The following excerpt from a letter sent by a Roman
commander
with a similar name - C.
Cicero- Letters to and from Cassius
This was never delivered as a speech, but contains Cicero's most outspoken denunciation of the character and policies of Antonius.
In the following passage, Cicero defends himself against the charge of inciting the conspiracy against Caesar.
(Translated by C.
D.
Yonge)
L [2. 25] . . . But these are all old stories now. This charge, however, is quite a modern one, that Caesar was slain by my contrivance. I am afraid, O Senators, lest I should appear to you to have brought up a sham accuser against myself (which is a most disgraceful thing to do); a man not only to distinguish me by the praises which are my due, but to load me also with those which do not belong to me. For who ever heard my name mentioned as an accomplice in that most glorious action? and whose name has been concealed who was in the number of that gallant band? Concealed, do I say? On the contrary, their names immediately became familiar to everybody! I should sooner say that some men had boasted in order to appear to have been part of that conspiracy, though they had in reality known nothing of it, than that any one who had been an accomplice in the deed could possibly have wished to conceal their part in it. [2. 26] Moreover, how likely it is, that among such a number of men, some obscure, some young men who had not the wit to conceal any one, my name could possibly have escaped notice?
Indeed, if leaders were wanted for the purpose of delivering the country, what need was there of my instigating the Brutuses, one of whom [Decimus] saw every day in his house the image of Lucius Brutus, and the other [Marcus] saw also the image of Ahala? Were these the men to seek counsel from the ancestors of others rather than from their own? and from elsewhere rather than at home? What? Caius Cassius, a man of that family which could not endure, I will not say the domination, but even the power of any individual,- he, I suppose, was in need of me to instigate him? a man who even without the assistance of these other most illustrious men, would have accomplished this same deed in Cilicia, at the mouth of the river Cydnus, if Caesar had brought his ships to that bank of the river which he had intended, and not to the opposite one. [2. 27] Was Cnaeus Domitius spurred on to seek to recover his dignity, not by the death of his father [L. Domitius], a most illustrious man, nor by the death of his uncle, nor by the deprivation of his own dignity, but by my advice and authority? Did I persuade Caius Trebonius? a man whom I should not have ventured even to advise. On which account the republic owes him even a larger debt of gratitude, because he preferred the liberty of the Roman people to the friendship of one man, and because he preferred overthrowing arbitrary power to sharing it. Was I the instigator whom Lucius Tillius Cimber followed? a man whom I admired for having performed that action, rather than ever expected that he would perform it; and I admired him on this account, that he was unmindful of the personal kindnesses which he had received, but mindful of his country. What shall I say of the two Serviliuses? Shall I call them Cascas, or Ahalas? and do you think that those men were instigated by my authority rather than by their affection for the republic? It would take a long time to go through all the rest; and it is a glorious thing for the republic that they were so numerous, and a most honourable thing also for themselves.
[2. 28] But recollect, I pray you, how that clever man [Antonius] convicted me of being an accomplice in the business. When Caesar was slain, says he, Marcus Brutus immediately lifted up on high his bloody dagger, and called on Cicero by name; and congratulated him on liberty being recovered. Why on me above all men? Because I knew of it beforehand? Consider rather whether this was not his reason for calling on me, that, when he had performed an action very like those which I myself had done, he called me above all men to witness that he had been an imitator of my exploits. [2. 29] But you, O stupidest of all men, do you not perceive, that if it is a crime to have wished that Caesar should be slain - which you accuse me of having wished - it is a crime also to have rejoiced at his death? For what is the difference between a man who has advised an action, and one who has approved of it? or what does it signify whether I wished it to be done, or rejoice that it has been done? Is there any one then, except you yourself and these men who wished him to become a king, who was unwilling that that deed should be done, or who disapproved of it after it was done? All men, therefore, are guilty as far as this goes. In truth, all good men, as far as it depended on them, bore a part in the slaying of Caesar. Some did not know how to contrive it, some had not courage for it, some had no opportunity,- every one had the inclination.
[2. 30] However, remark the stupidity of this fellow,- I should rather say, of this brute beast. For thus he spoke:- "Marcus Brutus, whom I name to do him honour, holding aloft his bloody dagger, called upon Cicero, from which it must be understood that he was privy to the action. " Am I then called wicked by you because you suspect that I suspected something; and is he who openly displayed his dripping dagger; named by you so that you may do him honour? Be it so. Let this stupidity exist in your language: how much greater is it in your actions and opinions? Arrange matters in this way at last, O consul; pronounce the cause of the Brutuses, of Caius Cassius, of Cnaeus Domitius, of Caius Trebonius and the rest to be whatever you please to call it: sleep off that intoxication of yours, sleep it off and take breath. Must one apply a torch to you to waken you while you are sleeping over such an important affair? Will you never understand that you have to decide whether those men who performed that action are homicides or assertors of freedom?
[2. 31] For just consider a little; and for a moment think of the business like a sober man. I who, as I myself confess, am an intimate friend of those men, and, as you accuse me, an accomplice of theirs, deny that there is any medium between these alternatives. I confess that they, if they be not deliverers of the Roman people and saviours of the republic, are worse than assassins, worse than homicides, worse even than parricides: since it is a more atrocious thing to murder the father of one's country, than one's own father. You wise and considerate man, what do you say to this? If they are parricides, why are they always named by you, both in this assembly and before the Roman people, with a view to do them honour? Why has Marcus Brutus been, on your motion, excused from obedience to the laws, and allowed to be absent from the city more than ten days? Why were the games of Apollo celebrated with incredible honour to Marcus Brutus? why were provinces given to Brutus and Cassius? why were quaestors assigned to them? why was the number of their legates augmented? And all these measures were owing to you. They are not homicides then. It follows that in your opinion they are deliverers of their country, since there can be no other alternative. [2. 32] What is the matter? Am I embarrassing you? For perhaps are you are incapable of understanding the dilemma that faces you. Still this is the sum total of my conclusion; that since they are acquitted by you of wickedness, they are at the same time pronounced most worthy of the very most honourable rewards . . .
In 43 B. C. Antonius was no longer consul, but he still had a strong army, with which he besieged Decimus Brutus at Mutina until April, when he was forced to abandon the siege.
[12. 4] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, February 2nd (? ), 43 B. C. ]
L I should like you to have invited me to your banquet on the Ides of March; there would have been no leavings. Now it is just your leavings that are worrying me, me indeed more than anybody else; it is true that we have admirable consuls, but the consulars are beneath contempt; we have a courageous Senate too, but it is those of the lowest rank who are most so. Nothing, however, could be braver or better than the people, and indeed the whole of Italy; nothing, on the other hand, more disgraceful, nothing more scandalous, than the conduct of Philippus and Piso as our emissaries. They were sent to deliver to Antonius certain definite instructions in accordance with the vote of the Senate, and when he failed to comply with any single one of them, they had the impudence to bring back certain insufferable demands from him to us. The result is that people are thronging round me, and for the first time, by supporting a really sound measure, I find myself a popular hero.
2 But as for you, what you are doing, what you intend to do, or indeed where you are, I have no idea. The story goes that you are in Syria, but there is nobody to vouch for it. As to Brutus, because he is nearer, the reports about him appear to be more trustworthy. Dolabella is soundly trounced by men with some command of sarcasm for being in such a hurry to take your place, though you had hardly been a month in Syria; so that it was obvious to all that he had no right to be admitted into the province. Both you and Brutus are the subject of the highest praise, for having (as is believed) exceeded all expectations in getting together an army. I should write at greater length if I knew the circumstances of the case. As it is, what I write is only based on general opinion and hearsay. I am greedily awaiting a letter from you.
[12. 5] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, early February, 43 B. C. ]
L I suppose it is the wintry weather that has so far prevented us from having any certain information about you - what you are doing, and most important of all, where you are. What everybody is saying however, I suppose because they wish it, is that you are in Syria, and in command of forces. This is all the more readily believed because it seems so likely to be true. Our friend M. Brutus indeed has won extraordinary distinction; his achievements have been so substantial and so unexpected that, welcome as they are in themselves, their brilliance has been enhanced by their rapidity. Now if you also hold in your hand all we believe you do, the props that support the Republic are strong; since from the nearest point of Greece right up to Egypt we shall find security in governments and armies commanded by citizens of the highest loyalty.
2 And yet, if I am not mistaken, the present position is such that the ultimate issue of the whole war depends apparently upon D. Brutus; if once he succeeds, as we hope he will, in breaking out of Mutina, it looks as if there would be nothing left of the war. In any case the forces investing him must by this time be inconsiderable, because the garrison with which Antonius holds Bononia is a strong one. Again our friend Hirtius is at Claterna, and Caesar at Forum Cornelium, each of them with an army that can be trusted, while, at Rome, Pansa has collected strong forces by means of an Italian levy. So far winter has made active operations impossible. Hirtius, as he frequently hints to me in his letters, seems unlikely to do anything without careful consideration. With the exception of Bononia, Regium Lepidi, and Parma, we can count upon the whole of Gaul as being enthusiastically loyal to the Republic. Your clients beyond the Padus too we find surprisingly in sympathy with our cause. The Senate is thoroughly staunch, except, of course, the consulars, of whom L. Caesar alone is as staunch as he is straight.
3 We have lost a powerful safeguard by the death of Servius Sulpicius. All the others lack either spirit or sound principle; not a few of them are jealous of the honour paid to those whom they see winning the approval of the state. On the other hand the unanimity of the people of Rome and of all Italy is something wonderful. This is practically all that I think you ought to know. And now my prayer is that the sunlight of your valour may shine forth from wherever you are in the East.
[12. 6] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, late in March or early in April, 43 B. C. ]
L What the state of affairs was when I sent you this letter, you can find out from C. Tidius Strabo, a man of merit, and excellently well disposed to the Republic - I need not add most eager to join you, seeing that he has left his home and all that he possesses, to come to you rather than to anybody. So I do not so much as recommend him to you. His having made his way to you himself is recommendation enough.
2 I would have you consider and assure yourself that if anything untoward happens, which I should deplore, the only refuge left for honest citizens is with you and Brutus. As I write these words, matters have come to the final crisis; for Brutus is now barely able to hold his own at Mutina. If he has come safe through it, we have triumphed; if otherwise (heaven avert the omen! ) there is but one direction in which we can all rush, and that is to you. See to it, therefore, that you have all the courage and all the resources needed to win back the Republic in its entirety. Farewell.
[12. 7] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, March 7th, 43 B. C. ]
L With what enthusiasm I defended your political position, both in the Senate and before the people, I prefer that you should learn from your friends rather than from myself. And that proposal of mine in the Senate would easily have carried the day but for the violent opposition of Pansa. Having made the proposal, I was brought before a public meeting by the tribune of the plebs, M. Servilius. I said all I could about you in a ringing voice that filled the forum, and the shouting and applause of the people was - well, I never saw anything like it! I hope you will forgive my having acted against the wishes of your mother-in-law [Servilia]. The lady is nervous, and was afraid of Pansa 's taking umbrage at it. Indeed Pansa stated in the public meeting that your mother also and brother [Lucius] had objected to my making that proposal. But all that left me unmoved; I had better things to think about. I was advocating the public cause, which I have always advocated, and your political position and prestige as well.
2 But as to the matter that I discussed at considerable length in the Senate, and as to what I said at the public meeting, I should be glad if you would redeem the pledge I gave. I promised and almost positively asserted that you had not waited for nor would wait for any decrees of ours, but would yourself defend the constitution in your own good way; and although we have not yet heard anything as to your present position, or the forces at your disposal, for all that I take my stand on the fact that all the forces and troops in your part of the world are yours, and that it is through you I am assured that the province of Asia has already been won back for the Republic. Do your utmost to surpass yourself in enhancing your own glory. Farewell.
[12. 11] C. Cassius, proconsul, to M. Cicero
[Camp at Tarichea, March 7th, 43 B. C. ]
L If you are well, that is good; I and my army are well. You must know that I have started for Syria to join the generals L. Murcus and Q. Crispus. When those gallant officers and admirable citizens heard what was going on in Rome, they handed their armies over to me, and are themselves administering the affairs of the State side by side with me, and with the utmost resolution. I beg to inform you also that the legion which Q. Caecilius Bassus had, has come over to me, and I beg to inform you that the four legions A. Allienus brought out of Egypt have been handed over by him to me.
2 For the present I do not suppose that you need any encouragement from me to defend us while we are away, and the Republic too, as far as in you lies. I should like you to be assured that neither you and your family, nor the Senate are without strong safeguards, so that you may defend the Republic in the best of hopes and with the highest spirit. What business remains will be transacted with you by L. Carteius, an intimate friend of mine. Farewell. Dated the 7th of March, from camp at Tarichea.
[12. 12] Cassius, proconsul, to M. Cicero
[Camp in Syria, May 7th, 43 B. C. ]
L If you are well, that is good; I and my army are well. I have read your letter, in which I recognise afresh your wonderful affection for me. For it seemed that you not only back me up - that you have always done, both for my sake, and the sake of the Republic - but also that you have shouldered a burden of anxiety, and feel seriously perturbed about me. And therefore, because in the first place I thought you were under the impression that, after the crushing of the constitution, I could never keep quiet, and secondly, because I thought you were anxious, both about my safety, and the ultimate issue of affairs, since you would naturally suspect me of taking drastic measures; for both these reasons then, as soon as I took over the legions A. Allienus had brought away from Egypt, I wrote to you, and sent quite a number of letter-carriers to Rome. I also wrote a despatch to the Senate, forbidding it to be delivered until it had been read out to you - if it happens that my people have been good enough to regard my wishes. But if no letter has reached you, I have no doubt that Dolabella, who, since his abominable murder of Trebonius, has overrun the Asian provinces, has arrested my letter-carriers and intercepted my despatch.
2 I hold all the troops that were in Syria. There has been some slight delay in the fulfilment of my promises to my men. Now at last my hands are free. I beg of you to regard my claim to honour as committed to your care, if you realise that there is no danger, no toil, I have refused to face for my country, if it was at your instance and with your encouragement that I took up arms against the most presumptuous brigands, if I have not only raised whole armies to defend the cause of the State and its liberty, but have even snatched it from the hands of the most bloodthirsty tyrants; for had Dolabella anticipated me in getting hold of them, his army, not only by its actual arrival, but by the mere hope and expectation of it, would have strengthened the hands of Antonius.
3 For these reasons I beg you to look after my men, if you are aware of their amazing services to the Republic, and so to manage matters that not one of them may regret having set the call of the Republic above the love of loot and rapine. Attend too, as far as you possibly can, to the claims of the commanders, Murcus and Crispus. As for Bassus, the poor fool would not hand his legion over to me. And had not his men broken his orders and sent me a deputation, he would have kept the gates of Apameia shut until I had stormed it. These requests I make of you not only in the name of the Republic, which has always been most precious to you, but also in that of our friendship, which I am sure counts for very much with you.
4 Take my word for it, these troops under my command are at the disposal of the Senate and all loyal citizens, and most of all at yours; for being constantly told of your sympathies makes them astonishingly fond of you, and you are their favourite; and if once they grasp the fact that you have their interests at heart, they will feel that there is nothing they do not owe you.
5 Since writing this letter I have been told that Dolabella and his forces have arrived in Cilicia. Cilicia will be my objective. I shall do my utmost to let you have early news of what I have been able to do. And may I express a hope that our luck may be in proportion to our public deserts? Mind you keep your health and your affection for me. In camp, May 7th.
The following excerpt from a letter sent by a Roman commander with a similar name - C. Cassius Parmensis - shows that as he expected, Cassius was soon fighting against Dolabella. Dolabella was eventually defeated and committed suicide.
[12. 13] C. Cassius, quaestor, to M. Cicero
[Cyprus, June 13th, 43 B. C. ]
L . . . 4 Just as the people of Tarsus, our treacherous allies, did, so now the inhabitants of Laodiceia, who are even more foolish, have gone out of their way to send for Dolabella; and he, by recruiting a rabble of Greek soldiers out of both those states, has worked up the semblance of an army. He has pitched camp in front of the town of Laodiceia; he has pulled down part of the wall, and has linked his camp with the town. Our friend Cassius with ten legions, twenty auxiliary cohorts, and a cavalry force of 4000, has pitched camp twenty miles away at Paltus, and anticipates a bloodless victory, seeing that with Dolabella the price of wheat is already three tetradrachms [for a medimnus]. Unless he contrives to bring in supplies in the ships of the Laodiceians, he is doomed to die of hunger very soon; and to prevent Dolabella from importing will be an easy task for Cassius's fleet, quite a large one, under the command of Sextilius Rufus, and the three fleets Turullius, Patiscus, and myself have respectively brought here. I want you to have high hopes, and to rest assured that the difficulties of the State can speedily be solved on our side, as you have solved them at home. Farewell.
Dated June 13th. Crommyacris, in Cyprus.
Antonius received a great boost to his forces at the end of May, when he was joined by M. Lepidus, the governor of Narbonese Gaul.
[12. 8] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, shortly after June 8th, 43 B. C. ]
L The scandalous conduct of your relative Lepidus and his amazing fickleness and inconstancy I imagine you have already learnt from the daily gazette which I am assured is being sent to you. So now, when the war, as we imagined, had been finished, we are waging a resuscitated war, and we have no other hope than in D. Brutus and Plancus; indeed, if you want the exact truth, than in you and my friend M. Brutus, not only to serve as our immediate refuge, should anything untoward occur (which I should deplore), but also to set on a firm basis a freedom that will last for ever.
2 We are having satisfactory news here about Dolabella, but we have nobody definitely to vouch for it. As for you, I would have you know that you are a great man here, not only in men's present estimation, but also in their anticipations of your future. With this before your eyes, see to it that your aims are of the highest. There is no success so great that the people of Rome do not deem you capable of achieving, yes, and of maintaining.
[12. 9] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, middle of June, 43 B. C. ]
L The shortness of your letters makes me too write shorter ones; and, to tell you the truth, I have no clear conception as to what I am to write. Our affairs, as I am well aware, are duly reported to you in the daily gazette, while we know nothing of yours. Just as though Asia were under a blockade, nothing reaches us except rumours about the crushing of Dolabella, which are certainly quite consistent, but lack authority.
2 We imagined that the war was finished, but all of a sudden we have been thrown into an agony of anxiety by your friend Lepidus. You must, therefore, convince yourself that the best hope of the Republic lies in you and your forces. Our armies of course we can trust; but though everything should go on happily (and I hope everything will), even so it is of great importance that you should come here. There are but faint hopes of a free constitution (I shrink from saying there are none), but whatever they are, they are bound, as by betrothal, to the year of your consulship.
[12. 10] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, early in July, 43 B. C. ]
L On the 30th of June your relative, and my once friend, Lepidus, was declared a public enemy by an unanimous vote of the Senate, as were also all the others who joined him in deserting the Republic; the latter, however, have been given the opportunity of returning to their senses before the 1st of September. The Senate is full of courage, but it is mainly based on the expectation of your support. As I write these words, thanks to the villainy and shiftiness of Lepidus, the war is really serious. The daily news about Dolabella is all we could desire; but it is still without a definite source, unconfirmed, and voiced only by rumour.
2 But, notwithstanding all that, your despatch, sent from your camp on the 7th of May, had the effect upon the State of making everybody believe that he had already been crushed, and that you were coming to Italy with your army; so that, if all were accomplished to our satisfaction, we should have your counsel and influence, but if, as so often happens in war, some slip should by any chance occur, we should have your army, to fall back upon. And, speaking of the army, I shall make all honourable provision for it within my power, but it will be time enough for that when we begin to get some idea of the amount of help it will give to the Republic, or how much it has already given. For so far we hear of nothing but attempts - noble and splendid enough I grant you - but what we are waiting for is achievement; and that I am confident has either come to pass in good measure already, or will in the near future.
3 Nothing can be more noble than your courage and greatness of spirit. So naturally we hope to see you in Italy as soon as possible. If we have both of you, we shall think we have the Republic here too. We would have won a glorious victory, if Antonius, stripped and unarmed and a fugitive as he was, had not been given refuge by Lepidus. It follows that never was Antonius so detested by the State as Lepidus now is. For the former applied the torch of war to universal public disorder, the latter to peace and victory. To oppose him we have the consuls-designate, and we have strong hopes of them, it is true; but there is the anxiety of doubt, owing to the uncertainty of issues on the field of battle.
4 Be absolutely assured, therefore, that all depends upon you and your friend Brutus, that you are both expected - Brutus indeed at any moment. But if our enemies are defeated (and I hope so) before you arrive, even so your influence will help the Republic to lift up her head, and be established on some tolerably firm basis. For the ills to be remedied are very many, even though it may appear that the Republic has been safely delivered from the villainy of its enemies.
Five months after this letter was written, Cicero was killed by the soldiers of Antonius. Cassius died the next year, in the first battle of Philippi.
L [2. 25] . . . But these are all old stories now. This charge, however, is quite a modern one, that Caesar was slain by my contrivance. I am afraid, O Senators, lest I should appear to you to have brought up a sham accuser against myself (which is a most disgraceful thing to do); a man not only to distinguish me by the praises which are my due, but to load me also with those which do not belong to me. For who ever heard my name mentioned as an accomplice in that most glorious action? and whose name has been concealed who was in the number of that gallant band? Concealed, do I say? On the contrary, their names immediately became familiar to everybody! I should sooner say that some men had boasted in order to appear to have been part of that conspiracy, though they had in reality known nothing of it, than that any one who had been an accomplice in the deed could possibly have wished to conceal their part in it. [2. 26] Moreover, how likely it is, that among such a number of men, some obscure, some young men who had not the wit to conceal any one, my name could possibly have escaped notice?
Indeed, if leaders were wanted for the purpose of delivering the country, what need was there of my instigating the Brutuses, one of whom [Decimus] saw every day in his house the image of Lucius Brutus, and the other [Marcus] saw also the image of Ahala? Were these the men to seek counsel from the ancestors of others rather than from their own? and from elsewhere rather than at home? What? Caius Cassius, a man of that family which could not endure, I will not say the domination, but even the power of any individual,- he, I suppose, was in need of me to instigate him? a man who even without the assistance of these other most illustrious men, would have accomplished this same deed in Cilicia, at the mouth of the river Cydnus, if Caesar had brought his ships to that bank of the river which he had intended, and not to the opposite one. [2. 27] Was Cnaeus Domitius spurred on to seek to recover his dignity, not by the death of his father [L. Domitius], a most illustrious man, nor by the death of his uncle, nor by the deprivation of his own dignity, but by my advice and authority? Did I persuade Caius Trebonius? a man whom I should not have ventured even to advise. On which account the republic owes him even a larger debt of gratitude, because he preferred the liberty of the Roman people to the friendship of one man, and because he preferred overthrowing arbitrary power to sharing it. Was I the instigator whom Lucius Tillius Cimber followed? a man whom I admired for having performed that action, rather than ever expected that he would perform it; and I admired him on this account, that he was unmindful of the personal kindnesses which he had received, but mindful of his country. What shall I say of the two Serviliuses? Shall I call them Cascas, or Ahalas? and do you think that those men were instigated by my authority rather than by their affection for the republic? It would take a long time to go through all the rest; and it is a glorious thing for the republic that they were so numerous, and a most honourable thing also for themselves.
[2. 28] But recollect, I pray you, how that clever man [Antonius] convicted me of being an accomplice in the business. When Caesar was slain, says he, Marcus Brutus immediately lifted up on high his bloody dagger, and called on Cicero by name; and congratulated him on liberty being recovered. Why on me above all men? Because I knew of it beforehand? Consider rather whether this was not his reason for calling on me, that, when he had performed an action very like those which I myself had done, he called me above all men to witness that he had been an imitator of my exploits. [2. 29] But you, O stupidest of all men, do you not perceive, that if it is a crime to have wished that Caesar should be slain - which you accuse me of having wished - it is a crime also to have rejoiced at his death? For what is the difference between a man who has advised an action, and one who has approved of it? or what does it signify whether I wished it to be done, or rejoice that it has been done? Is there any one then, except you yourself and these men who wished him to become a king, who was unwilling that that deed should be done, or who disapproved of it after it was done? All men, therefore, are guilty as far as this goes. In truth, all good men, as far as it depended on them, bore a part in the slaying of Caesar. Some did not know how to contrive it, some had not courage for it, some had no opportunity,- every one had the inclination.
[2. 30] However, remark the stupidity of this fellow,- I should rather say, of this brute beast. For thus he spoke:- "Marcus Brutus, whom I name to do him honour, holding aloft his bloody dagger, called upon Cicero, from which it must be understood that he was privy to the action. " Am I then called wicked by you because you suspect that I suspected something; and is he who openly displayed his dripping dagger; named by you so that you may do him honour? Be it so. Let this stupidity exist in your language: how much greater is it in your actions and opinions? Arrange matters in this way at last, O consul; pronounce the cause of the Brutuses, of Caius Cassius, of Cnaeus Domitius, of Caius Trebonius and the rest to be whatever you please to call it: sleep off that intoxication of yours, sleep it off and take breath. Must one apply a torch to you to waken you while you are sleeping over such an important affair? Will you never understand that you have to decide whether those men who performed that action are homicides or assertors of freedom?
[2. 31] For just consider a little; and for a moment think of the business like a sober man. I who, as I myself confess, am an intimate friend of those men, and, as you accuse me, an accomplice of theirs, deny that there is any medium between these alternatives. I confess that they, if they be not deliverers of the Roman people and saviours of the republic, are worse than assassins, worse than homicides, worse even than parricides: since it is a more atrocious thing to murder the father of one's country, than one's own father. You wise and considerate man, what do you say to this? If they are parricides, why are they always named by you, both in this assembly and before the Roman people, with a view to do them honour? Why has Marcus Brutus been, on your motion, excused from obedience to the laws, and allowed to be absent from the city more than ten days? Why were the games of Apollo celebrated with incredible honour to Marcus Brutus? why were provinces given to Brutus and Cassius? why were quaestors assigned to them? why was the number of their legates augmented? And all these measures were owing to you. They are not homicides then. It follows that in your opinion they are deliverers of their country, since there can be no other alternative. [2. 32] What is the matter? Am I embarrassing you? For perhaps are you are incapable of understanding the dilemma that faces you. Still this is the sum total of my conclusion; that since they are acquitted by you of wickedness, they are at the same time pronounced most worthy of the very most honourable rewards . . .
In 43 B. C. Antonius was no longer consul, but he still had a strong army, with which he besieged Decimus Brutus at Mutina until April, when he was forced to abandon the siege.
[12. 4] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, February 2nd (? ), 43 B. C. ]
L I should like you to have invited me to your banquet on the Ides of March; there would have been no leavings. Now it is just your leavings that are worrying me, me indeed more than anybody else; it is true that we have admirable consuls, but the consulars are beneath contempt; we have a courageous Senate too, but it is those of the lowest rank who are most so. Nothing, however, could be braver or better than the people, and indeed the whole of Italy; nothing, on the other hand, more disgraceful, nothing more scandalous, than the conduct of Philippus and Piso as our emissaries. They were sent to deliver to Antonius certain definite instructions in accordance with the vote of the Senate, and when he failed to comply with any single one of them, they had the impudence to bring back certain insufferable demands from him to us. The result is that people are thronging round me, and for the first time, by supporting a really sound measure, I find myself a popular hero.
2 But as for you, what you are doing, what you intend to do, or indeed where you are, I have no idea. The story goes that you are in Syria, but there is nobody to vouch for it. As to Brutus, because he is nearer, the reports about him appear to be more trustworthy. Dolabella is soundly trounced by men with some command of sarcasm for being in such a hurry to take your place, though you had hardly been a month in Syria; so that it was obvious to all that he had no right to be admitted into the province. Both you and Brutus are the subject of the highest praise, for having (as is believed) exceeded all expectations in getting together an army. I should write at greater length if I knew the circumstances of the case. As it is, what I write is only based on general opinion and hearsay. I am greedily awaiting a letter from you.
[12. 5] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, early February, 43 B. C. ]
L I suppose it is the wintry weather that has so far prevented us from having any certain information about you - what you are doing, and most important of all, where you are. What everybody is saying however, I suppose because they wish it, is that you are in Syria, and in command of forces. This is all the more readily believed because it seems so likely to be true. Our friend M. Brutus indeed has won extraordinary distinction; his achievements have been so substantial and so unexpected that, welcome as they are in themselves, their brilliance has been enhanced by their rapidity. Now if you also hold in your hand all we believe you do, the props that support the Republic are strong; since from the nearest point of Greece right up to Egypt we shall find security in governments and armies commanded by citizens of the highest loyalty.
2 And yet, if I am not mistaken, the present position is such that the ultimate issue of the whole war depends apparently upon D. Brutus; if once he succeeds, as we hope he will, in breaking out of Mutina, it looks as if there would be nothing left of the war. In any case the forces investing him must by this time be inconsiderable, because the garrison with which Antonius holds Bononia is a strong one. Again our friend Hirtius is at Claterna, and Caesar at Forum Cornelium, each of them with an army that can be trusted, while, at Rome, Pansa has collected strong forces by means of an Italian levy. So far winter has made active operations impossible. Hirtius, as he frequently hints to me in his letters, seems unlikely to do anything without careful consideration. With the exception of Bononia, Regium Lepidi, and Parma, we can count upon the whole of Gaul as being enthusiastically loyal to the Republic. Your clients beyond the Padus too we find surprisingly in sympathy with our cause. The Senate is thoroughly staunch, except, of course, the consulars, of whom L. Caesar alone is as staunch as he is straight.
3 We have lost a powerful safeguard by the death of Servius Sulpicius. All the others lack either spirit or sound principle; not a few of them are jealous of the honour paid to those whom they see winning the approval of the state. On the other hand the unanimity of the people of Rome and of all Italy is something wonderful. This is practically all that I think you ought to know. And now my prayer is that the sunlight of your valour may shine forth from wherever you are in the East.
[12. 6] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, late in March or early in April, 43 B. C. ]
L What the state of affairs was when I sent you this letter, you can find out from C. Tidius Strabo, a man of merit, and excellently well disposed to the Republic - I need not add most eager to join you, seeing that he has left his home and all that he possesses, to come to you rather than to anybody. So I do not so much as recommend him to you. His having made his way to you himself is recommendation enough.
2 I would have you consider and assure yourself that if anything untoward happens, which I should deplore, the only refuge left for honest citizens is with you and Brutus. As I write these words, matters have come to the final crisis; for Brutus is now barely able to hold his own at Mutina. If he has come safe through it, we have triumphed; if otherwise (heaven avert the omen! ) there is but one direction in which we can all rush, and that is to you. See to it, therefore, that you have all the courage and all the resources needed to win back the Republic in its entirety. Farewell.
[12. 7] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, March 7th, 43 B. C. ]
L With what enthusiasm I defended your political position, both in the Senate and before the people, I prefer that you should learn from your friends rather than from myself. And that proposal of mine in the Senate would easily have carried the day but for the violent opposition of Pansa. Having made the proposal, I was brought before a public meeting by the tribune of the plebs, M. Servilius. I said all I could about you in a ringing voice that filled the forum, and the shouting and applause of the people was - well, I never saw anything like it! I hope you will forgive my having acted against the wishes of your mother-in-law [Servilia]. The lady is nervous, and was afraid of Pansa 's taking umbrage at it. Indeed Pansa stated in the public meeting that your mother also and brother [Lucius] had objected to my making that proposal. But all that left me unmoved; I had better things to think about. I was advocating the public cause, which I have always advocated, and your political position and prestige as well.
2 But as to the matter that I discussed at considerable length in the Senate, and as to what I said at the public meeting, I should be glad if you would redeem the pledge I gave. I promised and almost positively asserted that you had not waited for nor would wait for any decrees of ours, but would yourself defend the constitution in your own good way; and although we have not yet heard anything as to your present position, or the forces at your disposal, for all that I take my stand on the fact that all the forces and troops in your part of the world are yours, and that it is through you I am assured that the province of Asia has already been won back for the Republic. Do your utmost to surpass yourself in enhancing your own glory. Farewell.
[12. 11] C. Cassius, proconsul, to M. Cicero
[Camp at Tarichea, March 7th, 43 B. C. ]
L If you are well, that is good; I and my army are well. You must know that I have started for Syria to join the generals L. Murcus and Q. Crispus. When those gallant officers and admirable citizens heard what was going on in Rome, they handed their armies over to me, and are themselves administering the affairs of the State side by side with me, and with the utmost resolution. I beg to inform you also that the legion which Q. Caecilius Bassus had, has come over to me, and I beg to inform you that the four legions A. Allienus brought out of Egypt have been handed over by him to me.
2 For the present I do not suppose that you need any encouragement from me to defend us while we are away, and the Republic too, as far as in you lies. I should like you to be assured that neither you and your family, nor the Senate are without strong safeguards, so that you may defend the Republic in the best of hopes and with the highest spirit. What business remains will be transacted with you by L. Carteius, an intimate friend of mine. Farewell. Dated the 7th of March, from camp at Tarichea.
[12. 12] Cassius, proconsul, to M. Cicero
[Camp in Syria, May 7th, 43 B. C. ]
L If you are well, that is good; I and my army are well. I have read your letter, in which I recognise afresh your wonderful affection for me. For it seemed that you not only back me up - that you have always done, both for my sake, and the sake of the Republic - but also that you have shouldered a burden of anxiety, and feel seriously perturbed about me. And therefore, because in the first place I thought you were under the impression that, after the crushing of the constitution, I could never keep quiet, and secondly, because I thought you were anxious, both about my safety, and the ultimate issue of affairs, since you would naturally suspect me of taking drastic measures; for both these reasons then, as soon as I took over the legions A. Allienus had brought away from Egypt, I wrote to you, and sent quite a number of letter-carriers to Rome. I also wrote a despatch to the Senate, forbidding it to be delivered until it had been read out to you - if it happens that my people have been good enough to regard my wishes. But if no letter has reached you, I have no doubt that Dolabella, who, since his abominable murder of Trebonius, has overrun the Asian provinces, has arrested my letter-carriers and intercepted my despatch.
2 I hold all the troops that were in Syria. There has been some slight delay in the fulfilment of my promises to my men. Now at last my hands are free. I beg of you to regard my claim to honour as committed to your care, if you realise that there is no danger, no toil, I have refused to face for my country, if it was at your instance and with your encouragement that I took up arms against the most presumptuous brigands, if I have not only raised whole armies to defend the cause of the State and its liberty, but have even snatched it from the hands of the most bloodthirsty tyrants; for had Dolabella anticipated me in getting hold of them, his army, not only by its actual arrival, but by the mere hope and expectation of it, would have strengthened the hands of Antonius.
3 For these reasons I beg you to look after my men, if you are aware of their amazing services to the Republic, and so to manage matters that not one of them may regret having set the call of the Republic above the love of loot and rapine. Attend too, as far as you possibly can, to the claims of the commanders, Murcus and Crispus. As for Bassus, the poor fool would not hand his legion over to me. And had not his men broken his orders and sent me a deputation, he would have kept the gates of Apameia shut until I had stormed it. These requests I make of you not only in the name of the Republic, which has always been most precious to you, but also in that of our friendship, which I am sure counts for very much with you.
4 Take my word for it, these troops under my command are at the disposal of the Senate and all loyal citizens, and most of all at yours; for being constantly told of your sympathies makes them astonishingly fond of you, and you are their favourite; and if once they grasp the fact that you have their interests at heart, they will feel that there is nothing they do not owe you.
5 Since writing this letter I have been told that Dolabella and his forces have arrived in Cilicia. Cilicia will be my objective. I shall do my utmost to let you have early news of what I have been able to do. And may I express a hope that our luck may be in proportion to our public deserts? Mind you keep your health and your affection for me. In camp, May 7th.
The following excerpt from a letter sent by a Roman commander with a similar name - C. Cassius Parmensis - shows that as he expected, Cassius was soon fighting against Dolabella. Dolabella was eventually defeated and committed suicide.
[12. 13] C. Cassius, quaestor, to M. Cicero
[Cyprus, June 13th, 43 B. C. ]
L . . . 4 Just as the people of Tarsus, our treacherous allies, did, so now the inhabitants of Laodiceia, who are even more foolish, have gone out of their way to send for Dolabella; and he, by recruiting a rabble of Greek soldiers out of both those states, has worked up the semblance of an army. He has pitched camp in front of the town of Laodiceia; he has pulled down part of the wall, and has linked his camp with the town. Our friend Cassius with ten legions, twenty auxiliary cohorts, and a cavalry force of 4000, has pitched camp twenty miles away at Paltus, and anticipates a bloodless victory, seeing that with Dolabella the price of wheat is already three tetradrachms [for a medimnus]. Unless he contrives to bring in supplies in the ships of the Laodiceians, he is doomed to die of hunger very soon; and to prevent Dolabella from importing will be an easy task for Cassius's fleet, quite a large one, under the command of Sextilius Rufus, and the three fleets Turullius, Patiscus, and myself have respectively brought here. I want you to have high hopes, and to rest assured that the difficulties of the State can speedily be solved on our side, as you have solved them at home. Farewell.
Dated June 13th. Crommyacris, in Cyprus.
Antonius received a great boost to his forces at the end of May, when he was joined by M. Lepidus, the governor of Narbonese Gaul.
[12. 8] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, shortly after June 8th, 43 B. C. ]
L The scandalous conduct of your relative Lepidus and his amazing fickleness and inconstancy I imagine you have already learnt from the daily gazette which I am assured is being sent to you. So now, when the war, as we imagined, had been finished, we are waging a resuscitated war, and we have no other hope than in D. Brutus and Plancus; indeed, if you want the exact truth, than in you and my friend M. Brutus, not only to serve as our immediate refuge, should anything untoward occur (which I should deplore), but also to set on a firm basis a freedom that will last for ever.
2 We are having satisfactory news here about Dolabella, but we have nobody definitely to vouch for it. As for you, I would have you know that you are a great man here, not only in men's present estimation, but also in their anticipations of your future. With this before your eyes, see to it that your aims are of the highest. There is no success so great that the people of Rome do not deem you capable of achieving, yes, and of maintaining.
[12. 9] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, middle of June, 43 B. C. ]
L The shortness of your letters makes me too write shorter ones; and, to tell you the truth, I have no clear conception as to what I am to write. Our affairs, as I am well aware, are duly reported to you in the daily gazette, while we know nothing of yours. Just as though Asia were under a blockade, nothing reaches us except rumours about the crushing of Dolabella, which are certainly quite consistent, but lack authority.
2 We imagined that the war was finished, but all of a sudden we have been thrown into an agony of anxiety by your friend Lepidus. You must, therefore, convince yourself that the best hope of the Republic lies in you and your forces. Our armies of course we can trust; but though everything should go on happily (and I hope everything will), even so it is of great importance that you should come here. There are but faint hopes of a free constitution (I shrink from saying there are none), but whatever they are, they are bound, as by betrothal, to the year of your consulship.
[12. 10] Cicero to Cassius
[Rome, early in July, 43 B. C. ]
L On the 30th of June your relative, and my once friend, Lepidus, was declared a public enemy by an unanimous vote of the Senate, as were also all the others who joined him in deserting the Republic; the latter, however, have been given the opportunity of returning to their senses before the 1st of September. The Senate is full of courage, but it is mainly based on the expectation of your support. As I write these words, thanks to the villainy and shiftiness of Lepidus, the war is really serious. The daily news about Dolabella is all we could desire; but it is still without a definite source, unconfirmed, and voiced only by rumour.
2 But, notwithstanding all that, your despatch, sent from your camp on the 7th of May, had the effect upon the State of making everybody believe that he had already been crushed, and that you were coming to Italy with your army; so that, if all were accomplished to our satisfaction, we should have your counsel and influence, but if, as so often happens in war, some slip should by any chance occur, we should have your army, to fall back upon. And, speaking of the army, I shall make all honourable provision for it within my power, but it will be time enough for that when we begin to get some idea of the amount of help it will give to the Republic, or how much it has already given. For so far we hear of nothing but attempts - noble and splendid enough I grant you - but what we are waiting for is achievement; and that I am confident has either come to pass in good measure already, or will in the near future.
3 Nothing can be more noble than your courage and greatness of spirit. So naturally we hope to see you in Italy as soon as possible. If we have both of you, we shall think we have the Republic here too. We would have won a glorious victory, if Antonius, stripped and unarmed and a fugitive as he was, had not been given refuge by Lepidus. It follows that never was Antonius so detested by the State as Lepidus now is. For the former applied the torch of war to universal public disorder, the latter to peace and victory. To oppose him we have the consuls-designate, and we have strong hopes of them, it is true; but there is the anxiety of doubt, owing to the uncertainty of issues on the field of battle.
4 Be absolutely assured, therefore, that all depends upon you and your friend Brutus, that you are both expected - Brutus indeed at any moment. But if our enemies are defeated (and I hope so) before you arrive, even so your influence will help the Republic to lift up her head, and be established on some tolerably firm basis. For the ills to be remedied are very many, even though it may appear that the Republic has been safely delivered from the villainy of its enemies.
Five months after this letter was written, Cicero was killed by the soldiers of Antonius. Cassius died the next year, in the first battle of Philippi.
