable. He never scorned or
insulted any of them, but while courteous to all alike, he rewarded
many times over those who assisted him in any project and won the
devotion of the rest by benefits, never disparaging any one of
brilliant position, nor humiliating any one who was bettering himself,
but, just as if he himself were being exalted through all of them and
were acquiring strength and honour, he took delight in seeing great
numbers become equal to himself. And yet, while he behaved thus toward
his friends and acquaintances, he did not show himself cruel or
inexorable even to his enemies, but let off scot-free many of those who
had come into collision with him personally and released many who had
actually made war against him, even giving some of them honours and
offices. So strong a natural bent had he toward virtue, and not only
had no vice himself, but would not believe that it existed in anybody
else.
"And since I have reached this topic, I will begin to speak about his
public services. If he had lived in quiet retirement, perhaps his
virtue would not have been clearly proved; but as it was, by being
raised to the highest position and becoming the greatest not only of
his contemporaries but of all others who ever wielded any power, he
displayed it more conspicuously. For in the case of nearly all the
others this authority had served only to reveal their weakness, but him
it made more illustrious, since by reason of the greatness of his
virtue he undertook correspondingly great deeds, and was found to be
equal to them; he alone of men after obtaining for himself so great
good fortune as a result of his nobility of character neither disgraced
it nor treated it wantonly. I shall pass over, then, the brilliant
successes which he regularly achieved in his campaigns and the
high-mindedness he showed in his ordinary public services, although
they were so great that for any other man they would warrant high
praise; for, in view of the distinction of his subsequent deeds, I
shall seem to be dealing in trivialities, if I also rehearse these
scrupulously. I shall therefore only mention his achievements while he
was your magistrate. Yet I shall not even relate all these with
scrupulous detail, for I could never get to the end of them, and I
should cause you excessive weariness, particularly since you already
know them.
"First of all, then, this man was praetor in Spain, and finding it
secretly disloyal, did not allow the inhabitants under the name of
peace to become unconquerable, nor was it his own choice to spend the
period of his governorship in quiet instead of accomplishing what was
for the advantage of the state. Hence, since they would not willingly
change their course, he brought them to their senses against their
will, and in doing this he surpassed the men who had previously won
glory against them in just so far as keeping a thing is more difficult
than acquiring it, and reducing men to a condition where they can never
again become rebellious is more profitable than making them subject in
the first place, while their power is still undiminished. That is the
reason why you voted him a triumph for this and immediately gave him
the office of consul. Indeed, from this very circumstance it became
most evident that he had waged that war, not for his own pleasure or
glory, but as a preparation for the future. At all events he waived the
celebration of the triumph because of the business that was pressing,
and after thanking you for the honour he was content with that alone
for his glory, and entered upon the consulship.
"Now all his administrative acts in the city during his tenure of that
office would verily be countless to name. But as soon as he had ended
it and had been sent to conduct this war against the Gauls, observe how
many and how great were his achievements there. So far from becoming a
burden to our allies, he even went to their assistance, because he was
not at all suspicious of them and saw, moreover, that they were being
wronged. But our foes, both those who dwelt near the friendly tribes,
and all the rest who inhabited Gaul, he subjugated, acquiring, on the
one hand, vast stretches of territory, and on the other, numberless
cities of which we knew not even the names before. All this, moreover,
he accomplished so quietly, though he had received neither a competent
force nor sufficient money from you, that before any of you knew that
he was at war, he had conquered; and he settled affairs on so firm a
basis as to make these places stepping-stones to Germany and to
Britain. So now Gaul is enslaved, which sent against us the Ambrones
and the Cimbri, and is all under cultivation like Italy itself; and
ships sail not only the Rhone and the Arar, but the Mosa, the Liger,
the very Rhine, and the very ocean itself. Places of which we had not
even heard the names, to lead us to think that they existed, he
likewise subdued for us; the formerly unknown he made accessible, the
formerly unexplored he made navigable, by the greatness of his purpose
and the greatness of his resolution. And had not certain persons in
their envy of him, or rather of you, begun a revolt and forced him to
return here before the proper time, he would certainly have subdued all
Britain together with the other islands which surround it and all
Germany to the Arctic Ocean, so that we should have had as our
boundaries for the future, not land or people, but the air and the
outer sea. For these reasons you also, beholding the greatness of his
purpose, his deeds, and his good fortune, assigned him the right to
hold office for a very long period,— a privilege which, from the time
that we became a republic, no other man has enjoyed,— I mean holding
the command during eight whole years in succession. So fully did you
believe that it was really for your sake he was making all these
conquests and so far were you from ever suspecting that he would grow
powerful to your hurt.
Nay, you desired that he should tarry in those regions as long as
possible. He was prevented, however, by those who regarded the
government as belonging no longer to the public but as their own
private property, from subjugating the remaining countries, and you
were kept from becoming masters of them all; for these men, making an
evil use of the opportunity afforded by his being occupied, ventured
upon many impious projects, so that you came to require his aid.
Therefore, abandoning the victories within his grasp, he quietly came
to your assistance, freed all Italy from the dangers which threatened
it, and furthermore won back Spain, which was being estranged. Then,
when he saw that Pompey, who had abandoned his country and was setting
up a kingdom of his own in Macedonia, was transferring thither all your
possessions, equipping your subjects against you, and using your own
money against you, he at first wished to persuade him somehow to stop
and change his course, sending mediators to him both privately and
publicly and offering the most solemn pledges that he should again
attain and equal and like position with himself. When, however, he
found himself unable in any way to effect this, but instead Pompey
burst all restraints, even the relationship which had existed between
himself and Caesar, and chose to fight against you, then at last he was
compelled to begin the civil war. But what need is there of relating
how daringly he sailed against him in spite of the winter, or how
boldly he assailed him, though Pompey held all the strong positions, or
how bravely he vanquished him, though much inferior in the number of
his troops? Indeed, if one wished to recite the whole story in detail,
he could show the renowned Pompey to have been a mere child, so
completely was he outgeneralled at every point.
"But all this I will omit, since not even Caesar himself ever took any
pride in it, always hating, as he did, the deeds enforced by necessity.
But when Heaven had most justly decided the issue of the battle, whom
of those then captured for the first time did he put to death? Whom,
rather, did he not honour, not alone of the senators or knights or of
the citizens in general, but even of the allies and subjects? For no
one, even of them, either died a violent death, or was censured,— no
civilian, no king, no tribe, no city. On the contrary, some arrayed
themselves on his side, and others obtained at least pardon with
honour, so that all then lamented the fate of those who had perished.
Such exceeding humanity did he show, that he praised those who had
coöperated with Pompey and allowed them to keep everything that
Pompey had given them, but hated Pharnaces and Orodes, because, though
friends of the vanquished, they had not assisted him. It was chiefly
for this reason that he not long afterward waged war on Pharnaces and
was preparing to conduct a campaign against Orodes. And he certainly
would have spared even Pompey himself if he had captured him alive. A
proof of this is that he did not pursue him at once, but allowed him to
flee at his leisure. Also he was grieved when he heard of Pompey's
death and did not praise his murderers, but put them to death for it
soon after, and moreover even destroyed Ptolemy himself, because,
though a child, he had allowed his benefactor to perish.
"How after this he brought Egypt to terms and how much money he
conveyed to you from there, it would be superfluous to relate. And when
he made his campaign against Pharnaces, who already held a considerable
part of Pontus and Armenia, he was on one and the same day reported to
the king as approaching him, was seen confronting him, engaged him in
conflict, and conquered him. This better than anything else showed that
he had not become weaker in Alexandria and had not delayed there out of
voluptuousness. For how could he have won that victory so easily
without having great mental vigour in reserve and great physical
strength? When now Pharnaces had fled, he was preparing to conduct a
campaign at once against the Parthian, but as certain men had begun a
strife here he returned reluctantly and settled this dispute, too, so
well that no one would believe that there had been any disturbance at
all. For not a person was killed or exiled or even disgraced in any way
as a result of that trouble, not because many might not justly have
been punished, but because he thought it right while destroying the
enemy unsparingly to preserve the citizens, even if some of them are of
little account. Therefore by his bravery he overcame foreigners in war,
but by his humanity he kept unharmed even the seditious citizens,
although many of them by their acts had often shown themselves unworthy
of this favour. This same policy he followed again both in Africa and
in Spain, releasing all who had not previously been captured and been
pitied by him. For while he considered it folly, not humanity, always
to spare the lives of those who frequently plotted against him, on the
other hand, he thought it the duty of one who was truly a man to pardon
opponents on the occasion of their first errors instead of harbouring
implacable anger, yes, and even to assign honours to them, but if they
clung to their original course, to get rid of them. Yet why do I relate
this? Many of these also he spared by allowing all his associates and
those who had helped him conquer to save the life of one captive each.
"That he did all this, moreover, from inherent goodness and not for
appearances or to reap any advantage, as many others have displayed
humaneness, there is this further very strong evidence, that everywhere
and in all circumstances he showed himself the same: anger did not
brutalize him, nor good fortune corrupt him; power did not alter, nor
authority change him. Yet it is very difficult when tested in so many
enterprises of such magnitude, in enterprises, moreover, that follow
one another in rapid succession, when one has been successful in some,
is still engaged in conducting others, and only surmises that others
are yet to come, to prove equally good on all occasions and to refrain
from wishing to do anything harsh or terrible, if not out of vengeance
for the past, at least as a measure of safeguard for the future. This
alone is enough to prove his goodness; for he was so truly a scion of
gods that he understood but one thing, to save those who could be
saved. But there is also this further evidence, that he took care not
to have those who warred against him punished even by anyone else, and
that he won back those who had met with misfortune earlier. For he
caused amnesty to be granted to all who had been followers of Lepidus
and Sertorius, and next arranged that safety should be afforded to all
the survivors of those whom Sulla had proscribed; somewhat later he
brought them home from exile and bestowed honours and offices upon the
sons of all who had been slain by Sulla. Greatest of all, he burned
absolutely all the secret documents found in the tent of either Pompey
or Scipio, neither reading nor yet keeping any of them, in order that
it might not happen that anyone else should use them for mischievous
ends. And that this was not only what he said he had done, but what he
actually did, the facts show clearly; at any rate, no one as a result
of those letters was even frightened, much less suffered any harm.
Hence no one even knows those who escaped this danger except the men
themselves. This is a most astonishing fact and one without a parallel,
that they were spared before they were accused and saved before they
encountered danger, and that not even he who saved their lives learned
who it was he pitied.
"For these and for all his other acts of legislation and
reconstruction, great in themselves, but likely to be deemed small in
comparison with those others which I need not recount in detail, you
loved him as a father and cherished him as a benefactor, you exalted
him with such honours as you bestowed on no one else and desired him to
be continual head of the city and of the whole domain. You did not
quarrel at all about titles, but applied them all to him, feeling that
they were inadequate to his merits, and desiring that whatever each of
them, in the light of customary usage, lacked of being a complete
expression of honour and authority might be supplied by what the rest
contributed. Therefore, for the gods he was appointed high priest, for
us consul, for the soldiers imperator, and for the enemy dictator. But
why do I enumerate these details, when in one phrase you called him
father of his country — not to mention the rest of his titles?
"Yet this father, this high priest, this inviolable being, this hero
and god, is dead, alas, dead not by the violence of some disease, nor
wasted by old age, nor wounded abroad somewhere in some war, nor caught
up inexplicably by some supernatural force, but right here within the
walls as the result of a plot — the man who had safely led an army into
Britain; ambushed in this city — the man who had enlarged its pomerium;
murdered in the senate-house — the man who had reared another such
edifice at his own expense; unarmed — the brave warrior; defenceless —
the promoter of peace; the judge — beside the court of justice; the
magistrate — beside the seat of government; at the hands of the
citizens — he whom none of the enemy had been able to kill even when he
fell into the sea; at the hands of his comrades — he who had often
taken pity on them. Of what avail, O Caesar, was your humanity, of what
avail your inviolability, of what avail the laws? Nay, though you
enacted many laws that men might not be killed by their personal foes,
yet how mercilessly you yourself were slain by your friends! And now,
the victim of assassination, you lie dead in the Forum through which
you often led the triumph crowned; wounded to death, you have been cast
down upon the rostra from which you often addressed the people. Woe for
the blood-bespattered locks of gray, alas for the rent robe, which you
assumed, it seems, only that you might be slain in it!"
At this deliverance of Antony's the throng was at first excited, then
enraged, and finally so inflamed with passion that they sought his
murderers and reproached the other senators, because while the others
had slain they had looked on at the death of a man on whose behalf they
had voted to offer public prayers each year, by whose Health and
Fortune they had sworn their oaths, whose person they had made as
inviolable as the tribunes. Then, seizing his body, some wished to
convey it to the room in which he had been slaughtered, and others to
the Capitol, and burn it there; but being prevented by the soldiers,
who feared that the theatre and temples would be burned to the ground
at the same time, they placed it upon a pyre there in the Forum,
without further ado. Even so, many of the surrounding buildings would
have been destroyed had not the soldiers prevented and had not the
consuls thrust some of the bolder ones over the cliffs of the
Capitoline. For all that, the rest did not cease their disturbance, but
rushed to the houses of the assassins, and during the excitement
killed, among others, Helvius Cinna, a tribune, without just cause; for
this man had not only not plotted against Caesar, but was one of his
most devoted friends. Their mistake was due to the fact that Cornelius
Cinna, the praetor, had taken part in the attack. After this, when the
consuls forbade any one except the soldiers to carry arms, they
refrained from bloodshed, but set up an altar on the site of the pyre
(for the freedmen of Caesar had previously taken up his bones and
deposited them in the family tomb),and undertook to sacrifice upon it
and to offer victims to Caesar, as to a god. But the consuls overthrew
this altar and punished some who showed displeasure at the act, at the
same time publishing a law that no one should ever again be dictator
and invoking curses and proclaiming death as the penalty upon any man
who should propose or support such a measure, besides openly setting a
price upon the heads of any such. This provision they made for the
future, assuming that the shamefulness of men's deeds consists in the
titles they bear, whereas these deeds really arise from their
possession of armed forces and from the character of the individual
incumbent of the office, and disgrace the titles of authority under
which they chance to occur; but for the time being they sent out
immediately to the colonies such as held allotments of land already
assigned by Caesar, out of fear that they might begin an uprising,
while of the assassins they sent out those who had obtained
governorships to the provinces, and the rest to various places on one
pretext or another; and these men were honoured by many as their
benefactors.
In this way Caesar met his end. And inasmuch as he had been slain in
Pompey's edifice and near his statue which at that time stood there, he
seemed in a way to have afforded his rival his revenge, especially as
tremendous thunder and a furious rain followed. In the midst of that
excitement there also took place the following incident, not unworthy
of mention. One Gaius Casca, a tribune, seeing that Cinna had perished
as a result of his cognomen being the same as the prisoner's, and
fearing that he too might be killed, because Publius Servilius Casca
was one of the tribunes and also one of the assassins, issued a
statement which showed that they had in common only the single name and
pointed out the difference in their sentiments. Neither of them
suffered any harm, as Servilius was strongly guarded; but Gaius gained
some notoriety, so that he is remembered for this act.
These were the actions of the consuls and of the others at that time. I
say consuls, for Antony, fearing that Dolabella would head a revolt,
took him as his colleague in the consulship, although he was at first
not disposed to do so, on the ground that the office did not yet belong
to him. When, however, the excitement subsided, and Antony himself was
charged with the duty of investigating the acts of Caesar's
administration and carrying out all his behests, he no longer acted
with moderation, but as soon as he had got hold of the dead man's
papers, made many erasures and many substitutions, inserting laws as
well as other matters. Moreover, he deprived some of money and offices,
which in turn he gave to others, pretending that in doing so he was
carrying out Caesar's directions. Next he seized large sums of money
there in Rome, and collected large sums also from private persons,
communities, and kings, selling to some land, to others freedom, to
others citizenship, to others exemption from taxes. And this was in
spite of the fact that the senate had voted at first that no tablet
should be set up on account of any law alleged to have been framed by
Caesar (all such matters were inscribed upon bronze tablets), and that
later, when he persisted, declaring that many urgent matters had been
provided for by Caesar, it had ordered that all the foremost citizens
should jointly determine them. Antony, however, paid no attention to
them, and, in a word, despised Octavius, who, as a stripling and
inexperienced in business, had declined the inheritance because it was
troublesome and hard to manage; and thus he himself, claiming to be the
heir not only of the property but also of the power of Caesar, managed
everything. One of his acts was to restore some exiles. And since
Lepidus had great power and was causing him considerable fear, he gave
his daughter in marriage to this leader's son and made arrangements to
have Lepidus himself appointed high priest, so as to prevent his
meddling with what he himself was doing. In fact, in order to carry out
this plan with ease, he transferred the election of the high priest
from the people back to the priests, and in company with the latter he
consecrated him, performing few or none of the prescribed rites; and
yet he might have secured the priesthood for himself.
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