SE

LE

CT

ED

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

S

OF

CIC

ER

OO

NT

HE

CO

MM

AN

DO

FC

NA

EU

SP

OM

PE

IUS

AG

AIN

ST

LU

CIU

SS

ER

GIU

SC

AT

ILIN

A(i—

iv)IN

DE

FE

NC

EO

FT

HE

PO

ET

AU

LU

SL

ICIN

IUS

AR

CH

IAS

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

BL

IUS

RU

FU

S

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

TIT

US

AN

NIU

SM

ILO

INS

UP

PO

RT

OF

MA

RC

US

CL

AU

DIU

SM

AR

CE

LL

US

TH

EF

IRS

TP

HIL

IPP

ICA

GA

INS

TM

AR

CU

SA

NT

ON

IUS

Translatedw

ithan

Introductionby

MIC

HA

EL

GR

AN

T

PE

NG

UIN

BO

OK

S

Penguin

Books

Ltd,

Harm

on

dsw

orth

,M

iddlesex,E

nglandV

ikingP

enguinInc.,

40

West

23rdS

treet,N

ewY

ork,N

ewY

orkb

ob

,U

.S.A

.P

enguinB

ooksA

ustraliaL

td,R

ingw

ood,

Victoria,

Australia

Penguin

Books

Canada

Lim

ited,2801

Joh

nS

treet,M

arkham.

On

tario,

Canada

L3R

1B4

Penguin

Books

(LZ

.)L

td,t8

a—io

Wairau

Road

,A

ucklandso,

New

Zealand

CO

NT

EN

TS

First

published1969

Rep

rinted

with

revisions1973

Rep

rinted

19

77

,1

97

9,

1981,5983,

1985,

1986

IntroductIon7

Copyrig

ht©

Michael

Grant

Publications

Lim

ited,196ç

MI

rightsreserved

IO

nthe

Com

mand

of

Cnaeus

Pom

peius(In

Supportofthe

Manilian

Law

)33

Made

andprinted

inG

reatB

ritain2

Against

Lucius

SergiusC

atilina(i—

iv)71

byR

ichard

Clay

(The

Chaucer

Press)L

td,Bungay,Suffolk

3In

Defence

of

thepoet

Aulus

Licim

usA

rchias1

46

Setin

Mo

no

typ

eB

embo

4In

Defence

of

Marcus

Caelius

Rufus

165In

Defence

of

Titus

Annius

Milo

21

5

6In

Support

of

Marcus

Claudius

Marcellus

279

7T

heFirst

Philippic

againstM

arcusA

ntomus

295

AP

PE

ND

IXE

S

AK

eyto

Technical

Term

s32

1

BSom

eB

ooksabout

Cicero

32

3

cM

aps32

5

Except

inthe

United

States

of

Am

erica,Index

ofPersonal

Nam

es3

31

thisbook

issold

subjectto

thecondition

thatit

shallnot,

byw

ayo

ftrade

orotherw

ise,be

lent,re-sold,

hiredout,

or

otherwise

circulatedw

itho

ut

thepublisher’s

priorconsent

inany

formo

fbinding

or

coverother

thanthat

inw

hichit

ispublished

andw

itho

ut

asim

ilarcondition

includingthis

conditionbeing

imposed

onthe

subsequentpurchaser

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

Xii,

30

satisfactionhere

andnow

fromthe

thoughtand

thehope

thatw

hatI

havedone

will

notbe

forgotten.

SoI

callupon

yu,

judges,to

pronouncein

favourof

my

client.H

eis

am

anw

hosehonourable

characteryou

seeco

nfirm

edby

thehigh

rankof

hisfriends

andthe

unbrokendurations

oftheir

friendshipsw

ithhim

.Y

oucan

appreciatehis

giftsfrom

theextent

tow

hichthey

havebeen

indem

andfrom

leadingm

enw

hoare

extremely

giftedthem

selves.M

oreover,the

justiceof

hiscause

isdem

onstratedby

thesanction

ofthe

law,

theauthority

ofhis

municipality,

thetestim

onyoffered

byLucullus,

aridarchives

goingback

toM

etellus.T

oyou

andyourgeneralsand

thedeeds ofthe

Rom

anpeople

Archias

hasalw

aysdone

honour.T

othose

recentinternal

perilsw

hichthreatened

myself and

yourselveshe

proposesto

offeran

undyingtestim

onialofpraise. He

belongs,moreover,

toa

professionw

hichhas

universallyand

atall

times

beendeclared

andbelieved

topossess

asacred

character.If

then,gentlem

en,such

greatpow

ersw

arrantthe

applauseof

man

kind—

andtruly

theydeserve

thecom

mendation

ofthe

godsthem

selves!—

Ientreatyouto

takehim

underyourprotection.Let

itnot

besaid

thata

severejudgem

entof

yourshas

doneharm

tosuch

am

an.Let

itbe

seeninstead

thatyourhum

anedecision

hasbrought

himrelief.

Ihavem

adethe

statementof m

ycase

asbriefand

simple

asusual;

andI

havethe

feelingthat

ithas

gainedyour

approbation.

Ihope

my

digressionfrom

thecustom

ofthe

courtsand

thebar,

inorder

totell

yousom

ethingabout

my

client’stalent

andabout

literarystudies

ingeneral,

hasbeen

toyour

taste.T

othe

chairman

ofthis

tribunal’8

—I

ventureto

expressthe

conviction—

ithas

provedacceptable

enough.

i8.A

ccordingto

traditionthe

chairman

ofthepanelw

asCicero’s

brotherQ

uintus(praetor).

CH

AP

TE

RF

OU

R

NU

FJjçQ

F

MR

JCA

FjL

jR

FearsthatPom

peiuswasnotconcerned

tom

aintainthe

oldoligarchic,

senatorialsystem

ofgovernment

provedjustified,

sincein

6ohe

formed

thedictatorialFirst

Triumvirate

with

Caesar

andCrassus.

Cicerow

asinvited

tojoinit,

andto

hiscrediteventually

refusedto

doso.

When,therefore,thetribunePubliusC

lodiusPuicher,who

was

nowCicero’s

bitterestenemy

(havingbeen

alienatedby

theorator’s

sharpdem

olitionofhis

alibiw

henhe

was

accusedofsacrilegious

violationofthe

secretritesofthe

Bona

Dea),’proposed

alaw

sendinghim

intoexile

forhis

executionof

theC

atilinarianleaders,

theTrium

virsdid

nothingto

savehim

fromthisfate.

Nor,

tohis

bitterdistress,did

thesenatorialleaders,w

homhe

hadw

ronglybelieved

tobe

hissupportersfor

everafter

theC

atilinaaffair.

Cicero’ssub

sequentsixteenm

onthsofexile

were

them

ostmiserableperiod

ofhislift.R

ecalledw

henPom

peiusbegantofind

Clodius

unbearable,Ciceroresum

edhis

legalpractice,anddiscovered

anopportunity

toattack

hisenem

y’sgreatfamily

when

Clodius’second

sisterC

lodia,afam

ousim

moralbeautyfor

whom

thepoet

Catullus

hada

hopelesspassion,attacked

herformer

loverMarcus

Caelius

Rufus.

Thiscleveryoung

politicianw

ascharged

bya

prosecutorw

ithw

hosefamily

hehad

afeud

—and

thisrather

thanC

lodiam

ayhave

beenthe

beginningof

thew

holecase

—w

itha

shockingarray

ofoffences,including

them

urderofoneorm

oreAlexandrian

envoysandthe

attemptedpoison

ingofhis

estrangedm

istressherself

Although

some

ofthecharges

may

wellhave

hadm

oresubstance

thanCicero

admits,

hisbrilliant

andam

usingadvocacy

evidentlygot

Caelius

off(56B

.C.).

But

thisspeech

isinteresting

aboveallfor

thestartling

insrghtit

i.See

pp.224

,2

45

,250,

252,

260,

26

7.

164

i6

1,I

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

offersinto

theprivate

andsocial lives

of thesm

artest peoplein

Rome

duringthefirst century

B.C

.—

livesevoked

lushly(though

euphemistically)

inthe

ban qtjetingscenes

of athousand film

s.It

iscurious

tosee

Cicero,w

hovas

usuallyinclined

totake

am

orepuritanical

line, obligedto

adopt agenial‘boysw

illbeboys’ attitude

inspeaking

of hisclient’s

earlylife, w

hichhad

combined

violent dissipationw

ithactive

supportof

Catilina.

Thespeech

isgraceful,

humorous

andlight oftouch,

written

ina

vivid,dra;iatic,

elliptical andsom

etimes

almost epistolary

style.

If, gentlenien,there

shouldhappen

tobe

anyonepresent w

hois

unaware

ofour

laws

andcourts

andcustom

s,I

amsure

hew

ouldw

onderw

hatthe

specialgravity

ofthiscase

might

be,seeing

thatitis

theone

andonly

trialto

beheld

atatim

eof

festivitiesand

publicgam

es,2

when

alllegal

businessis

onvacation.

He

would

undoubtedlyconclude

thatthe

defendantm

ust beguilty

ofsoserious

acrim

ethat unless

itistackled

theentire

structureof

thestate

will

collapse!Let us

supposehe

was

next toldofthe

laws

which

prescribesthat in

theevent

of criminal, traitorous

Rom

ancitizens

takingup

arms

toobstruct

theSenate, attacking

them

enin

chargeof

thegovernm

ent,and

tryingto

destroythe

government itself,

it isobligatory

tohold

aninvestigation

onany

andevery

day.H

ew

ouldnot

objectto

thelaw

.B

uthew

ouldw

antto

knoww

hatsort

ofcharge

was

involvedin

thepresent

action.A

ndthen, just

imagine

himbeing

toldthat

noreal

crime,

noout

rage,no

actof violence

was

beforethe

courtatall, but

thata

talented,energetic,

popularm

anis

beingaccused

bythe

son

4of

aperson

againstw

homthis

defendantis

himselfabout

to

2.

The

speechw

asdelivered

on4

April,

theopening

dayo

ftheL

udiM

egalenses.

3.T

hetrial

was

beingconducted

underthe

Lex

Lutatia

devi

(78).T

herew

asalso

alater

Lex

Plautiaof

wider

scope.

.T

hisprosecutor

isL.

Sempronius

Atratinus,

seventeen—year—

old

sonof L.

Calpuriiius

Bestia

who

was

twice

prosecutedby

Caelius.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

bringan

indictment

(forthe

secondtim

e);and,

furthermore,

thatthecurrentaction

isfinancedby

aw

hore.sT

heconclusion

ofthis

observerw

ouldsurely

bethat

theprosecutor’s

filialdutifulness

isexcusable,

thatw

om

an’s

malicio

us

passionsought

tobe

keptundercontrol,and

thatyou,mem

bersofthe

bench,are

overworked,since

evenon

publicholidays

youdo

notgettim

eoff

And

infact,

gentlemen,

ifyou

careto

notethe

circumStances

carefullyand

forman

accurateestim

ateof

thecase

asa

whole,

youw

illinevitably

come

tothe

conclusionthat

noneof

thoseconcerned

would

everhave

lentthem

selvesto

thisprosecution

ifthey

hadbeen

givenany

choice;nor,

havingtaken

iton,w

ouldthey

havehad

theslightesthope

ofsuccessw

erethey

notpushedby

theinsupportable

tantrums

andsav

agem

alevolenceof

athird

party.I

amprepared

toforgive

Atratinus,

who

isa

civilizedand

excellentyoung

man

and

afriend

ofm

ine.H

ecan

pleadas

hisexcuse

eitherfilialfeeling,

orcoercion,

orhis

tenderage.

Ifhe

wanted

tobring

thecharge,

ascribeit

tofilial

duty;if

hew

asobeying

orders,it

was

coercion;and

ifhe

sawprospects

for

him

selfin

thecase,

Iput

thisdow

nto

boyishinexperience.

The

othercounsel

forthe

prosecution,on

theother

hand,are

entitledto

nosuch

indulgence,and

deserveto

bevigorously

opposed.

The

defenceof

theyoung

Marcus

Caelius

canappropriately

beintroduced,

inm

yopinion,

byreplying

tothe

slandersw

hichthe

otherside

hasproduced

inord

erto

blackenhis

reputationand

damage

andruin

hisgood

name.

His

fatherhas

beenbroughtup

againsthimin

variousw

ays,eitheronthe

groundsthatthe

oldgentlem

anlives

insqualor

orbecause

my

clientis

saidto

bea

badson.

With

regardto

thepersonal

situationof

Marcus

Caelius

senior,m

enw

hobelong

tothe

.T

hisand

othersneers

concerningfem

aleinfluence

areall

directedagainst

Clodia.

i66167

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

ii,3

oldergeneration, and

knowhim

personally,appreciatethathe

isperfectly

ableto

actas

hisow

nsilent

witness

without

anyjustifications

froiim

yself.A

ndas

forthose

who

areless

well

acquaintedw

ithhim

smce

hisage

hasso

longprevented

himfrom

joiningus

inthe

Forum,

theycan

restassured

thatthe

dignityproper

toa

Rom

anknight

—w

hichcan

besom

ethingvery

considerable—

hasalw

aysbeen

astrong

featureof

theelder

Caelius,

andthe

same

isdefinitely

stillfelttobe

thecase

today,not

onlyby

hisow

ncircle

butby

allw

hofor

anyreason

may

havecom

eto

knowhim

.T

obe

theson

ofa

Rom

anknight

shouldnever

havebeen

usedas

asm

ear,either

bythe

prosecutors,or

beforethese

examiners,

orin

thehear

ingof

myselfas

defendingcounsel.6

To

turnto

yourpoint

abouthis

attitudeto

hisfather,

thatis, indeed,

am

atteron

which

we

canform

ourow

nopinion,

butthe

bestjudgeis

reallythe

parenthim

selfO

urview

youw

illlearn

fromw

itnesseson

oath;and

asto

what

theparents

feel,that

issufficiently

proclaimed

byhis

mother’s

sobsand

indescribabledistress,hisfather’s

dismalm

ourningclothes,and

all them

iseryand

griefyousee

becauseof

thistrial.

With

regardto

yourfurtherinsinuationthatthe

youngm

anis

notthought

highlyof

byhis

own

fellow-tow

nsmen,

thepeopie

ofthePraetuttian

region7

havenever

awarded

higherhonours

evento

anyoneright

intheir

verym

idstthan

thosethey

conferredon

Caclius

—though

hew

asnot

inthe

placeat

all.For

theyenrolled

theyoung

man,

absentthough

bew

as,in

theirhighest

council,and

thusgranted

him,

quitew

ithoutany

requestonhis part,a

distinctionw

hichm

anyw

hosolicited

similar

honourshad

soughtfrom

themin

vain.Furtherm

ore,they

havesent adeputation, including

eminentfellow

-Senatorsof

mine

andR

oman

knightsas

well,

tobe

presentat

the

6.T

hepanel

of judges

partlyconsisted

of

knights,and

Cicero

was

theson

of

aknight and

thesupporter

of

theirO

rder.7.

According

tothis

readingC

aeliuscam

efrom

Interamnia

Praetu

ttiorum

(Teram

o)in

Picenurn.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

trial;and

thesedelegates

havebroughtw

iththem

am

ostimposing

andeloquent

testimonial.

IfancyIhave

nowplaced

my

arguments

forthe

defenceon

afirm

foundation:because

nothingcould

befirm

erthan

acase

foundedupon

theconvictions

ofm

yclient’s

own

townsm

en.ForIcancertainly

seethatyou

would

notfeelthata

youngm

anlike

thisbrought

youa

verysatisfactory

recomm

endationifhe

hadincurred

thedisapprovaleither

ofatow

nofsuch

distinctionand

importance

or,indeed,

ofam

anw

iththe

qualitiesofC

aelius’father.

IfIm

ayturn

fora

mom

entto

my

own

personalposition,

itis

fromjust

thatsort

ofback

groundthat

I,too,

firstissued

forthto

beginto

make

my

reputation,before

thedays

when

my

forensiclabours

hereand

my

professionalcareer

ingeneral,

with

theapproval

andbacking

ofmy

friends,graduallyflow

edinto

abroader

courseand

won

publicrecognition.

Now

letusconsiderthecriticism

sdirected

againstthem

oralsof

Caelius,

andall

theprosecution’s

attackson

thissubject.

Theseare

not,in

fact,actual

chargesat

all,but

mere

slandersand

defamations;

andnone

ofthem

will

distressC

acliusenough

tom

akehim

wish

hehad

beenborn

ugly!For

disagreeable

remarks

ofsuch

acharacter

arecom

monly

directedagainst

everygood-looking

youngm

an.B

utdefam

ationis

onething,

prosecutionanother.

Prosecutionneeds

specificgrounds

ofsufficient

strengthto

definethe

facts,leave

theirm

arkon

thedefendant,

supplyconvincing

demonstrations,

andback

themup

byevidence.

Abuse,

onthe

otherhand,

hasno

purposeexcept

tobe

insulting.If

itscharacter

iscrude,

itis

calledinvective;

andif

itis

amusing

itpasses

asw

it.That

thispart

ofthe

prosecutionw

asallotted

toA

tratinuscaused

me

bothsurprise

andannoyance.

Forsuch

avein

was

appropriateneither

tohis

personalitynor

tohis

youthfulyears,and,as

youno

doubtnoted,this

estimable

youngm

an’sow

nscruples

meanthe

was

farfrom

comfortable

with

langu

I

i681

69

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

7

ageof the

kind.I should

havefelt m

uchhappier

ifthisabusive

rolehad

beenleft to

them

orem

aturem

embers

ofthegroup;

forthen,

incontradcting

thevituperation,

Iwould

havebeen

ableto

speakin

mre

outspoken,forcible

andnatural

terms.

But

towards

you,A

tratinus,I

shallshow

greaterleniency.

Forone

thing,the

factthat

youyourself

havea

senseof

proprietym

akesm

efeel

inclinedto

handleyou

gently.A

ndbesides,

Iamnot

atall

eagerto

undothe

servicesI perform

edfor

yourself andyour

fatheron

anearlier

occasion.8

How

ever,I

dow

antto

giveyou

some

advice.First,so

thateveryone

cansee

what you

arereally

like, Iventureto

suggestthat

youought

tokeep

clearof intem

peratelanguage

justas

carefullyas you

avoidintem

peratebehaviour.

Secondly, neversay

againstsom

eoneelse

thingsthat

youw

ouldblush

tohear

fabricatedagainst

yourself.For

thatroad

liesopen

toall

thew

orld.For

instance,anyone

canm

akeas

viciousan

attackas

hepleases

uponsom

ebodyof

yourow

nage

andhandsom

elooks

—and

evenif there

isnot

theslightest

causefor

anysus

picionhe

canm

akehis

criticisms

soundquite

plausible.H

owever,

theblam

efor

therole

youhave

assumed

cannotreally

beattributed

toyourself

atall;

itm

ustgo

tothe

men

who

choseyou

forthe

part.T

oyou,

onthe

otherhand,

toyour

own

feelingfor

what is

right, belongscredit, since

it was

easyfor

allofus

tosee

thereluctance

with

which

youspoke.

And

acom

pliment

toyour

abilityis

alsodue,because

ofyouradm

irableand

elegantspeech.

All

thesam

e,m

yansw

erto

everythingthat

yousaid

will

bebrief.

Inso

f4ras

theyouthful

lifeof

Marcus

Caelius

might

havegiven

reasonfor

suspicion,I

must

tellyou

thatit

was

protectedby

two

things:his

own

decency,and

hisfather’s

carefultraining.

Moreover,

theelder

Caelius,

assoon

ashe

hadgiven

hisson

thetoga

ofm

anhood,im

mediately

placed

8. Cicerodefended

Atratinus’

father Bestiaon

IIFebruary, and

hadperhaps

beenthe

boy’steacher

of publicspeaking.

A

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

himunder

my

own

personalcare.

That

isall

Iw

illsay,

be

causeI

amnot

atthisjuncture

goingto

speakabout

myself.

Ishall

besatisfied

toleave

them

atterto

yourjudgement.

The

situationis

thatthe

youngM

arcusC

aclius,during

hisearly

youth,w

asnever

seenby

anyoneexcept

inthe

company

ofhis

fatheror

myselfor

inthe

highlyrespectable

householdof

Marcus

Crassus.

He

spentthose

yearsreceiving

anexcellent

education.C

aeliushas

beenaccused

ofbeing

afriend

ofC

atilina.B

uthe

hasa

rightto

dissociatehim

selfcompletely

fromany

suchsm

ear.T

rue,at

thetim

ew

henC

atilina,along

with

myself

was

acandidate

forthe

consulship,C

aeliusw

asstill

veryyoung.

And

Iadm

itm

anyw

orthyyoung

men

were

fondof

thatdegraded

brute.Still,

ifCaelius

hadat

thattim

eever

at

tachedhim

selftoC

atilinaor

detachedhim

selffromm

e,then

itwould

havebeen

properenoughto

criticizehim

forforming

suchan

association.B

utthe,actual

circumstances

ofthe

casecom

pletelyrule

outany

suggestionof

thesort.

Afterw

ards,certainly

—as

youpoint

out—

we

knowand

we

sawthat

hew

as,in

fact,one

ofC

atilina’spolitical

supporters.T

hatis

athing

which

nobodydenies.

At

them

oment,

however,

Iam

defendingthat

earlierstage

ofhis

youthw

hichby

itsvery

natureis

vulnerableand

iseasily

imperilled

byother

people’sw

ilfulpassions.

Well,

inthose

days,w

hileI

was

praetor,C

aeliusw

ascontinually

inm

yow

ncom

pany.C

atilina,w

how

asat

thattim

egovernor

ofAfrica,

was

noteven

oneof

hisacquaintances.

Then

came

theyear

when

Catilina

was

pro

secutedfor

extortion;9

Caelius

was

stillwith

myself,

anddid

noteven

attendthe

courtto

helphim

.In

thenext

yearI

stoodfor

theconsulship.

Catiina

was

alsoa

candidate,but

Caelius

neverjoinedhim

,and

neverleft

my

side.Itw

asnot

untilhehad

beengoing

tothe

Forumfor

allthattim

e,w

ithoutincurring

theslightest

suspicionor

disrepute,that

hebecam

ea

follower

ofC

atilina,w

how

asthen

makjncrb

9. Catilina,prosecuted

byP.

Clodius,w

asacquitted

(sum

mer

6).

170

‘7’

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

v,II

hissecond

attempt

tobecom

econsul.

Very

well;

butsurely

onem

ust not expect that ayouth’s

earlyyears

cango

onbeing

shelteredindefinjtely!

When

Iw

asyoung

we

usedto

spendone

year‘keeping

ourarm

sin

ourtogas’,

anddoing

physicaltraining

onthe

Cam

pusM

artius,and

ifw

estarted

ourm

ilitary

servicestraightaw

ayw

ehad

asim

ilarprobationary

per

iodin

ourarm

ylife

at camp. N

ow,

at that age, unlessa

youngm

arl hadthe

necessarystrength

of mind, sexual

restraint, goodhom

etraining

andalso, one

must add, natural decency

tolook

afterhim

self,how

evercarefully

hew

asw

atchedover

byhis

friendshe

couldnot

avoidgiving

groundsfor

scandal,and

justifiablescandal

atthat.

But

when

someone

hadspent

theearliest

yearsof his

youthliving

aclean

andchaste

life,then

lateron,

afterhe

hadfinally

grown

upand

become

am

anam

ongm

en, aspersionson

hisreputation

andhis

morals

were

generallyfelt

tobe

outof place.

Yes,

afterhe

badserved

several years’apprenticeship

inthe

Forum,

Caclius

didbecom

ean

adherentof

Catilina.

Sodid

many

otherpeople

of everyrank

andage. ForasI am

sureyou

will

recall,C

atilinahad

many

excellentqualities,

notindeed

maturely

developed, butat least sketched

outroughly

inout

line.It

istrue

thathe

gota

largenum

berof

deplorableindi

vidualsto

flockround

him.

But

healso

putup

ashow

ofaffection

towards

men

guidedby

theloftiest principles. T

herew

asa

gooddeal

abouthim

thatexercised

acorrupting

effecton

otherpeople;

andyet

healso

undeniablypossessed

agift

forstim

ulatinghis

associatesinto

vigorousactivity.

Catilina

was

atone

andthe

same

time

afurnace

ofinordinate

sensualpassions,

anda

seriousstudent

ofm

ilitaryaffairs.

Ido

notbelieve

thatthe

world

hasever

seensuch

aportent

ofdiver

gent,contrary,

contradictorytastes

andappetites.

At

onestage

inhis

life,no

oneon

earthhad

agreater

capacityfor

ingratiatinghim

selfw

ithhis

superiors—

and,equally, for

making

closefriends

with

peoplelow

erdow

nthe

scale.N

obody,at

acertain

period,held

sounderpolitical

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

views;

andyet

hebecam

ethe

most

loathsome

enemy

hiscountry

everpossessed.

His

disgustingpleasures

were

asex

ceptionalas

hisunflagging

endurance.W

herecisc

couldyou

everfind

suchinsatiable

greed—

orsuch

open-handedgenero

sity?G

entlemen,

paradoxicalfeatures

aboundedin

thatm

an.H

ehad

thegiftofm

akingm

anyfriends,and

inorder

tokeep

themthere

was

noservice

thathew

ouldnotperform

.He

was

readyto

sharehis

possessionsw

itheveryone,

tohelp

needyfriends

with

money,

influence,physical

exertionand

evenreckless

crime.

No

oneknew

betterthan

hedid

howto

adaptand

guidehis

ways

tosuitan

occasion,bendingand

manipula

tingthem

thisw

ayand

that.H

ew

asperfectly

capableof

livingausterely

with

theaustere

andgaily

with

theself—

indulgent,gravely

with

theold,

geniallyw

iththe

young,audaciously

with

criminals

andextravagantly

with

debauchees.

And

sothis

complex

andm

any—sided

character,ata

time

when

hehad’attracted

evilscoundrelsfrom

everyquarter,still

heldthe

allegianceofm

anygood,respectable

men

bya

sortoffictitious

mim

icryof

virtue.Indeed,

eventhat

frightfulim

pulseto

overthrowour

whole

systemcould

neverhave

come

fromhim

unlessallthese

viceshad

beenunited

with

qualitiesofefficiency

andtoughness.

Forthese

reasons,gentlemen,you

shoulddiscard

theprose

cution’sentire

lineofargum

ent.Letnoblam

eattach

toC

aeliusbecause

heassociated

with

Catilina.

Forthat

issom

ethingw

hichhe

hasin

comm

onw

ithm

anyother

people,including

personsw

hoare

beyondreproach.

Indeed,I

declarethat

Im

yselfwas

oncenearly

deceivedby

him

.b0

Itook

himfor

apatriotic

citizenattached

toour

nationalleaders,

andfor

afaithful

andreliable

friend.I

didnot

believehis

misdeeds

beforeI

sawthem

;until

Ihad

actuallycaught

himin

theact

Ihad

nosuspicion

theyeven

existed.IfC

aelius,too,

was

oneof

hisnum

erousfriends,

hew

ould,I

agree,be

rightto

feel10.

Inletters

toA

tticus,Cicero

mentions

thatin6

hew

asthinking

of

speakingin

Catiina’s

defence.

172

173

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

Vi,

14

annoyedthat

hehad

made

sucha

mistake,just

asIsom

etimes

regretm

yow

nm

isconceptionabout

them

an.B

utthe

factshould

certainlynot

givem

yclient

theslightestcause

tofear

thatthefricndshij

mightbe

usedasthe

basisforan

indictment

incourt.A

fteryou

haddropped

offensivehints

aboutthis

relationship,

yougot

down

tothe

jobofcreating

prejudiceconcern

ingthe

conspiracy.For

youlet

itbe

supposed,though

admittedly

ina

tentativeand

casualfashion,

thatbecause

Caelius

was

afriend

ofC

atilinahe

must

havebeen

afellow—

conspiratoras

well.

How

ever,at

thispoint

thecharge

was

sounconvincing

thatmy

eloquentyoungfriend’s

speechscarcely

heldtogether.

Forsurely

Caelius

was

notsuch

alunatic!

Did

hischaracter

andhabits,

orhis

positionand

resources,really

impose

uponhim

suchan

overwhelm

ingdisability

asall

that?A

tthe

time

when

suspicionw

asgoing

around,no

oneever

heardthe

name

ofC

aeliuseven

beingm

entioned.B

utthere

isno

needfor

mc

toenlarge

onthis

subject—

forthe

factsare

indisputable.Still,

Im

ustadd

justone

furtherpoint.

IfCaclius

hadreally

beena

partyto

theconspiracy,

oreven

ifbe

hadbeen

anythingother

thanviolently

hostileto

suchan

abominable

act,he

would

neverunder

anycircum

stanceshave

triedto

promote

hisyouthfulcareer

bycharging

someone

elsew

ithcom

plicityin

thesam

eA

ndnow

thatIhave

reachedthisjuncture

Iam

inclinedto

thinkthat

thesuggestions

ofcorrupt

electoralpractices

andclubs

andagents

distributingbribes

deservejustthe

same

sortof

answer.

Forif

Caclius

hadstained

hisreputation

with

theunlim

itedbribery

tow

hichyou

refer,he

would

neverhave

beensuch

anidiotasto

chargea

differentpersonw

ithprecisely

thesam

eoffence,

thusinvolving

someone

elsein

suspectedii.

InM

archC

aeliushad

prosecuted,and

Cicero

unsuccessfullydefended,

C.

Antonius

Hybrida,

probablyfor

treasonableconduct

inM

acedoniaand

collusionw

ithC

atilina,w

itha

subsidiarycharge

ofextortion.

174

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

guiltfora

criminal

activityin

which

hew

antedto

keepa

freehand

forhim

self!N

or,if

heim

aginedthat

hehim

selfw

asgoing

tohave

toface

evena

singleprosecution

forbribery,

would

hehave

beenlikely

tohave

broughtan

identicalcharge

againstanother

individualnot

onlyonce,

but

actuallyon

asecond

occasionas

well. Iadm

itthat inthis

matter

hehas

beenacting

indiscreetlyand

againstm

yw

ishes.A

llthe

same,

hisdeterm

ination,even

ifdirected,

itw

ouldseem

,against

aninnocent

man,

clearlyshow

snot

theslightest

traceof

apprehension

onhis

own

account.

He

isalso

accusedofbeing

indebt.

His

expensesare

criticized,his

account-booksdem

andedfor inspection. B

uttothese

pointsI

shallgiveyou

avery

succinctreply.

Ayoung

man

who

isstill

subjecttohis

father’sauthority

doesnotkeep

accountsat

all. Nor

hasC

aeliuseverborrow

edm

oney.He

isonly

blamed

forexpenditure

ofasingle

kind—

therent

ofhishouse, w

hichyou

claimis

thirtythousand

sestercesa

year.B

utI

cansee

whatyou

aredriving

at. ForPubliusC

lodius’block

of houses,in

which

Caelius

rentsan

apartment

for,I

believe,ten

thou

sand,is

upfor

sale.A

ndso,

consequently,w

hatyou

havedone

isto

givea

fictitiousfigure,

asa

favourto

Clodius

andin

orderto

helphis

deal.Y

oureproached

Caelius

forliving

apartfrom

hisfather.

But

surelythere

isnothing

wrong

with

thatat

hisage.

Ina

casew

ithpolitical

implications

hehad

justgained

asuccess

which,

althoughadm

ittedlyunw

elcome

tom

yself,brought

himconsiderable

prestige.H

ehad

alsoreached

thetim

eof

lifew

henhe

couldstand

forpublic

offices.Thatw

asthe

stageatw

hichhe

moved

outofhisfather’s

house—

with

hisfather’s

approval,and

indeedactually

uponhis

advice.For

theelder

Caelius

livestoo

farfrom

theForum

,and

inorder

tobe

ableto

visit ourhomes

more

easily,andreceive

visitsfrom

hisow

nfriends, his

sonleased

ahouse

onthe

Palatine,ata

moderate

rent.

175

III

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

viii,i8

Inthis

contextI

shouldlike

torepeat

what

theem

inentM

arcusC

rassusrecently

saidw

henhe

was

expressingregret

atthe

arrivalofK

ingPtolem

ylzof E

gypt.

Would

thatinPelion’s

forestthevessel had

not’

3.

But

youw

illI

amsure

allowm

eto

goon

with

thesam

equotation.

Forthen

neverw

oulda

ladybereftofher

wits.

havegiven

usall

thistrouble,

namely

Medea,sick

inher

spirit,wounded

bycruellove.

And

that, gentlemen,hints

atwhatI

amgoing

todem

onstratew

henI

come

tothe

appropriatepoint

inm

yspeech:

namely

thatall

thisyoung

man’s

trouble,or

ratherall

thegossip

abouthim

,has

beencaused

byhis

changeof

residence—

andby

thisM

edeaof

thePalatine.

Confident

ofyour

soundjudgeinent,

gentlemen,

Iam

notw

orriedby

thevarious

fictionsw

hichI

gatherfrom

thespeeches

forthe

prosecutionare

beingconcocted

tobolster

uptheir

case.O

neof

thesefabrications

relatedto

aSenator

who

was

goingto

testifyhe

hadbeen

assaultedby

Caelius

duringthe

electionof priests.

Ifhecom

esforw

ardI

shallask

him,

firstw

hyhe

tookno

legalaction

straightaw

ay,and

secondly—

grantedthat

hechose

tocom

plaininform

allyrather

thanto

bringa

formal

charge—

why

hew

asproduced

byyourselves

insteadofstepping

forward

ofhisow

naccord;

andw

hy, inaddition,he

preferredto

make

hisprotestso

verym

uchlater rather

thanatthe

time.If he

cansupply

shrewd

andpointed

answers

tothese

questions,then

Iw

illconclude

by

12

.P

tolemy

XII

Auletes,

afterbuying

recognitionas

kingof

Egypt

in59,

was

expelledin

thefollow

ingyear

andsought

helpin

Rom

e.13.

The

quotation, fromE

nnius’M

edea,isusedby

Crassus

inreference

tothe

arrivalof

adelegation

ledby

Dio

ofA

lexandriato

presenta

counterbiast toP

tolemy’s

plea.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

inquiringw

herethis

Senatororiginated.

Ifit

turn

sou

tth

atthe

springfro

mw

hich

heem

anatesan

dbursts

forth

into

ourm

idstishim

selfandhim

selfonly,I

may

well

beim

pressed,as

Ialw

aysam

,by

sucha

displayof

independentinitiative,

But

if,onthe

otherhand

heproves

merely

tobe

am

inortributary

rivulet,draw

nofffrom

them

ainsource

ofyour

prosecutingorganization,

my

reactionw

illbe

oneofparticular

pleasure—

becausethis

means

thatin

spiteof

allyour

influenceand

resources

nom

orethan

onesingle

Senatorhas

beenfound

wil

lingto

doyou

afavour!

Nor

amI

inthe

leastscared

ofthat

othercategory

ofw

itnesses,w

hom

aybe

describedas

theG

entlemen

ofthe

Night.

Forit

was

indicatedthat

certainpersons

will

beready

todeclare

thattheir

wives,

while

ontheir

way

home

froma

dinner—party,

were

criminally

assaultedby

Caelius.

What

high—principled

charactersthese

must

beto

volunteersuch

anassertion

onoath,

when

theyare

obligedto

admit

thatthey

neverm

adethe

slightestattem

ptto

obtainsatisfaction

forthese

gravew

rongsby

askingfor

asettlem

entout

ofcourt,

oreven

foran

informal

meeting!

Now

,gentlemen,you

arein

aposition

toforesee

theentire

natureof

theprosecution’s

line;and

when

theonslaught

islaunched

itw

illbe

yourduty

tobeat

itback.

Forthe

peoplew

hoare

reallyeager

forthe

destructionofM

arcusC

aeliusare

notthese

counselat

all.O

stensibly,the

attackis

launchedby

them.

But

theshafts

aresupplied

bya

hiddenhand.

Iam

notjust

sayingthis

tobring

opprobriumupon

theprosecutors.

They

areperfectly

entitledto

feelproud

ofthe

jobthey

haveundertaken.

They

aredoing

theirduty,

theyare

defendingtheir

friends,they

arebehaving

asm

enofcourage

should.Injured,

theyresent

it;angered,

theylet

themselves

go;challenged,

theyfight.B

utgranted

thatm

enofspiritm

ayhave

reasonto

assailM

arcusC

aelius,you

yourselvesare

induty

boundto

payless

attentionto

otherpeople’s

resentments

thanto

yourow

nhonour

asa

panelofjudges.

176‘7

7

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

Besides,

lookat

thecrow

dsof

peopleof

everyclass

andoccupation

andkind

with

whom

theForum

is always

packed.O

utofall

thisnum

berthere

aresure

tobe

quantitiesof in

di

vidualspreparea,

forthe

sakeofprofit,

tooffer

theirservices

andexert

themselves

andundertake

togive

evidence.If

creaturesof

thistype

shouldhappen

tohave

intrudedinto

thepresent

trial,I

askyou,

gentlemen,

touse

yourgood

senseto

treattheir

greedyaspirations

astotally

irrelevant.If

youdo,

youw

ill demonstrate

thatyouhave

simultaneously

hadregard

forthe

preservationof

my

client,your

own

feelingsof

con

science,and

thew

elfareof

theentire

citizenbody,

ata

time

when

allthese

arem

enacedby

dangerousand

formidable

personages.I,

onm

yside,

haveno

intentionof

troublingyou

with

witnesses.T

hefactsof the

caseare

unalterable, andIdo

notpro

poseto

suggestthat

theyhinge

onw

itnesses’evidence, w

hichcan

soeasily

andreadily

bem

anipulatedand

twisted

anddis

torted.I

preferto

usethe

rationalm

ethod:I

shallrebut

thesecharges

byproofs

thatarc

clearerthan

thelight

ofday.

Factw

illbe

answered

byfact,

reasonby

reason,proposition

byproposition.

Iam

thereforeentirely

contentthat

Marcus

Crassus

shouldhave

spokenso

fully,so

earnestlyand

soeloquently

aboutthe

sectionsof

thecase

relatingto

thedisturbances

atN

eapolis,the

assaultonthe

Alexandrians

at Puteoli,and

theproperty

ofP

alla.’Iw

ishhe

hadalso

dealtwith

Dio’s

murder.’

And

yetw

hatm

orecould

youpossibly

expectto

hearfrom

anyoneabout

thatparticular

matter,

when

theactual

perpetratorof

thedeed

iseither

wholly

unafraidof retribution

oreven

wil

lingto

admitw

hathe

hasdone?

—since

heis,

afterall,

aking.

Besides,

them

anw

how

assaid

tohave

beenhis

agentand

14. Nothing

isknow

nfor

certainofthese

incidents.iç

.T

heenvoy

Dio

was

murdered

inItaly

onPtolem

y’sinstructions.

P.A

siciusw

assuccessfully

defendedby

Cicero.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

confidantinthe

murder,

PubliusA

sicius,has

beenbrought

totrial

andacquitted.

Here,then,is

acrim

ew

hichthe

guiltyparty

doesnot

deny;and

theperson

who

claimed

hehad

nothingto

dow

ithit

hasgot

off.So

why

shouldany

chargeunder

thisheading

worry

my

client,w

hohas

neverbeen

undersuspicion

orindeed

eventhe

slightestshadow

ofcom

plicity?T

hesuggestion

hasbeen

made

thatAsicius

was

onlyacquitted

becauseofcollusion

between

prosecutionand

defence.T

hatpoint,

however,

canvery

easilybe

contradicted,and

most

easilyofallby

myself

who

was

hisdefending

counsel.B

utin

anycase

Caelius

—

althoughincidentally

hehas

astrong

beliefin

Asicius’

innocence

—argues

that,w

hateverthe

situationin

thatrespect

may

be,the

positionof

Asicius

hasno

connexionw

hateverw

ithhis

own.

And

thatis

nothis

viewonly;

itis

alsoth

eopin

ion

of

Titus

andG

aiusC

oponius.T

hesetw

overy

civilizedand

cul

tiredyoung

men,possessing

alltheadvantages

ofanexcellent

educationin

thearts,w

erem

oreprofoundly

distressedthan

any

bodyelse

bythe

deathof D

io,tow

homthey

were

attachedby

tiesof

hospitalityand

bya

shareddevotion

tolearning

andthe

humanities.D

io,as

youw

eretold,

was

stayingw

ithT

itusC

oponius,w

hohad

gotto

knowhim

atA

lexandria.W

hathe

andhis

eminent

brotherthink

aboutM

arcusC

aeliusyou

willhear from

theirow

nlips

iftheyare

producedas

witnesses.

Solet

ussetthis

whole

businessaside,

andfinally

com

eto

the

realfacts

behindthe

case.I

sawyou

were

payingvery

carefulattention

tothe

pointsm

yfriend

LuciusH

erenniusm

ade.W

hatparticularly

at

tractedyour

notice,no

doubt,w

ashis

talentedm

annerand

aspecial

qualityin

hisstyle.

But

Iw

asalso

afraidat

times

thatthe

substanceof

hisspeech,

sotellingly

plannedto

createa

damning

effect,would

exercisean

imperceptible

andinsidious

influenceon

yourjudgement

ofthe

case.H

esaid

alot

about

iX,2

1

178‘79

PO

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ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

xi,25

extravagance,lust,

youthfulvices

andim

moral

behaviour.H

eretmius

isusually

am

ildenough

man,

andindeed

anat

tractiverepresençative

ofthe

urbaneand

well—

bredm

annersw

hichare

nowi

fashion.Yethere

incourt,on

theotherhand,

youcould

nothave

imagined

asterner

kindof

uncleand

moralist

andtutor.

He

reprimanded

Marcus

Caelius

interm

sw

hichno

fatherhas

everdream

tofusingtow

ardshis

own

son.H

ew

enton

atgreat

lengthabout

theevils

ofw

ildand

intem

perateliving.

Inshort,

gentlemen,

Ibegan

toexcuse

youfor

listeningso

intently,because

thegrim

andglum

manner

ofhis

speechw

asbeginning

tocause

evenm

eto

tremble.

The

firstpart

ofhis

speech,how

ever,did

nottrouble

me

verym

uch.T

hiscontained

hisallegation

thatC

aeliusw

asintim

atew

ithm

yfriend

Bestia

—that

heused

todine

atB

estia’shom

e,visited

himon

many

occasions,and

supportedhis

candidaturefor

thepraetorship.

These

assertionsdo

notbother

me

becausethey

arem

anifestlyfalse.

ForH

erenniusalso

mentioned

otherpeople

who

haddined

with

Bestia;

andthey

arenot here

—or

iftheyare

hereitis

merely

becausethey

havebeen

forcedto

tellthe

same

story.N

oram

I inthe

leastworried

byH

erennius’suggestion

thatC

aeliusw

asone

ofhis

fellow-m

embers

ofthe

Luperci.’6

The

originalWolf-m

enw

erea

kindofprim

itivebrotherhood,

ofa

pastoraland

rusticcharacter,

who

inthe

daysbefore

civilizationand

lawform

edbands

togetherin

thew

oods.A

ndindeed

itsm

embers

arcstill,

apparently,savage

enoughnot

onlyto

layinform

ationagainst

theirow

nbrethren

butactually,

when

theyare

doingso,

toboast

aboutthe

fraternalrelationship

—anxious,

itw

ouldseem

,to

ensurethat

peopleshould

beaw

areof

thebond!

But

enoughabout

that.I

will

passon

toallegations

which

gavem

egreater

concern.H

erennius’attack

ondissipation

was

lengthy;and

itw

as16.

The

Luperciw

erean

ancientfraternityw

horan

roundthe

boundsofthe

Palatinew

earinggoat-skins

andstriking

wom

enw

ithstrips

ofthe

same

material

toprom

otefertility.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

deliveredin

aquieter

toneof

voice.It

alsoaim

edat

logicalargum

entrather

thanm

ereabuse,w

hichw

asone

reasonw

hyit

receivedsuch

closeattention.

His

fellow—

prosecutor,m

yfriend

PubliusC

lodius,’7w

asvery

different, forhe

flungh

imself

aboutw

ithextrem

evigour

andabandon,

andexpressed

everythingin

them

ostfieryand

acidterm

s,and

atthe

topof

hisvoice.

I was

impressed

byall

thiseloquence.

But

Iw

asby

nom

eansalarm

ed;for

Ihad

beento

agood

many

trialsin

which

Clodius

endedup

onthe

losingside.

Soit

isy

ou

Herennius,

whom

Iw

illfirst

answer,

ifIm

ay.I

will

replyto

yourquestion

whether

itisright

andproper

form

eto

defenda

man

who

hasnot

always

refusedinvitations

todinner-

parties,w

hohas

venturedto

gofor

walks

inparks,

who

hasnot

abstainedtotally

fromthe

useof

perfume,

andw

hohas

beenknow

nto

payvisits

toB

aiae.’8

There

arepeople

Ihaveseen

andheard

of inour

comm

unityw

hohave

takenm

orethan

alittle

sipof thatkind

oflife,who

havegone

beyondjust

givingit

theproverbial

touchw

iththeir

fmger-tips,

andw

hohave

indeeddevoted

theirentire

youthto

debauchery:but

thenthey

haveturned

overa

newleafand

become

respectedand

eminent citizens.

Foreveryone

agreesyoung

men

may

beallow

eda

certainam

ountof

indulgence.

Indeed,nature

herselfis

gemierous

insupplying

themw

ithsexual

appetites—

andif

theiroutbreaks

donot

ruinanyone’s

lifeor

destroyanyone’s

home

theseare

usuallyregarded

asreasonable

andtolerable.

But

itseemed

tom

ethat

youw

ereusing

theexcesses

comm

onto

youngm

enin

orderto

stirup

prejudiceagainst

Caclius

inparticular;

andthat

thesilent concentration

with

which

yourspeech

was

heardow

edm

uchto

thefact

that,although

itscriticism

sw

eredirected

againsta

singleindividual,

what

we

were

thinkingabout

was

thew

idespreaddiffusion

ofthese

faults.

17.

This

isevidently

notthe

P.C

lodiusP

uicherw

how

asC

icero’senem

y.i8.

Baiae

was

afashionable

resorton

theB

ayof

Naples.

i8oi8i

PO

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ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

Xii,

29

Itiseasy,gentlem

en,to

attackim

morality. D

aylight would

rapidlyfailm

eifI tried

tobring

outevery

aspect ofthetopic:

seduction,adultery,

lechery,w

asteofm

oney—

thelist is

end

less.E

venife

arcnot

censuringany

particularperson

butare

merely

consideringthe

generalthem

eof

suchvices,

thesubject

initself offers

scopefor

aw

eightyand

extendeddia

tribe.B

utsensible

men

likeyourselves,

gentlemen,

must

notallow

yourselvesto

bedistracted

insuch

aw

ayfrom

theactual

personof

thedefendant

himself.

Your

own

highp

rinciples

ofstrictness

andresponsibility

empow

eryou

toad

minister

asting

ofvery

greatseverity. W

hatthe

prosecutorhas

doneis

todirect

thissting

againsta

universalsituation,

againstthe

sinsand

wickedness

of theage.

Itwould

thereforebe

wrong

foryou

toturn

itinstead

againstone

singlede

fendant,w

hohas

beensubjected

toa

prejudicialattack

inspiredby

nopersonal

faultof

hisow

nbut

byfailings

thatare

foundin

agreat

many

people.C

onsequently,H

erennius,I

shall notaspire

togive

thesort

ofreplyto

yourstrictures

that theirform

would

seemto

havedem

anded.If

Ihad

doneso,

Icould

havebegged

forthe

indulgenceto

which

ayoung

man

isentitled,

andasked

thathe

shouldbe

pardonedon

thosegrounds.

But,

asI

say,I

shallnot

adoptthat

course.For

Iam

takingno

refugein

excusesabout

hisyouth;

Irenounce

sucha

right,although

itis

onew

hichanybody

would

beentitled

toclaim

.A

llI

askinstead

isthat,

whatever

generalprejudice

ourgeneration

may

feelagainst

youngm

en’sdebts

andexcesses

anddissipations

—

andI

knowthis

feelingis

apow

erfulone

—the

transgressionsof

theothers,

andjuvenile

shortcomings

ingeneral,

andthe

evilsof

thetim

es,should

notbe

producedas

reasonsw

hyC

aeiusshould

becondem

ned.

Yet

atthe

same

time,

while

insistingon

thisrequest,

Ihave

notthe

slightestobjection

toreplying

most

meticulously

tothe

specificaccusations

which

arebrought

against him.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

TJ.S

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

Tw

oofthese

charges,one

relatingto

goldand

theother

topoison,

concernone

andthe

same

individual.T

hegold

issupposed

tohave

beentaken

fromC

lodia,the

poisonto

havebeen

acquiredso

thatC

lodiashould

drinkit.

All

theother

matters

raisedare

notreally

accusationsin

anyproper

senseof

thew

ord,butonly

slanders,more

appropriateto

some

vulgarshouting-m

atchthan

toa

nationalcourt

ofjustice.D

eclarations

thatC

aeliusis

adulterous,im

moral

anda

briber’stout

arenotcharges

atallbutjust plaininsults.

Slursofsuch

akind

havenot

thesm

allestfoundation

orbasis.

They

arenothing

butmere

vituperation,utteredatrandom

bya

prosecutorwho

haslethis

temper

getthe

betterofhim

andholds

forthwith—

outa

traceof

supportingevidence.

But

asfor

thetw

oother

charges,I

cansee

clearlyenough

what

thefoundation

isfor

them—

thereis

someone

inthe

background,a

source,a

de

finiteindividual

fromw

homthey

stem.

Here

isthe

firststory:

Caelius

neededgold,

tookit

fromC

lodia, tookitw

ithoutwitnesses,kept

it aslong

ashe

wanted

to.A

demonstration,

youw

illtell

me,

thatthe

two

ofthem

were

remarkably

intimate!

The

secondstory

goeslike

this:he

proposedto

killher,heprocured

poison,bribedcollaborators,

made

thenecessary

arrangements,

fixeda

place,conveyed

thepoison

there.E

vidence,this

time,

ofa

violentrupture

andoverw

helming

hatred!G

entlemen,

thew

holeof

thecase

revolvesround

Clodia.

Sheis

aw

oman

ofnoble

birth;but

shealso

hasa

notoriousreputation.

My

observationsabout

thislady

will

belim

itedto

what

isnecessary

torefute

thecharge.

You,

Cnaeus

Dom

itius,’9

inyour

wisdom

, mustappreciate

thatsheis

theone

andonly

personw

ithw

homw

ereally

haveto

concernourselves

atall.

Ifshe

deniesshe

lentC

aeliusgold,

ifshe

putsforw

ardno

claimthat

hetried

topoison

her,w

eare,

Ifear,

guiltyof

disagreeablebehaviour

forusing

thenam

eof

am

arriedR

oman

ladyin

am

annerfar

removed

fromw

hatis

dueto

19.The

praetor Cn. Dom

itiusCalvinuswas chairm

anofthe

tribunal.

183182

PO

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ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

Xiii,

32

sucha

lady’svirtue.

Yet

sincethe

elimination

ofthisw

oman

fromthe

casew

illalso

mean

theelim

inationof

everysingle

chargew

ithw

hichC

acliusis

faced,w

ew

hoact

ashis

counselare

leftw

ithno

alternative;if

someone

attacksC

lodiusw

eare

obligedto

showthey

arew

rong.Indeed,

my

refutationw

ouldbe

framed

inconsiderably

more

forcibleterm

sif

Idid

not

feelinhibited

bythe

factthat

thew

oman’s

husband—

sorry,I

mean

brother,20

always

make

thatslip

—is

my

personalenem

y.Since

thatis

thesituation,

however,

my

languagew

illbe

asm

oderateas

Icanm

akeit,and

Iwillgo

nofarther

thanm

yconscience

andthe

natureofthe

actionrender

unavoidable.A

ndindeed

Inever

imagined

Ishould

haveto

engagein

quarrelsw

ithw

omen,m

uchless w

itha

wom

anw

hohas

always

beenw

idelyregarded

ashaving

noenem

iessince

sheso

readilyoffers

intimacy

inall

directions.H

owever,

thereit

is;and

Ishall

beginby

askingher

aquestion. D

oesshe

preferm

cto

dealwith

heraccording

tothe

stern,severe

traditionof

ancienttim

es,or

ina

light—hearted,

mild

andcivilized

fashioninstead?

Ifin

thebleak

oldm

annerand

style,then

Im

ust

callup

fromthe

deadone

ofthose

personagesw

ithheavy

beards—

notthem

odernsortofneatlittle

beardw

hichshe

isso

keenon,

butthe

bristlingkind

thatwe

seeon

antiquestatues

andbusts

—

toreprim

andthe

wom

anand

speakto

herin

my

place(w

hichhas

theadvantage

ofdirecting

herfury

away

fromm

yself).So

letm

econjure

up,then,

some

mem

berofher

own

family.

And

why

notthe

venerableA

ppiusC

laudiusthe

Blind

21-

20.

This

isan

implied

allegationof

Clodia’s

incestw

ithher

brotherP.

Clodius

Pulcher.

He

was

rumoured

tohave

incestuousrelations

with

hisother

sistersalso.

21,

Ap.

Claudius

Caecus

(censor312,

consul307,

296

)built

thefirst

Rom

anaqueduct

andthe

firstportion

ofthe

Via

Appia

andtore

upthe

proposedpeace

with

Pyrrhus

(280).

Clodius

andC

laudiusare

thesam

enam

e,the

former

beingthe

lessaristocratic

version,since

P.C

lodiusP

uicherhad

toresign

fromthe

patriciateto

become

atribune.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

BL

IUS

RU

FU

S

who

will

sufferless

thananybody

elsebecause

hew

illnot

beable

tosee

her?If

hereturned

tothe

scene,I

imagine

thisis

howhe

would

treather

andw

hathe

would

say.‘W

oman,

what

businesshave

youw

ithC

aelius,w

hois

littlem

orethan

aboy,

andis

no

ne

of

yours?

Why

haveyou

formed

sucha

closefriendship

with

himthat

youlend

himgold,

orsuch

adeep

enmity

thatyou

areafraid

ofpoison?D

idyou

no

tk

no

w,

from

what

youhave

seen,that

yourfather,

andfrom

what

youhave

heardthat

youruncle,

yourgrandfather,

yourgreat-grandfather,

yourgreat—

great—grandfather,

andyour

great—great—

great—grandfather

were

allconsuls?A

nddid

younot

recallthatyou

hadlately

beenm

arriedto

Quintus

Metellus,22

anotable,

courageousand

patrioticm

anw

hoonly

hadto

setfootout

ofdoors

too

utsh

ine

almost

allhisfellow

—citizens

inm

erit,glory

andran

k?

When

yourm

arriagehad

transferredyou

fromone

illustrio

us

house

toan

oth

er,w

hat

induced

you

tofo

rmso

intimate

alink

with

Caelius?

Was

he,by

anychance,a

blood-relative,

ora

marriage

connexion,or

aclose

friendof

yourhusband?

He

was

noneof

thesethings.

What

otherreason,

then,could

therebe

exceptsheer

uncontrollablelust?

‘Ifthestatues

ofthem

enfolkofour

housedid

notstiryour

betterfeelings,

were

younot

aware

ofpromptings

fromm

yfem

aledescendant,

thecelebrated

Quinta

Claudia,23

torival

herglorious

achievement

which

addedto

therenow

nof

ourH

ouse?D

idyou

deriveno

inspirationfrom

thenoble

Vestal

Virgin

.Claudia,24

who

duringher

father’sT

riumph

grippedhim

tightand

didnot

sufferhim

tobe

draggeddow

nout

ofhis

chariotby

ahostile

tribuneof

thepeople?

Why

didyou

22

.C

lodiaw

assuspected

of

murdering

herhusband

Q.

Caeciius

Metellus

Celer

(59).23.

Claudia

Quinta

pulledfree

theim

ageo

fC

ybele,brought

fromPessinus,

when

itw

asgrounded

atthe

mouth

ofthe

Tiber

(205—

4).

24.T

heV

estalC

laudiaw

asthe

daughtero

fA

p.C

laudiusP

uicher(consul

143)

who

celebrateda

Trium

phover

theA

lpineSalassi.

i184

i85

PO

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ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

Xiv,34

letthe

vicesof

yourbrother

25influence

youm

orethan

thevirtues

ofyour

fatherand

yourancestors

—virtues

thathave

reappearedagain

andagain

eversince

my

own

time,not

onlyam

ongthe

men

ofourfam

ilybutam

ongthe

wom

enas

well?

Did

Itear

upthat

bargainw

ithPyrrhus

merely

inorder

thatyou

shoulddrive

some

disgustingsexual

bargainevery

day?D

idI

bringw

aterto

Rom

eonly

thatyou

shouldhave

something

tow

ashyourselfw

ithafter

yourim

purecopula

tions?W

asthe

solepurpose

ofm

yR

oadthat

youshould

paradeup

anddow

nitescorted

bya

crowd

ofother

wom

en’shusbands?’

But

Iw

onderw

hyI

introducedthis

personageat

all:for

hisaustere

methods

mightseem

toraise

adangerous

possibilityofthe

selfsame

Appius

suddenlyturning

roundand

usingthat

famous

censor’sstrictness

onm

yclientasw

ell!H

owever,that

isa

pointw

hichI

shallbeseeing

tolater

on.A

ndw

henI

do,gentlem

en,Iamquite

certainIshallbe

ableto

defendM

arcusC

aclius’w

ayof life

evento

thesternest

ofjudges.A

sfor

you,on

theother

hand,w

oman,

fornow

Iam

speakingto

youdirectly

andnot

throughsom

estage

personage,

ifyou

will

condescendto

justifyyour

goingson,

yourdeclarations,

yourfabrications,

yourintrigues,

yourallega

tions,it

isalso

yourresponsibility

toexplain

andaccount

infullfor

thisintim

acy,this

familiarity,

thisw

holerelationship.

The

prosecutorsare

making

playw

ithorgies,

cohabitations,adulteries,

tripsto

Baiac,

beachparties,

dinnerparties,

drink—ing

parties,m

usicalparties,

concertparties,

boatingparties

—

andthey

indicatethat

everythingthey

aretalking

aboutis

saidw

ithyour

approval.A

ndsince

youhave

beenm

isguidedand

headstrongenough

tow

antalltheseincidents

broughtupin.the

Forumand

incourt,either

youm

ustdisprovethem

anddem

onstratethat

theyare

false,or,

ifyou

cannotdo

so,you

willhave

admitted

thatneitheryourcharge

noryourevidence

hasthe

slightestclaimto

bebelieved

becauseyou

yourselfare25. The

referenceis

toCicero’s

enemy

P. ClodiusPuicher.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

discreditedby

direct personal involvement in

everyone

of them.

You

may,

onthe

otherhand,

preferm

eto

adopta

more

polishedm

anner.If

so,this

ishow

Ishall

dealw

ithyou.

Ipropose

todism

issthat

harsh,alm

ostrustic

oldgentlem

an,and

insteadto

takeone

of thesem

odernyoung

men. Indeed, I

shalltake

yourow

nyoungest

brother.H

istaste

inthat

kindof

thingis

unerring.B

esides,he

lovesyou

verym

uch,and

when

hew

asa

littleboy

suffered,I presum

e,from

nervesand

baselessnight

terrorssince

healw

aysw

entto

bedw

ithyou,

hiselder

sister.W

ell,im

aginehim

sayingto

you,‘Sister,

what

onearth

isall

thedisturbance

about?W

hyare

youbehaving

inthis

lunaticfashion?

Why

doyou

make

suchan

outcry, why

suchafuss about not hi

ng?2

6

‘Very

well

then,’he

will

continue,‘and

sothe

boyw

holived

nextdoor

toyou

caughtyour

eye.H

isfine

coin

plexion,his

upstandingfigure,

hisfine

featuresand

hiseyes

bowled

youover. Y

ouw

antedto

seea

lotof him

.Som

etimes

youfound

yourselfin

hiscom

panyin

agarden.

You

area

greatlady, andhe

is a youthw

hohas

astingy

andparsim

oniousfather;

andso

youintend

touse

yourriches

tokeep

himin

yourgrasp.

‘But this

youare

unableto

achieve. He

spurnsyou

andcasts

youoff,

yourpresents

failto

impress

him.

Well,

trysom

e—w

hereelse

then.Y

ouhave

gotyour

parkbeside

theT

iber,carefully

sitedon

thespot

where

allthe

youngm

encom

eto

bathe.From

thereyou

canpick

upa

loverany

day.So

why

botherthis

man

—w

hoevidently

doesnot

carefor

you?’

And

nowit is

yourturn

tohear

fromm

e,C

aelius.T

osuit

theoccasion,

Iam

goingto

assume

theauthority

andsternness

ofa

father.B

utI wonder

which

particularfather

I ought toplay

—the

roughand

ill—tem

peredone

ofC

aecilius:

26.

The

quotationis

froma

comic

dramatist,

possiblyC

aeciliusStatius

(d.i68).

187

I

186

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

XV

i,37

Fornow

atlastm

yspirit

isafire,

andm

yheart

isheaped

fullof

anger!

Or

thatother

p3rentw

hocried:

0unhappy

rascal!

The

heartsof all

thesefathers

arem

adeofiron.

Whatam

Itosay?

Whatam

Itohope

for?W

hateveryoudo, your

shamefuldeeds

make

allmy

wishes

vain.

What

anintolerable

lotthey

are!T

hatis

thesort

offather

who

would

say,’ Why

onearth

haveyou

settledso

closeto

that prostitute?W

henyou

sawthrough

herenticem

ents,why

everdid

younot

runaw

ay?’

Why

haveyou

got toknow

a strangew

oman?

Scatterandsquander

—do

asyoupkase

forall

Icare.Ifyou

loseall yourm

oneyit isnotI

who

willbe

thesufferer.

Ihaveenough

tokeep

me

comfortable

forw

hat remains ofm

ylife.27

To

thisgloom

y,blunt

oldm

anC

aeliuscould

pleadthat

hew

asnot,

infact,

everdiverted

fromthe

straightpathby

anyserious

infatuationw

hatever.H

owcould

heprove

this?B

ecausethere

was

noextravagance,

now

aste,no

borrowing

topay

hisdebts. T

herew

erereports,

itistrue,that such

thingsoccurred.

But

what

aproblem

itis

foranyone

toescape

suchrum

oursin

acity

sofull

ofm

aliciousgossip

asours!

Does

itsurprise

youthat

thisw

oman’s

neighbourgained

abad

reputation,

when

hervery

own

brotherw

asunable

toavoid

unpleasantcom

ments?

Well

then,let

ustake

am

ildand

kindlyfather

instead.T

herew

asthe

oldgentlem

anw

hodeclared:

My

sonhas

brokena

door,it

shallberepaired.

He

hastorn

yourclothes, they

shallbeniended.25

27

. Thequotation

is fromthe

Adeiphi ofTerence

(d.1

59

)(II.

12

0—

21

).z8.

ibid.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

And

indeedthe

caseofC

aelius,too,

isa

veryeasy

one.O

neach

andevery

chargehe

would

findit

thesim

plestmatter

todefend

himself.

As

regardsthat

wom

an,I

amnot

atthe

mom

entcriticizing

herat

all.B

utjustim

agine,for

thepur

posesof

argument,

someone

who

bearsnot

theslightest

resemblance

toher.

Imagine

aperson

who

offeredherselfto

everym

an,w

hoquite

publiclyhad

acalendar

ofdifferent

loversfor

everyday,

whose

gardens,hom

eand

houseat

Baiae

were

thrown

wide

opento

everysort

oflecherous

riff-raff, who

keptyoungm

enand

helpedthem

toendure

theirfathers’

meanness

bypaying

themherself.

Imagine

aw

idowliving

unconventibnally,a

shameless

widow

givingrise

toscandal,

aw

ealthyw

idowbehaving

riotously,a

lasciviousw

idowcarrying

onlike

acom

mon

harlot.If

anym

anhad

beena

littlefree

inhis

attitudetow

ardsa

wom

anlike

that,surely

itw

ouldbe

unreasonableto

regardhim

ashaving

comm

ittedany

realm

isconduct.‘So

this,’it w

illbeobjected, ‘isC

icero’seducationalm

ethod!So

noww

eknow

howyou

proposeyoung

men

shouldbe

broughtup.

But

was

thisboy

comm

endedand

entrustedto

yourcare

byhis

fatherm

erelyin

orderthathe

shouldoccupy

hisyouthful

yearsin

viciousand

libidinousbehaviour,

while

youyourself

actuallyexcuse

thatsort

oflife

andthose

pur

suits?’B

ut,gentlem

en,w

asthere

evera

man

onthis

earthw

hosew

ill-power,

high-mindedness

andself-control

were

sufficientto

make

himreject

allpleasures

whatsoever

anddevote

hisw

holelife

tophysical

exerciseand

intellectualex

ertion;a

man

who

was

notattracted

byrelaxation

orrecrea

tionor

thepursuits

ofhiscontem

porariesor

making

loveor

goingto

parties;w

hobelieved

thatnothing

inall

thew

orldw

asw

orthstriving

forunless

itw

asdirected

towards

honourand

glory?Ifa

personw

iththese

qualitiesever

existed,then

Ifor

oneshould

regardhis

endowm

ent andapparatus

of virtuesas

something

trulysuperhum

an.O

fsucha

kind,it

seems

tom

e,w

erethose

famous

Cam

illi,

189188

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

xvii,39

Fabriciiand

Curii,

29

andall the

heroeswho

raisedour

stateto

greatnessfrom

small

beginnings.N

owadays,

virtuesof

thiscalibre

nolonger

formpart

ofour

moral

system.

They

arescarcely

even&

befound

inbooks;

eventhe

recordsw

hichtold

ofthat

old-fashionedsternness

areno

more

tobe

seen.A

ndthat

isnot

onlytrue

ofus

Rom

ans,w

hohave

putthis

designfor

livinginto

practicem

oreconscientiously

thanw

ehave

followed

it intheory.A

mong

learnedG

reeksalso, w

hosespeeches

andw

ritings(though

unmatched

byactions)

atrntam

edsuch

grandeurand

brilliance,preceptsofquite

anothersorthave

become

fashionablein

thechanged

Greece

oftoday.For

oneidea,

nowadays,

isthat

thetruly

wise

man

doeseverything

forthe

sakeofpleasure;

andlearned

scholarshave

notbeen

repelledby

thissham

efulassertion.O

thershave

supposed

thatvirtue

andpleasure

shouldbe

combined,

thusuniting

byverbal

dexteritytw

othings

which

are,in

fact,w

hollyincom

patible.A

ndthe

resultis

thatthe

philosophersw

hohave

triedto

demonstrate

thatthe

onlystraight

roadto

gloryis

theroad

of laboriouseffort

areleft

almost

aloneand

strandedin

theirlecture—

rooms.°

And

indeednature

herselfspontaneously

generatesm

anyenticem

entsw

hichcan

attim

eslull

virtueinto

somnolence

andcause

hereyes

todroop.

Nature

hasoffered

theyoung

many

slipperypaths

onw

hichthey

canhardly

setfoot

orstart

tom

ovew

ithoutfalling

orlosing

theirbalance.

Shehas

lavishedupon

thema

greatvarietyofpleasantthings

—things,

moreover,w

hichare

calculatedto

charmnotonly

theseearly

yearsbut

thesubsequent

times

offuller

maturity

asw

ell.So

ifyou

shouldhappen

tofind

someone

who

despisesthe

sightofbeautiful

objects,w

hoderives

nopleasure

fromscent

29

.M

,FuriusC

amilluscaptured

Veii

(396),C.Fabricius

Luscinus

was

thehero

ofthe

war

with

Pyrrhus,M

an.C

uriusD

entatus(d.

270)

defeatedSam

nites,Sabines

andPyrrhus.

30.C

icerorefers

inturn

tothe

Epicureans,A

cademics

(andP

enpatetics),and

Stoics.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

ortouch

ortaste,

who

shutsout

allsw

eetsounds

fromhis

ears,such

am

anI

perhaps,and

afew

others,w

illhold

tobe

thefavourite

ofthegods;

butm

ostpeople

will

accounthim

thevictim

oftheir

wrath.

Sow

ehave

toabandon

thisforsaken,

untroddenbyw

ay,obstructed

sothickly

byfoliage

andundergrow

th.Letyouth

beperm

ittedits

fun,and

tenderyears

am

easureof

liberty.A

llowa

certainam

ountofam

usement!

Do

notalw

aysgive

preferenceto

logical,unbendingreason.

Grant

thatit

shouldsom

etimes

beoverborne

bythe

desiresand

pleasuresof

theheart,

providedthat

inso

doingthe

following

ruleand

limitation

beobserved.

Ayoung

man

must

bescrupulous

ofhis

own

goodnam

eand

notdo

violenceto

thatof

others.H

em

ustnot

squanderhis

inheritanceor

become

crippledby

theinterest

onhis

debts.H

em

ustnot

destroypeople’s

homes

andreputations.

He

must

notcorrupt

theuncorrupted,

orblem

ishthe

virtuous,or

bringscandal

uponthose

ofgood

repute.H

em

ustrefrain

fromviolent

intimidation

andstay

clearof

conspiracyand

crime.

Finally,after

hehas

indulgedhis

tastefor

entertainments

andspent

time

onlove

affairsand

thetrivial

passionsof

youth,he

must,

eventually,turn

backand

attendinstead

tohis

home,

andthe

businesso

ftheF

orum,

andpublic

life.For

hew

illthen

haveshow

nthat

satietyhas

causedhim

todiscard,

andexperience

tospurn,

thethings

which

reasonhad

nothitherto

enabledhim

tosee

intheir

truelight.

Both

inour

own

times,

gentlemen,and

within

them

emory

ofour

fathersand

forefathers,there

havebeen

many

greatm

enand

distinguishedcitizens

who,

oncetheir

youthfuldesires

hadsim

mered

down,

behavedin

theirm

aturityw

ithexem

plarycorrectness.

Iprefer

notto

indicateany

of

themby

theirnam

es—

theseyou

may

remem

berfor

yourselves—

becauseI

donot

want

toassociate

therenow

no

fany

braveand

eminent

citizenw

itheven

theslightest

ofdefects.

Were

itm

yintention

todo

so,I

couldindicate

many

important,

191

190

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

XV

Z1Z,43IN

DE

FE

NC

EO

FM

AR

CU

SC

AE

LIU

SR

UF

US

illustriouspersonages

who

were

notoriousduring

theiryounger

daysfor

excessivew

ildness,unrestrained

dissipation,enorm

ousdebts,

extravaganceand

debauchery,but

whose

faultsw

ere1ter

socom

pletelycovered

overby

ahost

ofvirtues

thatanyone

who

feltso

inclinedcould

excusethose

earlierm

anifestationson

thescore

ofyouth.B

Ut

inM

arcusC

aclius—

form

yreadiness,

relyingon

yourgood

judgement,

toconcede

certainpoints

givesm

eall

thegreater

confidencein

tellingyou

them

anycreditable

thingsabout

him—

inM

arcusC

aeliusyou

will

findno

looseliving,

noextravagance,

nodebts,

noaddiction

toparties

andlow

haunts,none

ofthat

viceof

over-eatingand

over-drinkingw

hichdoes

notdim

inishbut

grows

with

age.L

ove-making

too,the

tastefor

sexualadventures,

which

doesnot

usuallytrouble

peopleofreasonably

strongcharacter

—for

suchloves

arequick

tobloom

andfade

—has

neverensnared

himin

itstoils.

You

haveheard

Caelius

pleadingforhim

self.’In

aprevious

caseyou

alsoheard

himas

aprosecutor.32

Now

,w

hatI

amgoing

tosay

issaid

todefend

him,

andnot

forthe

sakeof

boastingO

flm

yow

naccount,

butI

amsure

thatw

ithyour

appreciationof

suchthings

younoticed

hisoratorical

styleand

skill,hisfluency

ofthoughtand

expression.And

yousaw

howthese

qualitiesm

irroredhis

own

naturalgifts.

Suchtalents, even

when

thereis

noeffortbehind

them,often

make

anim

pressionby

theirow

nunaided

power.

But

Caelius,

unlessm

yaffection

misled

me,added

tothese

naturalqualifications

asound

theoreticalknow

ledgebased

onthe

liberalarts

andperfected

byunrem

ittingattention

andstrenuous

work.

Iw

ouldhave

youknow

,gentlem

en,that

thedissipated

tastesfor

which

Caelius

isblam

ed,and

theoccupations

which

Iam

discussingnow

,are

byno

means

easilyto

befound

inone

andthe

same

man.For

am

indgiven

upto

sensualityand

31.

Caclius

openedhis

own

defence.H

ehad

beentaught

byC

icero.3

2.

The

referenceisto

Caelius’

prosecutionofC

.A

ntoniusH

ybrida.

impeded

bylove,passion, craving, and

inm

anycases excessive

wealth

(orsometim

esthe

lackof

it), cannot possiblyundertake

thesort

ofthing

thatw

eothers

contriveto

performin

thew

ayof

making

speeches.T

heycannot

manage

thephysical

effort,and

theintellectual

exertionis

beyondthem

asw

ell.C

anyou

thinkofany

otherreason

why,

when

highrew

ardsexist

foreloquence,

when

publicspeaking

givesthe

speakersuch

greatsatisfaction

andbrings

himso

much

favourand

influenceand

honour,the

peoplew

hoadopt

thisoccupation

areand

always

havebeen

sofew

?T

hereason

isthat

everypleasure

hasto

berenounced,

all relaxations,liaisons,

amuse

ments

andsocial

gatheringsrefused

—even

conversationw

ithone’s

friendsvirtually

hasto

begiven

up.T

hat,rather

thanany

lackof

naturaltalents

orboyhood

training,is

why

thelabours

requiredby

thiscareer

scarem

enoff and

deterthem

fromits

pursuit.So

ifCaeius

hadim

mersed

himselfin

thekind

of lifew

hichhas

beenim

putedagainst

him,

thenhow

onearth

couldhe,

atsucha

veryearly

age,actually

havebrought

totrial

am

anso

seniorthat

hehad

heldthe

consulship?Ifhe

shrankfrom

hardw

orkand

was

plungedinto

self-indulgence,how

evercould

heappear

onthis

battle-groundday

afterday, pursuing

campaigns

againstenem

ies,sum

moning

theminto

thedock,

exposinghim

selfto

criminal

proceedings,and

beforethe

eyesof

thew

holeR

oman

peoplem

aintainingthese

many

months

pasta

struggleon

which

hisw

holereputation

andfuture

havebeen

staked?

Surelythat

notoriousneighbourhood

onthe

Palatinegives

usa

whiffof w

hatthe

truefacts

are.Popular

rumour

clearlyhas

something

totell

us—

andso

doesB

aiae.Y

es,B

aiaedoes

notsim

plytellus

atale,but rings

with

thereportthatthere

isone

wom

anso

deeplysunk

inher

viciousdepravities

thatshe

nolonger

evenbothers

toseek

privacyand

darknessand

the33.

Caelius

livednear

Clodia

onthe

Palatine

(p.‘75).

192

‘93

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

XX

,47IN

DE

FE

NC

EO

FM

AR

CU

SC

AE

LIU

SR

UF

US

usualveil

ofdiscretion

tocover

herlusts.

On

thecontrary,

sheactually

exultsin

displayingthe

most

foullylecherous

gomgs

onaiim1

thew

idest publicityand

inthe

glaringlight of

day.All the

same, if anyone

thinksyoung

men

ought tobe

for

biddenaffairs

evenw

ithprostitutes,

heis

certainlyvery

austere(that

Iw

ouldnot

deny),but

heis

outof

touchw

ith

ourpresent

permissive

age.Indeed, he

isalso

not inharm

ony

with

thecustom

sof

ourancestors,

andthe

allowances

which

evenin

thosetim

espeople

were

quiteaccustom

edto

make.

Fornam

eany

epochw

henthis

was

notinvariably

thecase.

When

was

suchbehaviour

ever censuredor

forbidden?W

hen

was

theperm

ittedthing

notperm

itted?

Iw

ill justpropound

ageneral

theme,

without

mentioning

anyparticular w

oman

bynam

e—

that much

I will leave

open.

Ifa

wom

anw

hohas

nohusband

throws

openher

home

to

everydebauchee

andpublicly

leadsthe

lifeofa

whore;

if she

makes

ahabit

ofbeing

entertainedby

men

who

aretotal

strangers;if she

pursuesthis

mode

of existencein

thecity,

in

herow

ngardens,

among

allthe

crowds

atB

aiae;i,

infact,

shebehaves

insuch

a way

that not onlyher

general demeanour

butalso

herdress

andassociates, her

hoteyes

anduninhibited

language,her

embraces

andkisses,

herbeach

partiesand

water

partiesand

dinnerparties,

all showthat

sheis

notonly

aprostitute

buta

lewd

anddepraved

prostituteat

that;if

a

youngm

anshould

happento

befound

inthe

company

of such

aw

oman,

thensurely,

LuciusH

erennius,you

would

agree

thatthis

was

notso

much

adulteryas just

plainsex

—not

an

outrageto

chastity, butm

eresatisfaction

of appetite.

Iam

forgettingthe

injuriesyou

havedone

me,

Clodia.

I

ambrushing

asidethe

mem

oryof

what

Isuffered.

Your

cruel actionsto

my

family

while

I was

away

I amdeliberately

not takinginto

account. And

donot, please, suppose

that what

Ihave

beensaying

was

directedagainst

yourseWH

owever,

sincethe

prosecutorsclaim

thatyou

arethe

sourceof

this

chargeand

preparedto

giveevidence

inits

support,I

amobliged

toaddress

toyou

onesingle

questionin

yourow

nperson. W

hatIaskyou

isthis—

ifevertheredid

existaw

oman

ofthe

typeI

havejust

described,bearing

noresem

blanceto

yourself,w

iththe

lifeand

habitsofa

harlot,w

ouldyou

con

siderit

veryscandalous

orw

ickedthat

ayoung

man

shouldhave

hadsom

erelationship

with

her?If this

wom

anisnotrecognizable

asyou—

andthatisw

hatIshall

bem

uchhappier

tobelieve

—then

thebasis

forthe

prosecutionagainst

Caelius

fallsto

theground.

Butif,

onthe

other hand,my

opponentsinsiston

identifyingthe

hypothetical

personw

ithyourself,

andif

thatdoes

notfrighten

you,then

Ifail

tosee

why

anysuggestion

aboutw

hatC

aeliusis

supposedto

havedone

needscare

useither!

Soit

isentirely

upto

youto

showus

thedirection

andm

ethodour

defenceshould

follow.

Ifyou

havethe

leastshred

ofdecency,

youare

boundto

agreethat

Marcus

Caelius

hasnot

behavedviciously

atall.Ifyou

donot

concedethis,

thenyou

haveno

decentfeelings

whatever;

andthatvery

factwillprovide

my

clientwith

anim

pregnablejustification

—and

willjustify

anyothers

who

may

findthem

selvesin

thesam

eboat.

And

nowIhave

broughtm

yspeech

clearofthe

shallows

andaw

aybeyond

thereefs;

andthe

restof

thecourse

doesnot

seemto

presentany

difficulty.T

wo

chargesare

broughtagainst C

aelius.Both

allegevery

seriouscrim

es.B

utboth

areagain

concernedw

ithone

andthe

same

wom

anH

eis

accusedof

takingsom

egold

away

fromC

lodia,and

ofhaving

pre

paredpoison

forC

lodia’sm

urder.A

ccordingto

yourstory,

hetook

thegold

togive

itto

theslaves

ofLuciusL

ucceius,4

sothat

theyshould

killD

ioof

Alexandria,

who

was

stayingw

ithLucceius

atthe

time.

Itisa

dreadfulthing

toassert

thata

man

plottedto

takethe

lifeofan

envoy,and

dreadfulalso

34.L.

Lucceius,

aw

ealthySenator,

unsuccessfullyprosecuted

Cati—im

afor

murder

(64).L

aterhe

became

ahistorian.

‘94‘95

PO

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iCA

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PE

EC

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SO

FC

ICE

RO

xxi,52

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

toclaim

thathe

instigatedslaves

toassassinate

theirm

aster’sguest

—a

scheme

bothaudacious

andhorrible.

But in

regardto

thisaccusation,

it is necessaryfor m

eto

ask,first

ofall,

wkther

Caelius

issupposed

tohave

informed

Clodia

ofthe

purposefor

which

heneeded

thegold,

ornot.

If hedid

nottell

herthis,

why

didshe

giveit

tohim

?If,

onthe

otherhand,

hedid

tellher,

thenshe,

too,involved

her

self inthe

crime

ashis

accomplice. D

idyou, w

oman, have

thenerve

tofetch

thisgold

fromyour

chest,to

denudeof

itsadornm

entsthat

statueof

Ven

us

35

which

carriesthe

trophiesof your

otherlovers, know

ingfullw

ell theghastly

crime

forw

hichthe

goldw

asintended

—the

assassinationof an

envoy,an

indeliblestain

ofguilt

uponthe

virtuousand

honourableLucius

Lucceius?N

o,to

thatabom

inabledeed

yourgenerous

heartw

ouldsurely

nothave

lentitself.

Sucha

projectw

ouldnever

haveobtained

thecooperation

ofthat

openhouse

ofyours,

thecom

plicityof your

hospitableV

enus.A

ndH

erenniusB

albusfully

appreciatedthis.

Forhe

maintained

thatC

lodiaw

asindeed

keptin

thedark,

andthat

theexplanation

Caelius

made

toher

was

thathe

wanted

thegold

topay

forsom

eG

ames.

But

ifhe

was

asclose

afriend

ofC

lodiaas

youm

aintain(since

youem

phasizehis

fornicationsatsuch

length),then

surelyhe

must have

toldher

ofthepurpose

forw

hichhe

wanted

them

oney.If, on

theother

hand, hew

asnotso

closea

friend,then

shenever

gaveit

him.

Either,

then,C

aeliustold

youthe

truth,you

unspeakablew

oman,

andyou

knowingly

lethim

havethe

goldfor

acrim

inalpurpose:

orhe

didnot

bringhim

selfto

tellyou,

inw

hichcase

youcan

neverhave

givenit

tohim

atall!

And

sothere

isevidently

noneed

form

eto

refutethis

indictm

entw

iththe

infinitenum

berof

arguments

thatw

ouldbe

availablefor

thepurpose.

Ineed

merely

saythat

the

35. Cicero

pretendsC

lodiahad

astatue

ofVenus

which

sheadorns

with

mem

entosof her

lovers.

characterof

Marcus

Caelius

isw

hollyincom

patiblew

ithsuch

aloathsom

eaction;

andthat,

besides,a

sensibleand

inteffigentpersonlike

himcould

nothavefailed

torealize

theerror

ofentrustingan

atrocityofthis

magnitude

tounknow

nslaves

belongingto

anotherm

aster.I

amalso

atliberty,

inpursuance

ofm

yow

npractice

andthat

ofother

counsel,to

askthe

prosecutorthe

familiar

questions:w

heredid

theencounter

between

Caelius

andthe

slavesof

Lucceiustake

place,bow

didhe

getinto

contactw

iththem

?If

directly,this

was

veryrash;

ifthrougha

thirdparty,

couldw

ehave

hisnam

e?Icould

goon

andransack

everypossible

crannyw

herea

suspicionm

ightlurk.

But

theresult

would

stillinevitably

bethat

nom

otive,no

location,no

opportunity,no

accomplice,

noprospect

ofcarrying

outor

hidingthe

evildeed

would

come

tolight.

Nor

would

anytrace

ofa

plausiblesequence

ofevents,

orany

clueindicating

thatthe

whole

appallingcrim

ew

asanything

buta

figment

ofthe

imagina

tion.Points

ofthatkind

arean

orator’sstock

intrade.

And

be

sides,notbecause

ofanygifts

ofmy

own

butbecause

Ihave

some

practiceand

experiencein

speaking,the

elaborationof

suchinquiries

aspartofthegeneralargum

entmightw

ellhavedone

my

casesom

egood,

sincethey

would

havethe

appearance

ofevidence

thatI

myselfhad

takenthe

troubleto

work

up.N

evertheless,for

thesake

ofbrevity,I

allowthem

alltogo

unsaid.For

instead,gentlem

en,I

amable

toproduce

apersonage

whom

youw

illbe

onlytoo

willing

toadm

itas

yourpartner

inthe

bondofa

solemn

oath.I

referto

LuciusLucceius:

am

anof

complete

integrity,the

most

impressive

ofallpossiblew

itnesses.If

Caelius

hadreally

perpetratedthe

suggestedoffence

againsthis

reputationand

hisposition,

Lucceius

would

assuredlyhave

heardof

itand

would

haveutterly

refusedto

letsuch

athing

pass,or

indeedtake

placeat

all.For

howcould

socivilized

am

an,w

ithhis

outstandingscholarship

andculture

andlearning,

havedisregarded

the

196‘97

PO

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SO

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ICE

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xxii,54

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

dangerthreatening

someone

tow

homhe

was

sodevoted

be

causethey

sharedall

theseinterests

incom

mon?

Even

ifLucccius

hadlearnt

thatsuch

anoutrage

was

plannedagainst

someone

quit&unknow

nto

him,

hew

ouidstill have

viewed

itw

ithhorror.

How

,then,

couldhe

haveturned

ablind

eyew

henthe

victimw

asactually

goingto

behis

own

guest?E

venif the

murderers

hadbeen

strangers,he

would

stillhavebeen

appalled.So

how. could

heconceivably

havepaid

noattention

when

theyw

erehis

own

slaves?H

adthe

actbeen

perpetratedsom

ewhere

outin

thecountry,

orin

apublic

place,he

would

unmistakably

havedenounced

suchan

abomination.

Was

itin

theleast

likely,therefore,

thathe

would

acceptthe

situationcalm

lyw

henthe

crime

was

devisedinside

thecity

itselfand,indeed,

evenw

ithinhis

veryow

nhom

e?If the

proposedvictim

hadbeen

some

unknown

rustic,itw

ouldhave

beenunthinkable

forhim

toletthe

plotgo

ahead.W

ouldhe,

then,have

thoughtit

properto

sayabsolutely

nothingabout

itw

henits

victimw

asa

man

who

completely

sharedhis

own

eruditetastes?

But

Ineednot

detainyou

anylonger

onthis

point,gentle

men,

sincehe

himselfhas

givenevidence

onoath.

Mark

well

thesolem

ntone

ofhis

deposition,and

notecarefully

everyw

ordofw

hathe

says.

TH

EE

VID

EN

CE

OF

LU

CIU

SL

UC

CE

IUS

ISR

EA

D]

Surelythat

isall

youcan

havebeen

waiting

for—

shortof

expectingthat

thecase

andT

ruththem

selvesw

illsom

ehowtake

shapeand

speakand

pleadin

theirow

npersons!

And

indeed

here,in

thisevidence

ofLucceius,

inthis

supreme

justificationof

aninnocent

man,

isprecisely

theplea

which

thecase

itself,w

ereit

ableto

talk,w

ouldhave

utteredfrom

itsow

nm

outh—

thevoice

ofincarnateT

ruth.

The

indictment

issupported

bynot

theslightest

groundfor

suspicion.Proofs

ofthe

allegedfacts

justdo

notexist.

The

dealingsw

hichare

supposedto

havetaken

placehave

leftnot

atrace

ofwhat

was

saidor

where

orw

hen.N

ow

itnesshas

beennam

ed;and

norhas

anyaccom

plice.T

hew

holeaccusation

emanates

froma

housethat

ism

alevolent,disreputable,m

erciless,crime—

stainedand

vicious.W

hereasthe

family

allegedto

havebeen

involvedin

thisshocking

deedis

notablefor

itslofty

standards,honourable

principles,dutifulness

andsense

ofresponsibility;

andthat

isthe

home

fromw

hichyou

justheard

asw

ornaffidavit.

The

questionunder

dispute,therefore,

iseasy

tosettle

You

areinvited

tosay

whether

youdo

notagree

thatthe

partiesw

hoconfiont

oneanother

are,on

theone

side,an

unstable,evil-

tempered

nymphom

aniac,w

hohas

completely

fabricatedthe

charge,and,onthe

other,am

anofresponsibility,w

isdomand

self—restraintw

hoseevidence

hasshow

nthe

utmost

con

scientiousnessand

accuracy.

There

remains

theaccusation

ofpoisoning.

Iam

unableto

discoverhow

thisoriginated;

norcan

Iw

orkout

what

itw

assupposed

tolead

to.For

what

motive

couldC

aeiuspossibly

havepossessed

forw

antingto

poisonthis

wom

an?So

thathe

shouldnot

haveto

giveback

thegold?

But

didshe

everask

foritback?

To

avertthecharge

ofDio’s

assassina—tion?36

But

didanyone

reallybelieve

hew

asguilty

ofthis?

Indeed,if

Caelius

hadnot

himself

launcheda

prosecution,w

ouldanyone

everhave

cçrnnectedhis

name

with

itat

all?Y

ouactually

heardLucius

Herennius

saythat,

ifC

aeliushad

notbroughtasecond

actionagainsthis

friendB

estiaafter

thelatter

hadbeen

acquittedin

theearlier

case,he

forhis

partw

ouldnever

haveuttered

aw

ordagainst

Caelius.

But,

togo

backto

theattem

ptonC

lodia’slife,no

onecould

beexpected

tobelieve

thatsucha

ghastlyactshould

havebeen

undertaken36.

The

suggestionw

hichC

iceroseeks

torefute

isthatC

aeliusw

antedto

poisonC

lodiain

orderto

remove

aw

itnessto

hiscom

plicityin

them

urderof

Dio.

198‘99

PO

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HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

xxiii,

6

without

anym

otiveat all!

And

that, youm

ust inevitablyco

nclude,

isw

hythe

accusationinvolving

theterrible

crime

ofD

io’sm

urderw

asfabricated:in

orderto

invent sucha

motive

fordoing

awiy

with

Clodia,

sinceshe

allegedlyknew

hew

asguilty

of them

urder.A

ndfinally,w

homis

Caelius

supposedto

haveem

ployedto

carryout

thepoisoning?

Who

actedas

hisassistant

andpart

nerand

accomplice?

Intow

hosehands

didhe

hazardthis

shockingdeed

—and, in

theprocess, his

own

selfandhis

verylife?

To

thisw

oman’s

slaves?T

hatis

what

hasbeen

claimed.

But

doyou

supposethat

thism

an(w

homyou

evidentlycredit

with

abrain

evenif your

unfriendlylanguage

belittlesall

hisrem

ainingqualities)

was

stupidenough

toentrust

hisentire

fateto

someone

else’sslaves?

And, Iask, w

hat typeof slaves?

For this point,too, is of con

siderableim

portance.Ifthey

belongedto

Clodia,

would

notC

aeliushave

known

theyw

erenot

livingat

allthe

ordinarylife

ofa

slave,but

were

enjoyinga

farm

orerelaxed,

un

disciplined,fam

iliarrelationship

with

theirm

istress?For

ina

householdof

thatsort,

gentlemen,

undera

wom

anw

hobe

haveslike

aprostitute,

where

everythingthat

happensis

quiteunfit

tobe

publishedabroad,

where

abnormal

lustsand

excessesand

unheard-of perversionsand

vicesof

everykind

arerife,

itis

perfectlyobvious

anduniversally

known

thatslaves

areslaves

nolonger.

Foreverything

isdelegated

tothem

andput

intheir

charge,they

become

herassociates

inall

herloose

living,they

shareher

secrets,and

theym

akea

goodbit

everyday

fromher

extravagantexpenditure.

Was

Caclius

unaware

of allthesethings?

If hew

asas intim

atew

iththe

wom

anas

yousay

hew

as,then

hem

ust,surely,

haverealized

shetreated

thoseslaves

as herintim

atestoo. T

healter

nativesupposition

isthat

hew

asnot

sofriendly

with

heras

37.C

icerois

sayingthat

Caelius’involvem

entin

Dio’s

murder

was

inventedto

make

hisalleged

attempt

onC

lodiasound

more

plausible.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

youallege.

But,

thatbeing

so,howcould

hehave

hadsuch

aclose

connexjonw

ithher

slaves?

And

noww

ithregard

tothe

actualpoison

—w

hattheory

isconcocted

aboutthat?

Where

was

itobtained

from,

howw

asitprepared,

howand

tow

homand

where

was

ithandedover?

Well,their

answeris

thatCaelius

haditathis

home

andtried

itouton

aslave

who

hadbeen

procuredfor

thisspecific

purpose;andthatthe

veryrapid

deathofthe

slaveproved

thatthe

poisonw

aseffective.

Why,

Iwould

askthe

imm

ortalG

ods,w

henan

individualhas

comm

ittedan

outrageousw

rong,do

yousom

etimes

closeyour

eyesto

what

hasbeen

done,or

atleast

putoffpunish

nientuntil

afuture

date?I

personallyparticipated

inthe

scenew

hichcaused

me

asprofound

afeeling

ofsorrowas

anythingelse

inm

ylife,w

henQ

uintusM

etellusw

astorn

fromthe

bosomand

embrace

ofour

nation.H

ehad

always

regardedhim

selfas

dedicatedto

theservice

ofRom

e;butw

hilehe

was

stillinthe

prime

oflife,

enjoyingexcellent

healthand

flubodily

vigour,only

two

daysafter

hehad

beenseen

attheheight

of hispow

ersin

theSenate,

thelaw

courts,and

allthe

politicalaiThirs

ofour

city,his

lifew

assnatched

away

fromour

midst,

tothe

most

grievousloss

ofevery

loyalcitizen

andthe

entirecom

mon

wealth

ofR

ome.

At

thatm

oment,

when

deathw

asalready

approachingand

hism

indin

allother

respectshad

begunto

fail,hedevoted

hislastthoughts

tohis

country,andfixing

hisgaze

uponm

yselfas

Iwept,he

endeavouredin

broken,dyingw

ordsto

warn

me

ofthegrim

stormthathung

overm

yhead,

andthe

tempest

thatm

enacedthe

state

.8

Then,

strikingagain

andagain

uponthe

wall

which

separatedhis

home

fromthe

housew

hereQ

uintusC

atulushad

lived,he

repeatedlycalled

38.T

heim

pendingdisasters

were

Cicero’s

banishment-

andthe

tnbunate

of

P.C

lodiusP

incher(8

).

200

20

1

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

xxiv,59

onthe

name

ofC

atulus,and

oftenon

my

name

also,and

againand

againcried

outthe

name

ofR

ome

itself—

forhe

was

lamenting

notso

much

hisow

nim

minent

deathas

theunhappy

factthat

ourhom

eland,and

particularlyI

myself,

would

hcnccforward

lackhis

protection.N

ow,

hebeing

am

anof consular

rankand

theperson

thathe

was,

ifthat

deedof

sinfulviolence

hadnot

suddenlybereft

usof his

help, just imagine

howhe

would

haveopposed

hisow

nderanged

cousinC

lodiu

s,w

hoseearlier

ravingsand

thunderingshad

causedM

etcilus,w

henconsul,

todeclare

inthe

hearingof

theSenate

thathe

himself w

ouldkill

them

anw

ithhis

own

hand.N

ow,

shallthe

wom

anw

hocom

esfrom

sucha

househave

theaudacity

tostart

discussionsabout

thespeeds

with

which

poisonstake

effect?O

ughtthat

dwelling

not,rather,

toin

spire

herheart

with

terror,in

caseit

shrieksforth

thetale

ofher

guilt?W

illshe

notrecoil

indread

fromthe

walls

which

knowher

secret, andshudder

at them

emory

ofthat

fatal,m

iserablenight?

But

Ireturned

tothe

indictment

—though

my

mention

ofthat

nobleand

valiantm

anhas

chokedm

yutterance

with

tears

andshrouded

my

mind

ingrief.

Itisstill not explained

where

thepoison

came

fromand

howit

was

prepared.T

hestory

isthat

itw

asgiven

toPublius

Lic

iniu

shere,

adecent

andrespectable

youngm

anw

hois

afriend

ofC

aclius,and

thatan

arrangement

was

made

with

theslaves

thatthey

shouldproceed

tothe

SenianB

aths, where

Lentu

lus

would

jointhem

andhand

overthe

boxof

poison.H

ereI m

ust first ask, what

was

thepoin

to

farra

ngin

gthat

thepoison

shouldbe

takenthere?

Why

didthe

slavesinstead

notgo

tom

eetC

aeliusat

hisow

nhom

e?If

Caelius

andC

lodiaw

erestill

soclose

andintim

ate,the

appearanceofone

of thatw

oman’s

slavesat

Caclius’

housew

ouldnothave

arousedany

suspicion.B

utif,

onthe

contrary,their

relationsw

erenow

39.T

hecousin

ofQ

. Caecilius Metellus Celer w

asP. Clodius Puicher,w

hosem

otherw

asthe

sisterofC

eler’sfather.

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

strain

ed,

iftheir

friendshiphad

beenbroken

off;if

therehad

beena

rupture,then

Thatis

thesource

ofthosetears4°

—and

thew

holetale

offictitious

crimes

andcharges

isex

plained.T

heprosecutor’s

version,on

theother

hand,is

this.A

fterthe

slaveshad

disclosedC

aelius’w

holevillainous

plotto

theirm

istress,thatcleverw

oman,

hesays,

directedthem

topro

mise

Caelius

theircom

pletecooperation.

How

ever,in

orderto

catchL

iciniusin

theact

ofhandingover

thepoison,

shealso

gaveinstructions

thattheSenian

Baths

shouldbe

fixedas

am

eeting-place.For

sheintended,

thestory

continues,to

sen

dcerta

infrie

nds,

who

would

lurkon

theprem

isesof

thebaths

outofsight,

andthen

suddenly,w

henL

iciniushad

putin.an

appearanceand

was

handingover

thepoison,

springout

fromtheir

hiding-placeand

seizehold

ofhim.

Butallthis,gentlem

en,isextrem

elyeasy

torefute.Forw

hyhad

sheparticularly

fixedupon

publicbaths,

where

Icannot

seehow

men

wearin

goutd

oor

dress

couldfind

anyhiding-

pla

ce

whate

ver?

Ifthey

were

inthe

entrancecourt

ofthe

bathsthey

would

havebeen

visible;and

ifthey

proposedto

stowthem

selvesaw

ayinside,this

would

havebeen

mostin

convenientin

theirshoes

andstreet

clothes,and

theym

ightvery

well

noteven

havebeen

admitted

—unless,

ofcourse,

thatinfluential

female

hadgained

thefriendship

ofthe

bathattendant

byher

customary

pennydeal

41

Iw

aseagerly

waiting,

Ican

tellyou,

tohear

thenam

esof

thesefine

witnesses

who

were

actuallysupposed

tohave

seen,there

andthen,

thatthe

poisonw

asin

Licmnius’

handsB

utso

farno

names

havebeen

mentioned.

How

ever,they

must

evidentlybe

highlyreputable

individuals.For

onething

they

40

.T

hisfam

oustag

isfrom

theA

ndriaofTerence

(1.12

6).

41.

This

isa

complicated

puninvolving

theadm

issionfee

tothe

baths,the

cheaprate

forw

hichC

lodiaallegedly

soldher

favours,and

thenicknam

e‘penny

Clytaem

nestra’w

hichshe

was

givenby

Caelius,

202

203

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

xxvi,63IN

DE

FE

NC

EO

FM

AR

CU

SC

AE

LIU

SR

UF

US

areintim

atefriends

ofthisrem

arkablelady.A

ndbesides,they

acquiescedin

therole

ofbeing

packedaw

ayin

thebaths,

which

shecould

neverhave

inducedthem

todo,

however

influentialslai

might

be,unless

theyhad

beenquite

exceptionally

respectableand

worthy

characters!B

utthere

isno

needfor

me

toenlarge

on.theirw

orthinessbecause

youcan

learnfor

yourselveshow

resourcefuland

painstakingthey

were.

‘Theyhid

outof

sightin

thebaths.’

Justthe

men

tosee

everythingand

beperfect

witnesses!

And

indue

coursethey

burstout—

bym

istake.What

splendidself-

control!For

what

thestory

pretendsis

thatafter

Liciniushad

arrived,and

while

hew

asholding

thebox

inhis

handand

was

justin

theprocess

ofhanding

itover

buthad

notyet

actuallydone

so,then

suddenlythese

superbnam

elessw

itnesses

dartedforth:

whereupon

Licinius,w

hohad

alreadyheld

outhis

handto

givethe

boxto

theslaves,

drewit

backat

thisunexpected

onslaughtand

tookto

hisheels.

Allthe

same, T

ruthhas

apow

erofits

own.

Against

allthe

ingenuity, artfulnessand

cunningofhum

anbeings,against

allim

aginablefalsifications

andintrigues,

itis

perfectlycapable

of defendingitselfunaided. T

akethis

littledram

a,forinstance

—the

effortof

apoetess

who

hasm

anysuch

works

toher

credit.H

owbadly

offthe

playis

forplot,

howcom

pletelylost

foran

ending!For

them

enw

hohad

hiddenthem

selvesin

thebaths

must

havebeen

prettynum

erousif

theyw

ereto

seizeLicinius

andprovide

agood

supplyof

eye-witnesses

ofw

hattook

place.B

utin

thatcase

howon

earthdid

allthose

fellows

allowLicinius

toget

away?

Why

was

itharder

tograb

himw

henhe

steppedback,

andrefrained

fromparting

with

thebox,

thanit w

ouldhave

beenifhe

hadrelinquished

it?For

itw

asprecisely

inorder

toarrest

Liciniusthat

theyhad

beenstationed

there,w

iththe

intentionof

catchinghim

inthe

act eitherw

henhe

hadthe

poisonin

hishands

orw

henhe

hadpassed

iton.

That

was

thew

oman’s

whole

idea,and

thatw

asthe

jobofthe

men

who

hadbeen

askedto

help.

Why

youm

aintainthat

theyleaptout

bym

istakeand

pre

maturely,

Icannot

understand.For

surelythat

was

exactlyw

hat,according

tothe

story,they

hadbeen

askedto

do.T

heyhad

allegedlybeen

postedthere

with

thespecific

pur

poseof

ensuringthat

thepoison,

theplot

andthe

whole

crime

shouldbe

palpablyexposed.

And

howcould

theypossibly

havechosen

abetter

time

tojum

pout

thanw

henLicinius

hadarrived

andw

asstill

holdingthe

boxof

poisonin

hishand?

Forifthe

lady’sfriends

hadsuddenly

brokenout

oftheirhiding-place

andgrasped

holdofLicinius

afterhehad

transmitted

thepoison

tothe

slaves,hew

ouldhave

beenable

toprotest

hisinnocence

anddeny

utterlythat

thebox

hadever

come

fromhim

.A

ndhow

,in

thatcase,

couldthey

everhave

refutedsuch

astatem

ent?W

erethey

tosay

theyhad

seenhim

handingit

over?In

thatcase

theyw

ouldhave

arousedsuspicions

thatthey

themselves

were

thepeople

who

hadproduced

thepoison.

And

theyw

ouldalso

havebeen

pretendingto

haveseen

something

theycould

not possiblysee

fromthe

placew

herethey

were

hidden.Instead,

therefore,the

stowaw

aysrevealed

themselves

attheexactm

oment w

henLicinius

hadarrived,

andw

asgetting

outthe

box,and

holdingout

hishand,

andpassing

onthe

poison.W

ell,thatis

notthe

sortoffinale

areal

playhas. Itis

more

theending

ofasong-and-dance

show4

2—

thetype

of production

where

nobodyhas

beenable

tothink

ofasuitable

endingand

sosom

eoneescapes

fromsom

eoneelse,

andthe

clapperssound,4

andit’s

thecurtain.

Forw

hy,Iaskyou, w

henLicinius

was

tripping,stum

bling,backing,

strugglingto

getaw

ay,did

thegang

ofthis

female

l.a.T

he

reference

isto

the

mim

es,which

containedm

anyim

pro

ba

bilities, were

actedby

prostitutes,and

sometim

esincluded

poisoningscenes.

43.C

lappersfastened

tothe

shoesw

ereused

tom

arktim

eand

prompt

them

anw

ho,according

toa

practicew

hichw

asthe

reverseofm

odernprocedure,

lowered

thecurtain

atth

ebeginning

of

aperform

anceand

raisedit

atthe

end.

204

205

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

xxviii,66IN

DE

FE

NC

EO

FM

AR

CU

SC

AE

LIU

SR

UF

US

bosslet

himslip

throughthcir

hands?W

hyever

didthey

notseize

himtight

andget

aconfession

andexploit

theabundance

ofavailablew

itnesses,andthe

generaloutcryraised

bythe

incident,’todrive

home

hisguilt

onthis

veryserious

charge?W

iththeir

numbers

andphysical

strengthand

pre

paredness,surely

theycannot

havebeen

nervousabout

theircapacity

tooverpow

erone

singlew

eakand

terrifiedin

dividual!It

isim

possibleto

fmd

anysign

offactual

arguments

orjustifiable

suspicionsthat

might

niakethe

accusationsound

plausible;‘and

thedram

acom

esto

nosort

ofa

convincingconclusion.

Soin

defaultof

rationalargum

entations,or

cogentinferences,

orindications

capableof

throwing

anylight

onthe

situation,the

casefalls

backentirely

uponthe

witnesses.

And

theseI

nowaw

ait,gendem

en,w

ithouteven

theslightest

degreeofalarm

,and

indeedw

itha

certainhope

ofam

usement.

Forone

thing,I

amexcited

atthe

prospectof

seeingthese

smart

youngm

enw

hoare

aw

ealthynoblew

oman’s

intimate

friendsbut

managed

totransform

themselves

intoher

intrepidw

arriors,stationed

bytheir

com—m

andressin

afortified

ambush

within

thebaths.

Iw

antto

askthem

howor

where

theyhid

themselves,

andw

hetherit

was

abath—

tub,or

perhapsa

Wooden

Horse,

which

har

bouredand

coveredallthese

invinciblefighters

battlingin

theinterests

oftheirlady.

Iintendalso

tocom

pelthem

toansw

erone

question:w

hydid

solarge

anum

berof

men,

ofthis

calibre,not

succeedeither

ingrabbing

holdof

thissingle,

feebleperson

(whom

yousee)

while

hestill

stoodthere,

orw

hydid

theynot

atleastovertake

himas

heran

away?

Ifthesecharacters

doappearin

thew

itnessbox,Icannotfor

thelife

ofm

esee

howthey

will

everdisentangle

themselves

fromallthose

difficulties.Granted

thattheym

aybe

humorous

andam

usingenough

fellows

ataparty,and

fluentonoccasion

intheir

cups,a

court-roomand

adining-room

arenot

atall

thesam

ething.

The

bencheshere

andthe

couchesthere

have

littlein

comm

on.T

oface

judgesis

onething

andto

facepeople

overa

drinkis

quiteanother:

thereis

abig

differencebetw

eenthe

lightoflamps

andthe

lightofday.

If,then,they

dodecide

tocom

eforw

ard,all theirrefmed

posesand

fooleriesw

illbesharplyjolted

outofthem.So

Isuggestthattheyshould

listento

what

Iam

nowgoing

tosay.

They

must

turntheir

energiesinto

quiteanother

direction.B

yall

means

letthem

findsom

eother

way

of ingratiatingthem

selvesand

showing

off.Let

thembask

asm

uchas

theyw

antto

intheir

lady’sfavour,

anddisplay

thosecharm

ingm

annersof

theirs.Let

themperform

anyfeat ofcom

petitiveextravagance

theylike.

Letthem

cleaveinseparably

toher

sideand

grovelbefore

herfeet, and

beher

obedientservants

inevery

way.

But

theym

ustspare

thelife

andcareer

ofaninnocent

man.

The

prosecutorsinform

usthat

theslaves

tow

homthe

poisonw

asallegedly

beinghanded

havebeen

made

freem

en,w

iththe

approvalof

thew

oman’s

aristocraticand

illustriousrelatives.

At

lastthen

we

havediscovered

something

which

sheis

supposedto

havedone

with

theagreem

entandsanction

ofthose

gallantkinsm

enof

hers.44B

utI

ameager

toknow

what

isbehind

thisact

of liberation.For

eitherit

means

thatthe

freedslaves

were

helpingher

toconcoctthe

chargeagainst

Caelius, or

theintention

was

toprevent

themfrom

havingto

undergoa

legalexam

ination,4

5or

itw

asan

abundantlym

eritedrew

ardpaid

tothe

sharersof

hersecrets.

But

yourrelations

agreed,w

eare

told.H

owcould

theyhave

failedto,

when

theinform

ationyou

placedbefore

themconsisted,

accordingto

yourow

naccount,

notof

factsw

hichyou

hadlearnt

fromothers

butof

thingsyou

haddiscovered

foryourself?

44.W

omen

couldnot

officiallyfree

slavesin

theirow

nright.

45.O

ncefreed,

theslaves

couldno

longerbe

compelled

togive

evidenceunder

torture.

zoó207

PO

LIT

ICA

LSPE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

xx

ix,6

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

BL

IUS

RU

FUS

And,incidentally,can

we

reallybe

surprisedifthe

iInag

inary

boxhas

givenrise

toan

extremely

indecentsto

ry?

6It

alltallies

veryw

ellw

iththe

behaviourofa

wom

anof

thistype.

The

anecdothasbeen

listenedto

andhas

gonethe

rounds.Y

ouhave

alreadyidentified

theincident

Iam

wanting

(orrather

notw

anting!)to

tellyou

about.H

owever,

evenif

thetale

istrue,C

aeliusw

ascertainly

notresponsible;forw

hathadit

gotto

dow

ithhim

?T

hething

was

daneby

some

otheryoung

man

whose

senseofpropriety,perhaps,w

asless

highlydeveloped

thanhis

wit.

But

evenifthe

storyis

aninvention,

itis

atany

ratequite

anam

usingone,

thoughsom

ewhat

improper.

And

itw

ouldnever

havebeen

sow

idelyaccepted

ingeneral

opinionand

conversationif

itw

erenot

forthe

factthat

everysort

ofpornographicrum

ourfits

inperfectly

with

thatlady’s

reputation.Ihave

nowstated

my

case,gentlemen,and

my

taskis

done.Please

appreciatethat

theresponsibility

youbear

isan

important

one,and

thatthe

matter

entrustedto

yourdecision

hasgrave

implications.

The

actionyou

areinvestigating

relatesto

violence.N

ow,

thelaw

concerningvio

lence

hasto

dow

iththe

administration,

thedignity

andthe

conditionof

ourcountry

andthe

welfare

ofallitscitizens.

Itis

thelaw

which

Quintus

Catulus

broughtinto

forceduring

aperiod

ofarm

edcivil

strife,w

henthe

government

was

inan

almost

desperatesituation.

Itisthe

laww

hich,after

theconflagration

thathad

blazedduring

my

consulship,extinguished

thelast

smo

kin

gem

bers

of

theconspiracy.

But

canthis

alsobe

thesclfsam

elaw

underw

hichthe

youthfullife

ofC

aeliusis

placedin

hazard—

notin

theleast

becausehe

needsto

be

46.U

nfortunatelythis

funnystory

hasnot

survivedarid

sothe

whole

passage,referring

apparentlyto

atrick

playedon

Clodia,

isinexplic

able.47.

Thisotherw

iseunknow

nL

exL

utatiaw

asevidently

passedduring

thedisturbances

causedby

Catulus’

fellow-consulM

.A

emilius

Lepidus

(78).

punishedfor

thesake

ofournational

interests,but

merely

forthe

satisfactionof

aw

oman’s

filthypurposes

anddegraded

whim

s?

Inthis

contextthe

prosecutionchooses

torem

indus

ofthe

convictionofM

arcusC

amurtius

andG

aiusC

aeserniu

s.4

But

thatis

preposterous.O

rshould

Icall

itnot

merely

preposterous

butoutrageously

impudent?

Do

youreally

havethe

aud

acityto

com

efro

mthat

wom

anand

mention

thenam

esof

Cam

urtiusand

Caesernius?

Do

youhave

thenerve

tore

suscitatethe

mem

oryof

thatvery

seriousoffence,

afterthe

lapseof

time

hasnot,

indeed,relegated

itto

oblivionbut

hasat

allevents

pushedit

out

of

sigh

t?F

or

what

was

thecharge

which

ledto

thecondem

nationof

thosetw

oindividuals?

Su

relyit

was

becauseof

that

sexu

alo

utrag

ew

hich

was

their

means

of

takin

gv

eng

eance

upon

the

wom

an’s

resentfu

lspite.

Isu

ppose

itw

asju

stin

ord

erto

drag

inV

ettius’

nam

e,as

well

asthat

oldstory

aboutthe

bronze,thatthe

trialofC

amurtius

andC

aeserniusw

asbrought

upagain.

Yet

those

individuals,although

theycertainly

couldnot

beproceeded

againstunderthe

lawon

violence,w

ereneverthe

lessso

deeplyim

plicatedin

thecrim

econcerned

thatit

isreally

impossible

tothink

ofany

lawat

allw

hichw

asnot

capab

leof

som

eho

who

ldin

gth

emin

itsm

eshes.B

ut

wh

yon

earthshould

Marcus

Caelius

besu

mm

on

edb

efore

thiscourt?

No

indictmentofthe

slightestrelevanceto

itsactivities

ispreferred

againsthim

,and

indeednot

eventhe

sortof

accu

sation

which

,alth

ou

gh

outsid

ethe

actualscope

ofthe

lawon

vio

lence,

might

stillbe

sufficientlyrelevant

toentitle

you,itsjudges,

topronounce

yourcensure.

48.T

heseunknow

ncases

(theone

concernedw

ithsexual

outragebeing

related,byw

hat appearsto

bea

marginalgloss,to

thenam

eofthe

unknown

Vettius

mentioned

justafterw

ards)seem

tohave

beencited

asprecedents

forapplying

thelaw

orlaw

son

violenceto

offencesagainst

morality.

208209

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

xxx,72

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

FL

IUS

RU

FU

S

The

earlyyears

ofM

arcusC

aelius,then,

were

dedicatedto

training,and

tothe

studiesw

hichprepare

youthsfor

legalpractice,

publiclife,

officesof

state,public

recognition,and

elevatedrank.

He

made

friendsw

itholder

men

ofthe

typew

hocould

servehim

asm

odelsofindustry

andri9

andthe

pursuitshe

sharedw

ithhis

contemporaries

indicatedthat

hew

asfollow

ingthe

same

honourablecourse

which

thebest

andnoblest

ofourcitizens

hadtaken

beforehim

.When

inthe

courseoftim

ehe

reachedyears

of adultstrength,heproceeded

toA

fricain

attendanceupon

thegovernor,w

how

asthe

high-principled,

everconscientious

Quintus

Pompeius.5°

Caelius’

fatherhadbusiness

andproperty

there,and,besides,theyoung

man

was

ableto

gainthe

sortof

experiencein

provincialadm

inistrationw

hichour

forefathersrightly

thoughtap

propriateto

thatstagein

acareer.W

henhe

leftAfrica

hew

asvery

highlythought

ofby

Pompeius,

asyou

will

hearfrom

thelatter’s

testimonial.

Next,

following

atraditional

practiceand

theprecedentof

other youthsw

hohad

subsequentlyrisen

toem

inentpositions,C

aeliusdecided

tom

akehis

endeavoursknow

nin

Rom

eby

aspectacular

pro

secutio

n.

Ishould

havepreferred

hisam

bitionfor

renown

tohave

ledhim

insom

eother

direction;but

thetim

efor

expressingregrets

aboutthat

ispast.

Anyw

ay,he

broughtacharge

againstGaius

Antonius,

my

colleaguein

theconsulship,

whose

misfortune

itw

asthat

them

emory

ofan

importantservice

toour

countrys’proved

ofnoavailto

him,

whereas

thesuspicion

ofan

intendedm

isdemeanour

succeeded

indam

aginghis

reputation.T

hereafterC

aeliusrivalled

eachand

everyone

ofhiscon-

49.C

icerois

referringto

Caclius’

associationw

ithhim

selfand

M.

Licinius

Crassus.

50.Q

.Pom

peiusR

ufusw

aspraetor

in63

andgovernor

ofA

fricain

6i.i.

Cicero

exaggeratesthe

servicesof

C.

Antonius

Hybrida

insu

ppressing

hisform

erassociate

Catilina,since

Antonius

tookno

partinthe

finalbattle

of

Pistoiaon

theplea

ofgout(January

62).

temporaries

inhis

assiduousdedication

tothe

Forum,

tolegal

cases,and

todefences

ofhisfriends

inthe

courts.H

erivalled

themalso

inthe

highopinion

hiscollaborators

heldof

him.

Whatev

ersuccesses

goto

men

who

arealert

and

sob

eran

dbard-w

orking,the

industryand

applicationof

Caelius

won

themall.

Atw

hatone

might

describeas

acriticaljuncture,

however

for

Iamgoing

tobe

quitefrank

with

you,gentlemen,relying

onyour

sympathy

andgood

sense),his

youthfulreputation

encountereda

temporary

set-back.This

was

causedby

hisrecen

tacq

uain

tance

with

thisw

oman,

bythe

un

fortu

nate

proximity

oftheir

residences,and

byhis

inex

perien

cein

thoseform

so

fself-indulgencew

hich,after

asom

ewhat

pro

longedrepression

andrestraint

inearly

years,often

suddenlybreak

forththereafter

andburst

outon

aform

idablescale.

But

fromthis

life,or

ratherfrom

thisthem

efor

gossip(be-.

causethe

realityw

asnothing

likeas

badas

peoplesaid),atall

eventsfrom

thiskind

ofthingw

hateveritw

as,hedisentangled

andem

ancipatedhim

selfcompletely.

Indeed,heis

nowso

farrem

ovedfrom

thedisrepute

ofbeingan

intimate

friendofthe

female

inquestion

thathe

evenhas

todefend

himselfagainst

herm

alignanthatred.A

ndto

puta

stopto

allthe

talkabout

dissipationand

idlenessthat

hadm

eanwhile

arisen—

thisw

asdone

completely

againstm

yw

ishesand

inthe

faceof

my

strongopposition,

butit

was

doneall

thesam

e—

hep

rosecuted

oneofm

yfriends,B

estia,forbribery.

The

defendantw

asacquitted,but

Caelius

returnedto

theattack

andaccused

himagain.

He

refusesto

payattention

tow

hatany

ofussay;

andhis

violencegoes

beyondw

hatI

shouldhave

desiredB

utI

amnot

discussinghis

goodjudgem

ent,w

hichis,

afterall,

aquality

notto

beexpected

ofhis

years.W

hatI

dow

antto

stress,onthe

otherhand,is

hisdrive,

andhis

keennessto

win,

andhis

burningam

bitionto

dow

ell.In

men

who

havereached

ourtim

eoflife

thesepassions

oughtto

havebecom

e210

211

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

XX

XI,76

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

MA

RC

US

CA

EL

IUS

RU

FU

S

somew

hatless

ardentthan

theyw

ere,but

inyouths,

asin

plants,they

giveprom

iseof

what

futureripeness

andthe

rewards

ofindustry

aregoing

tobring.

Very

cleveryoung

men,in

theirpuruit

ofglory,always

needthe

reinm

orethan

thespur;

theintellectual

exuberanceof

earlyyears

requirespruning

more

thangrafting.

Soif

anyonefeels

thatC

aeliushas

shown

toom

uchenergy

orspirit or

obstinacyin

takingon

orpursuing

disputes, andifm

inorgrounds

forcriticism

,such

asthe

shadeof purple

hew

ears,or

hiscrow

dsof

friends,or

theflam

boyantglam

ourof

hispersonality,

arefelt

togive

ofThnce, youw

illfindthat in

duecourse

suchthings

will settle

down.

Age,

andevents, and

thepassage

of time,

will

mellow

themall.

I appeal toyou, then, gentlem

en, topreserve

forourcountry

agood, loyal and

patrioticcitizen. Ican

vouchfor his

possessionof

thesenoble

qualities;and

Ican

assureour

countryupon

oaththat,

ifI

myselfhave

servedit

well,

he,too,

will

nevercease

tofollow

thesam

epolitical

ideas.This

Iam

ableto

promise,

bothbecause

Ican

relyupon

thefriendship

thatexists

between

thetw

oofus,and

becausehe

hasalso

spontaneously

boundhim

selfbythe

most

rigorousguarantees.

Forit

isim

possiblethat

am

anw

hohas

broughta

personageof

consularrank

intothe

dockon

thecharge

ofbreaking

thelaw

sof

thestate

shouldhim

selfbe

adisorderly

citizen.It

isinconceivable

thatam

anw

horefuses

toaccept another

man’s

acquittalfor

briberyshould

everdream

ofoffering

anyonea

bribehim

self.O

urcountry,

gentlemen,

hasin

itshands

two

actionsbrought

byM

arcusC

aelius.T

heycan

beconsidered

ashostages

against dangerousbehaviour;

buttheyshould

alsobe

welcom

edas

pledgesof good

intentions.

This, judges,is

thecity

where

afew

daysago

anaccusation

was

broughtagainst Sextus

Cloelius5z

andfailed.Y

et fortw

o52.

Sex.C

loelius(or,

accordingto

anotherstatem

entby

Cicero,

Clodius

himself)

burntthe

shrineof

theN

ymphs

inthe

Cam

pusM

ar-

yearspast

youhave

seenthat

individualhelping

tostir

upsedition

andeven

actingas

itsprincipal

instigator.H

eis

aperson

withoutproperty

orcredit,

withouthope

orhom

eor

resources.His

lips,histongue,hishands,everything

abouthimis

corrupt.T

hosew

erethe

handsw

ithw

hichhe

burnta

sacredtem

ple,the

archivesof

theR

oman

peopleand

therecords

ofthestate.

He

wrecked

them

onument

ofCatulus.53

He

demolished

my

own

house,4and

setfireto

my

brother’s.O

nthe

Palatine,before

theeyes

ofthe

entirecity,he

incitedslaves

tom

assacreand

incendiarism.

After

sucha

creaturehas

beenacquitted

herein

Rom

eitself;

andacquitted

throughfem

inineinfluence,Iim

ploreyou

nottoallow

Marcus

Caelius

tobe

sacrificedto

herw

anto

ntem

per.

Nev

erlet

itbe

saidthat

thissam

ew

oman,

incollusion

with

thebrother

who

isalso

herhusband,

hasbeen

ablefirst

topreserve

athieving

rogueand

thento

destroya

fineyoung

man

asw

ell.A

ndw

henyou

haveconsidered

theposition

oftheyouthful

Caelius,

Iurge

youto

keepalso

beforeyour

eyesthis

un

happyold

gentleman

who

ishis

father.C

aeliusis

hisonly

sonand

hissupport;

onthe

futureofC

aeliusdepends

allhispeace

ofmind.

The

onething

hem

ostdreads

isthat

hisson

shouldbe

introuble.

Submissive

toyour

authority,he

kneels,figuratively,

beforeyou,

appealingto

yourhearts

andem

otions,and

pleadingfor

yourcom

passion.B

idhim

rise!T

hinkofyour

own

parents.T

hinkofyour

childrenand

howfond

youare

ofthem.

Feelforhim

with

thesym

pathyofsons

orfathers,and

bringcom

fortto

hisgrief.

Heaven

forbidthat

tins,w

hererecords

were

kept.R

ecentresearch

hasdem

onstratedthat

thenam

eof

Clodius’

principalhenchm

anw

asSex.

Cloelius

andnot

Sex.C

lodiusas

was

supposed.53.Q

.L

utatiusC

atulussen.

builtthe

PorticusC

atulion

thePalatine

tocom

mem

oratethe

battleof

Vercellae

(ioi)54

During

Cicero’s

exileC

lodius’gangsters

destroyedthe

PorticusC

atuliand

Cicero’s

own

house,and

thenburnt

down

Q.

Cicero’s

residence(N

ovember

s”).212

21

3

PO

LIT

ICA

LS

PE

EC

HE

SO

FC

ICE

RO

Xxxii,

79this

venerablefigure, already

inthe

courseofnature

approaching

thelastdays

ofhislife,should

desiredeath

tocom

eto

himeven

more

rapidly,because

ofa

wound

dealthim

notby

fatebut

byyo’urselves.

And

donot,

Ibeg

you,be

thew

hirl

wind

orsudden

tempest

which

shallstrike

down,

inhis

earlyprim

e,this

youthw

hosesplendid

qualitieshave

plantedsuch

sturdyroots.

Savethe

sonfor

hisfather

—and

thefather

forhis

son!Y

oum

ustnot

givepeople

theãhance

tosay

thatyou

disdainedan

agedcitizen

whose

hopesare

nearlyat

anend;

andthat,

insteadof

helpinga

youngm

anfull

ofprom

ise,you

actuallypreferred

tocrush

anddestroy

himinstead.Ifyou

restoreC

acliusto

me,

andto

hisow

npeople,

andto

ourcountry,you

will

findin

hima

personpledged

anddedicated

andbound

fastto

yourselvesand

toyour

childrenafter

you.A

ndit

isyou

aboveall,judges,

who

will

reapthe

abundantand

lastingfruits

ofhis

exertionsand

endeavours.

i

CH

AP

TE

RF

IVE

IND

EF

EN

CE

OF

TIT

US

IINN

IUS

MIL

OI

IIn

6th

eFlist

Trium

virae,w

hichhad

bgun

toshow

sigisostrain,

wasatched

ug

tthe

Coference

ofLuc(Lucca).

Cicerubm

ittedto

thLj renewed

aicracy

andw

asm

uccriticizedfor

isby

con—servaifves.

Caesar

histeed

backto

Gul,

which

eas

inthe

procesof

conquering.om

peius(w

hoCicero

ainihoped

toseduaj

fromthe

alliansought

toontrol

ome

trough

itsood-4pply

andan

ary

Spain;a

dassus

want

dto

win

gloryn

theeast.Instea

heas

killedb

theParthians

53), anda

direkt confrontationb

tween

mpeiu

andC

aesarcon

equentlydeveloed.

Me4nw

hilePom

peiufound

thate

government

ofRe

was

beingrpidly

reducedt

anarchyy

tappalling

excessesfgang

warfare\—w

hichhe

was

notsouick

totdow

nas

hem

igthave

been,sicehe

sawitm

lhtlead people

tin

itehim

toassui

evenlarger

j4wers.

Thep

ncipalgang—

leaer

asPublius

odiusPuicher,\the

brotherof

Clodia

whom

icerod

attackedhis

defencedf

Caelius,

ar

volutionaryw

I o—

altugh

atdi

renttim

esfavJuredboth

1yesarand

Pompe

us—

attacd

himself

noparty, exScised

itfiuenccover

theprolet

natasprovier

oflarIcss,and

posseedarnsiderabl1e

controlover

eurban

votim

achie.A

rivalh

4ljan

was

Ttus

Annius

Mto,

aviolent

nlem

an\ofSam

niteoin

who,

as\Clodius’

enem,

enjoyedthe

sportf

Ciceroapd

hetradztionalconservative

em

ents.In

thewikiter of

53the

\ckirmishing

anidisturbancesbetw

eenthe

two

t/ughsçvived

(after.period

of ccnparativecalm

)w

ithin

crea ledbitterIess,

when

Ivilow

asstanding

forthe

consulshipand

Clodius

forhe

praetorsI4.i.O

ni8

January,each

with

hisfollow

ersand

thugs,they

encounteredote

anotheron

theA

ppian

21

4215