No More Learning

[2. 60] {2. 80M} L # At the beginning of spring in the same year, in Macedonia Gaius Curio set off into Dardania with all his army, so that he could by all possible means collect the money which had been demanded by Appius.

[2. 69] {2. 87M} L # . . . to prepare everything for the attack. Then at a given signal, towards the end of the second watch, they went into battle on every side at once. At first, the fighting took place in great confusion as they hurled weapons haphazardly through the darkness of the night. Later, when the Romans deliberately did not respond with either weapons or shouting, the enemy believed that they either were overcome with fright or had abandoned the fortifications, and the swiftest of them eagerly rushed into the ditches and then up the rampart. But then at last the Romans threw down stones, javelins and stakes at them from above, and drove back many of them as they almost reached the top, by blows at close range or any other means. Overcome by this sudden menace, some of them were struck down on the earthworks, while others fell on their own weapons. The ditches were half filled by the large number who were killed, but the rest escaped safely because it was difficult to pursue them by night and the Romans were afraid of ambushes. After a few days, they were forced to surrender because of lack of water. The town was burnt down and the inhabitants were sold into slavery. From dread of a similar fate, envoys soon arrived from Isaura Nova to seek peace; they promised to give hostages and to obey all commands. Servilius was aware of the ferocity of the enemy, and that they had been brought to seek peace by this sudden terror, not because they were weary of war. To prevent them changing their mind about sending [hostages], he advanced to their walls as quickly as possible with all his forces. Meanwhile he gave a conciliatory reply to their envoys and said that the surrender could be arranged more easily when everyone was present. Besides, he restrained his soldiers from plundering the countryside, or inflicting any kind of damage. The townsfolk willingly provided him with corn and other provisions; and to avoid suspicion, he placed his camp on open ground. Then after they had handed over a hundred hostages, according to his instructions, he demanded all the deserters, weapons and military engines. At this, the young men, at first following a set plan but then wherever they happened to be, staged noisy protests throughout the city, proclaiming that they would never hand over their weapons and allies, while there was still breath in their bodies. Those who were past the age for fighting, and who had much previous experience of the power of the Romans, longed for peace; but they remembered their own crimes, and feared that if they gave up their weapons, they would soon suffer the ultimate punishment as a result of their defeat. In this confusion, while they were all debating together anxiously, Servilius decided that the surrender would never happen, unless it was prompted by fear. Without warning, he occupied the sacred mountain of the Great Mother, from where missiles could be hurled towards the top of the town. The goddess, after whom the mountain was named, was believed to dine there on certain days; noises were heard . . .

[2. 75] {2. 92M} L [Their mothers] used to remind the men of their parents' warlike achievements, whenever they went out to war or on raids, and they celebrated their ancestors' brave deeds. When it became known that Pompeius was approaching with a hostile army, the elders persuaded them to accept peace and to obey the commands [of the Romans]. The women, unable to dissuade them, separated from their husbands and seized a very secure stronghold near (? ) Meoriga. They declared that the men had yielded their country, their child-bearers and their freedom; and so the wives were leaving breast-feeding, childbirth and the other roles of women to their husbands. Stung by these [taunts], the young men ignored the decrees of their elders . . .

[2. 76] {2. 93M} L [The townsfolk promised . . . ] that if they were spared a siege, they would in a few days' time agree to enter into an alliance; previously they had hesitated whether to join him or Pompeius, because of the fluctuating peace. Then the Roman army went off into the territory of the Vascones to gather food, and Sertorius also moved his position, because it was of great importance for him to retain easy access to [Gaul] and Asia. The nearby towns of the Mutuderei and the (? ) Neores did not assist either side with provisions, and they both suffered from lack of food. Then Pompeius [advanced] with his army in a square formation . . .

[2. 82] {2. 98M} L { The letter of Pompeius to the senate } # If I had been warring against you, against my country, and against my fathers' gods, when I endured such hardship and dangers as those amid which from my early youth the armies under my command have routed the most criminal of your enemies and insured your safety; even then, Fathers of the Senate, you could have done no more against me in my absence than you are now doing. For after having exposed me, in spite of my youth, to a most cruel war, you have, so far as in you lay, destroyed me and a faithful army by starvation, the most wretched of all deaths. 2 Was it with such expectations that the Roman people sent its sons to war? Are these the rewards for wounds and for so often shedding our blood for our country? Wearied with writing letters and sending envoys, I have exhausted my personal resources and even my expectations, and in the meantime for three years you have barely given me the means of meeting a year's expenses. 3 By the immortal gods! do you think that I can play the part of a treasury or maintain an army without food or pay?

4 I admit that I entered upon this war with more zeal than discretion; for within forty days of the time when I received from you the empty title of commander I had raised and equipped an army and driven the enemy, who were already at the throat of Italy, from the Alps into Spain; # and over those mountains I had opened for you another and more convenient route than Hannibal had taken. 5 I recovered Gaul, the Pyrenees, Lacetania, and the Indigetes; with raw soldiers and far inferior numbers I withstood the first onslaught of triumphant Sertorius; and I spent the winter in camp amid the most savage of foes, not in the towns or in adding to my own popularity.

6 Why need I enumerate our battles or our winter campaigns, the towns which we destroyed or captured? Actions speak louder than words. # The taking of the enemy's camp at Sucro, # the battle at the river Turia, and the destruction of Gaius Herennius, leader of the enemy, together with his army and the city of Valentia, are well enough known to you. In return for these, grateful fathers, you give me want and hunger. Thus the condition of my army and of that of the enemy is the same; 7 for neither is paid and either can march victorious into Italy. 8 Of this situation I warn you and I beg you to give it your attention; do not force me to provide for my necessities on my own responsibility. 9 Nearer Spain, so far as it is not in the possession of the enemy, either we or Sertorius have devastated to the point of ruin, except for the coast towns, so that it is actually an expense and a burden to us. Gaul last year supplied the army of Metellus with pay and provisions, but can now scarcely keep itself alive because of a failure of the crops; I myself have exhausted not only my means, but even my credit. 10 You are our only resource; unless you come to our rescue, against my will, but not without warning from me, our army will pass over into Italy, bringing with it all the war in Spain.

# This letter was read in the senate at the beginning of the following year. But the consuls distributed the provinces which had been decreed by the senate, Cotta taking Hither Gaul and Octavius taking Cilicia. Then the next consuls, Lucius Lucullus and Marcus Cotta {74 B. C. }, who were greatly agitated by Pompeius' letters and messages, both because of the interests of the state and because they feared that, if he led his army into Italy, they would have neither glory nor position, used every means to provide him with money and reinforcements. And they were aided especially by the nobles, the greater number of whom were already giving expression to their confidence and adapting their conduct to their words.

BOOK 3

[3. 6] {3. 5M} L # Antonius was having difficulty in driving the [Ligurian] forces away from the [ships], because weapons could be thrown through the narrow entrance; and Mamercus could not safely pursue the enemy [ships], who were on the right of the allied fleet, in the open sea during the summer calm. After a few days had already been spent inconclusively, the Ligurian forces [withdrew] into the Alps. The Terentuni were summoned, and they discussed whether to advance against Sertorius. When Antonius and the others agreed to this, they hurried to Spain with their ships. After they arrived in the territory of the Aresinarii with the entire fleet of warships, which had either been repaired or had not [been damaged in the storms] . . .

[3. 7] {3. 6M} L [Antonius] was [separated from] the enemy by the [very deep] river Dilunus, which even a small force of the enemy could prevent him from crossing. After pretending to cross the river at other places not far away, he summoned some ships and quickly constructed some rafts, on which he carried his army across. Then he sent ahead his legate Manius with the cavalry and some of the warships, and advanced to the island [(? ) of Emporiae. He hoped] that by this unexpected threat he could recover a city which was suitable for transporting supplies from Italy. But the inhabitants, trusting in [the strength of] the site, made no change from their original intentions. Their hill was surrounded by sea on both sides and to the rear, and [in addition] the front was narrow with a sandy approach; and they [had fortified it] with a double wall.

[3. 23] {3. 37M} L # He put two very large inflated skins under a light piece of wood, and then lay on top of them, keeping his whole body still except that occasionally he paddled with his feet, like a steersman. In this way, he avoided the enemy fleet while crossing over the sea between the mole and the island, and reached the town {of Cyzicus}.

[3. 34] {3. 48M} { The speech of the tribune Macer: } L # If you did not realize, fellow citizens, what a difference there is between the rights left you by your forefathers and this slavery imposed upon you by Sulla, I should be obliged to make a long speech and to inform you because of what wrongs, and how often, the plebeians took up arms and seceded from the patricians; and how they won the tribunes of the commons as the defenders of their rights. 2 But as it is, I have only to encourage you and to precede you on the road which, in my opinion, leads to the recovery of your liberties. 3 I am not unaware how great is the power of the nobles, whom I alone, powerless, am trying to drive from their tyranny by the empty semblance of a magistracy; and I know how much more secure a faction of wicked men is than any upright man alone. 4 But in addition to the fair hopes which you have inspired and which have dispelled my fear, I have decided that defeat in a struggle for liberty is for a brave man better than never to have struggled at all.

5 And yet all the others who were elected to maintain your rights have been led by personal interest, by hope, or by bribery to turn all their power and authority against you; and they consider it better to do wrong for hire than to do right without recompense. 6 Therefore they have now, one and all, submitted to the mastery of a few men, who, under the pretext of carrying on a war, have taken possession of the treasury, the armies, the kingdoms and the provinces. These men have made themselves a stronghold from your spoils, while in the meantime you, like so may cattle, yield yourselves, a multitude, to single owners for use and enjoyment; and that, too, after being stripped of every privilege which your forefathers left you, save that by your ballots you may yourselves choose, as once your defenders, so now your masters.

7 Therefore all men have now gone over to their side, but presently, if you regain what is yours, most of them will return to you, since few have courage to defend their independence, the rest belong to the stronger. 8 Can you fear that anything will be able to resist you, if you advance with a united purpose, when they have feared you even in your weakness and indifference? # Unless perhaps it was from another motive than fear that Gaius Cotta, a consul chosen from the heart of the aristocratic party, restored some of their rights to the people's tribunes. # In fact, although Lucius Sicinius, who was the first to dare to speak about the tribunician power, was cut off while you only murmured, yet his slayers feared your displeasure even before you resented the wrongs done against you. At that patience of yours, citizens, I cannot sufficiently marvel; for you knew that your hopes had often been disappointed. 9 On the death of Sulla, who had imposed this infamous slavery upon you, you believed that your troubles were ended; up rose Catulus, a tyrant far crueller than Sulla. 10 There was an outbreak in the consulship of Brutus and Mamercus {77 B. C. }, and after it Gaius Curio was long enough your master to cause the death of a guiltless tribune {Sicinius}.

11 # You saw with what passion Lucullus last year assailed Lucius Quintius; what tempests are now roused against me! But these acts they certainly committed in vain, if it was their intention to put an end to their mastery before you did to your slavery; especially since in these civil dissensions, although other motives were alleged, the real object of the contest on both sides was to determine who should be your masters. 12 Therefore the other struggles, inspired as they were by licence, by hatred, or by avarice, blazed up for a time only; one issue only has persisted, which has been the aim of both sides and has been taken away from you for the future: the tribunician power, a weapon given to you by your ancestors, with which to defend your liberties. 13 Of this fact I warn you and I beg you to bear it in mind; do not change the names of things to suit your own cowardice and give to slavery the title of peace. Even peace you will not be allowed to enjoy, if wickedness triumph over right and honour; you might have done so, if you had never roused yourselves. As it is, they are on their guard, and if you do not gain the victory, they will hold you in tighter bonds, since the greater the injustice, the greater its safety.

14 What then do you advise? some one of you will say. First of all, you must give up this habit which you have, you men of active tongues but of weak spirit, not to retain the thought of liberty outside of the place of assembly. 15 Then (not to attempt to urge you to those manly deeds by which your ancestors gained their tribunes of the commons, a magistracy previously patrician, and a suffrage independent of the sanction of the patricians) since all the power is in your hands, citizens, and since you undoubtedly can execute or fail to execute on your own account the orders to which you now submit for the profit of others, I would ask you whether you are waiting for the advice of Jupiter or some other one of the gods. 16 That supreme power of the consuls, and those potent decrees of the senate, you yourselves ratify, citizens, by executing them; and you hasten voluntarily to increase and strengthen their despotism over you. 17 I do not urge you to avenge your wrongs, but rather to seek quiet; and it is not because I desire discord, as they charge, but because I wish to put an end to it, that I demand restitution according to the law of nations. If they persist in refusing this, I do not advise war or secession, but merely that you should refuse any longer to shed your blood for them. 18 Let them hold their offices and administer them in their own way, let them seek triumphs, let them lead their ancestral portraits, against Mithridates, Sertorius, and what is left of the exiles, but let those who have no share in the profits be free also from dangers and toil.

19 # But perhaps your services have been paid for by that hastily enacted law for the distribution of grain, a law by which they have valued all your liberties at five modii per man, an allowance actually not much greater than the rations of a prison. For just as in the case of prisoners that scanty supply keeps off death, but yet their strength wanes, so this small amount relieves you of no financial care and disappoints the slenderest hopes of the idle. 20 But even if the allowance were a great one, what lethargy it would show, since it was offered as the price of your slavery, to be deceived by it and actually to owe gratitude to your oppressors for your own property. 21 You must guard against craft; for by no other means can they prevail against the people as a whole, and in that way only will they attempt to do so. It is for this reason that they are making plans to soothe you and at the same time to put you off until the coming of Gnaeus Pompeius, the very man whom they bore upon their necks when they feared him, but presently, their fear dispelled, they tear to pieces. 22 Nor are these self-styled defenders of liberty, many as they are, ashamed to need one man before they dare to right a wrong or to defend a right. 23 For my own part I am fully convinced that Pompeius, a young man of such renown, prefers to be the leading man of the state with your consent, rather than to share in their mastery, and that he will join you and lead you in restoring the power of the tribunes.

24 There was once a time, fellow countrymen, when each of you citizens found protection in the many and not the community in one man, and when no single mortal was able to give or to take away such things from you. 25 I have therefore said enough; for it is not through ignorance that the matter halts, 26 but a kind of lethargy has laid hold upon you, because of which neither glory nor disgrace moves you. You have given up everything in exchange for your present slothfulness, thinking that you have ample freedom because your backs are spared, and because you are allowed to go hither and thither by the grace of your rich masters. 27 Yet even these privileges are denied to the country people, who are cut down in the quarrels of the great, and sent to the provinces as gifts to the magistrates. Thus they fight and conquer for the benefit of a few, but whatever happens, the commons are treated as vanquished; and this will be more so every day, so long as your oppressors make greater efforts to retain their mastery than you do to regain your freedom.

[3. 64] {3. 96M} L # They hardened their spears with fire which, apart from the appearance which is necessary for war, could do almost as much harm as iron. But, while the fugitive slaves were engaged in these activities, some of the Roman soldiers were ill from the oppressive autumn climate; none had come back from the previous rout, even though they had been sternly ordered to return; and those who remained were shamelessly avoiding their military duties. Varinius sent his quaestor C. Thoranius to Rome, so that they could easily learn the real state of affairs from him there. Meanwhile he took those soldiers who were willing to follow him, four thousand in number, and encamped near the slaves, surrounding his camp with a rampart, ditch and huge fortifications. The slaves had used up all their provisions, and wanted to avoid attack from the nearby enemy while they were foraging. They used to keep watches and stand guard and carry out the other duties of regular soldiers. About the second watch of the night they all went out of their camp in silence, leaving behind one trumpeter. To give the appearance of guards to anyone in the distance, they propped up the bodies of men who had recently been killed on stakes outside the gate, and lit many fires, which would be enough to frighten off Varinius' soldiers . . . their journey . . . [ 4 lines missing ] . . . they turned onto an impassable route. But Varinius, when it was now fully light, noticed the absence of the slaves' usual taunts, of the showers of stones thrown into the camp, and of the shouts and din of men [rushing all around]. He sent his cavalry up [a hill which rose] nearby, to seek out and quickly [pursue the enemy]. He himself, although he believed that [the slaves had gone] far away, was still afraid [of an ambush], and [withdrew in a secure] formation, in order to double his army [with new recruits]. But . . . Cumae . . . [ 5 lines missing ] . . . # [After] a few days, our men became more confident than usual and there was some swaggering talk. This prompted Varinius to move rashly against a known danger with soldiers who were new, untried, and daunted by the disasters which the others had suffered. He led them at full speed against the slaves' camp, but now they were quiet and did not enter battle as boastfully as they had previously demanded it. But [the slaves] were almost at blows with each other, because they could not agree on a plan of action; Crixus and his fellow Gauls and Germans wanted to go out to confront [the Romans] and offer battle, while Spartacus [argued against attacking them].

[3. 66] {3. 98M} L # . . . [that they should] not, [wandering around] in the way that they were at that time . . . and then they would be cut off [during their journey] and wiped out . . . and at the same time the concern . . . and so they should [leave as quickly as possible]. A few sensible men, with [free and] noble minds, [approved of the plan] that they should escape in this way . . . and praised [what he directed them to do].
But some of [the slaves] stupidly trusted in the forces which were coming to join them and in their own fierce courage; others [dishonourably] neglected their country of origin; and most, with [the true character] of slaves, [sought nothing] but plundering and savagery . . . [ 2 lines missing ] . . . seemed to be the best plan. Then he advised them to go off into more open countryside, richer in cattle, where they could increase their numbers with picked men, before Varinius returned with a new army. He soon found a suitable guide, one of the prisoners from Picentia, and then he went over the Eburine heights to Nares Lucanae, from where he advanced at dawn to Forum Anni, before the inhabitants realised. Immediately the slaves, contrary to the orders of their leader, turned to raping the young girls and mothers, and others . . . [ 2 lines missing ] . . . now and tormented those who remained in a shocking way with horrible wounds, and sometimes left their mutilated bodies still half alive. Others set fire to the buildings, and many of the slaves from the district, whose character inclined them to be their allies, brought out the possessions which their masters had hidden, or dragged out their masters themselves. Nothing was sacred or inviolable to these men, who had the savagery of barbarians and the temperament of slaves. Since Spartacus could not stop these [outrages], he earnestly begged them to forestall the news of what they had done, and quickly . . . [ 3 lines missing ] . . . that they would [earn the hatred of the inhabitants], who had been cruelly attacked [and slaughtered] . . . heavy mostly . . . after staying there for that day [and the following] night, with the number of [slaves in his army] now doubled, he [moved camp] at first light and [halted] in a fairly wide plain, [where he saw] that the farmers had come out of their buildings. By that time, the autumn crops were already ripe [in the fields]. But when it was already fully daytime, the residents learnt from their [fleeing] neighbours that the slaves were heading [in their direction], and [hurried away to the nearby mountains] with all [their families].

[3. 79] {3. 83M} L # And so they reclined to eat. Sertorius was lower down, on the middle couch. Above him was L. Fabius Hispaniensis, a senator who had been proscribed. On the top couch was Antonius, and Versius, the secetary of Sertorius, was below him. Maecenas, the other secretary, was on the bottom couch, in between Tarquitius and Perperna, who was the host.

[3. 84] {3. 88M} L From his earliest youth, Pompeius had been persuaded by the flattery of his supporters to believe that he was the equal of king Alexander. Therefore he tried to rival Alexander's achievements and plans.

[3. 90] {3. 106M} L # And at the same time Lentulus [(? ) abandoned] the elevated place which he had defended with a double battle-line, after his soldiers suffered many casualties. When military cloaks appeared out of the baggage, and select cohorts began to be recognised . . .

BOOK 4

[4. 1] {4. 1M} L # It is uncertain whether his colleague Cn. Lentulus, a patrician whose surname was Clodianus, was more stupid or arrogant. He proposed a law to reclaim the money, which Sulla had remitted to those who bought the possessions {of proscribed men}.

[4. 50] {4. 16M} L # There was almost equal haste and great terror within the town, because they were afraid that the new fortifications, which were built of brick, would be weakened by the damp. Every part of the town had been flooded, when the adverse swell of the sea had forced the drains to overflow.

[4. 60] {4. 59M} L # {Lucullus} proceeded by forced marches through the territory of king Ariobarzanes up to the river Euphrates, where it forms the border between Cappadocia and Armenia. And although he had some barges, which had been constructed secretly during the winter . . .

[4. 67] {4. 69M} { The letter of Mithridates to Arsaces: } L # King Mithridates, to King Arsaces, Greeting. All those who in the time of their prosperity are asked to form an offensive alliance ought to consider, first, whether it is possible for them to keep peace at that time; and secondly, whether what is asked of them is wholly right and safe, honourable or dishonourable. 2 If it were possible for you to enjoy lasting peace, if no treacherous foes were near your borders, if to crush the Roman power would not bring you glorious fame, I should not venture to sue for your alliance, and it would be vain for me to hope to unite my misfortunes with your prosperity. 3 But the considerations which might seem to give you pause, such as the anger against Tigranes inspired in you by the recent war, and my lack of success, if you but consent to regard them in the right light, will be special incentives. 4 For Tigranes is at your mercy and will accept an alliance on any terms which you may desire, while so far as I am concerned, although Fortune has deprived me of much, she has bestowed upon me the experience necessary for giving good advice; and since I am no longer at the height of my power, I shall serve as an example of how you may conduct your own affairs with more prudence, a lesson highly advantageous to the prosperous.

5 In fact, the Romans have one inveterate motive for making war upon all nations, peoples and kings; namely, a deep-seated desire for dominion and for riches. Therefore they first began a war with Philippus, king of Macedonia, having pretended to be his friends as long as they were hard pressed by the Carthaginians. 6 When Antiochus came to his aid, they craftily diverted him from his purpose by the surrender of Asia, and then, after Philippus' power had been broken, Antiochus was robbed of all the territory this side Taurus, and of ten thousand talents. 7 Next Perseus, the son of Philippus, after many battles with varying results, was formally taken under their protection before the gods of Samothrace; and then those masters of craft and artists in treachery caused his death from want of sleep, since they had made a compact not to kill him. 8 Eumenes, whose friendship they boastfully parade, they first betrayed to Antiochus as the price of peace; later, having made him the guardian of a captured territory, they transformed him by means of imposts and insults from a king into the most wretched of slaves. Then, having forged an unnatural will, they led his son Aristonicus in triumph like an enemy, because he had tried to recover his father's realm. 9 They took possession of Asia, and finally, on the death of Nicomedes, they seized upon all Bithynia, although Nysa, whom Nicomedes had called queen, unquestionably had a son.

10 Why should I mention my own case? Although I was separated from their empire on every side by kingdoms and tetrarchies, yet because it was reported that I was rich and that I would not be a slave, they provoked me to war through Nicomedes. And I was not unaware of their design, but I had previously given warning of what afterwards happened, both to the Cretans, who alone retained their freedom at that time, and to king Ptolemy. 11 But I took vengeance for the wrongs inflicted upon me; I drove Nicomedes from Bithynia, recovered Asia, the spoil taken from king Antiochus, and delivered Greece from cruel servitude. 12 Further progress was frustrated by Archelaus, basest of slaves, who betrayed my army; and those whom cowardice or misplaced cunning kept from taking up arms, since they hoped to find safety in my misfortunes, are suffering most cruel punishment. For Ptolemy is averting hostilities from day to day by the payment of money, while the Cretans have already been attacked once and will find no respite from war until they are destroyed. 13 As for me, I soon learned that the peace afforded by civil dissensions at Rome was really only a postponement of the struggle, and although Tigranes refused to join with me (he now admits the truth of my prediction when it is too late), though you were far away, and all the rest had submitted, I nevertheless renewed the war and routed Marcus Cotta, the Roman general, on land at Chalcedon, while on the sea I stripped him of a fine fleet. 14 During the delay caused by my siege of Cyzicus with a great army provisions failed me, since no one in the neighbourhood rendered me aid and at the same time winter kept me off the sea. When I, therefore, without compulsion from the enemy, attempted to return into my kingdom, I lost the best of my soldiers and my fleets by shipwrecks at Parium and at Heracleia. 15 Then when I had raised a new army at Cabeira and engaged with Lucullus with varying success, scarcity once more attacked us both. He had at his command the kingdom of Ariobarzanes, unravaged by war, while I, since all the country about me had been devastated, withdrew into Armenia. Thereupon the Romans followed me, or rather followed their custom of overthrowing all monarchies, and because they were able to keep from action a huge force hemmed in by narrow defiles, boasted of the results of Tigranes' imprudence as if they had won a victory.

16 I pray you, then, to consider whether you believe that when we have been crushed you will be better able to resist the Romans, or that there will be an end to the war. I know well that you have great numbers of men and large amounts of arms and gold, and it is for that reason that I seek your alliance and the Romans your spoils. Yet my advice is, while the kingdom of Tigranes is entire, and while I still have soldiers who have been trained in warfare with the Romans, to finish far from your homes and with little labour, at the expense of our bodies, a war in which we cannot conquer or be conquered without danger to you. 17 Do you not know that the Romans turned their arms in this direction only after Ocean had blocked their westward progress? That they have possessed nothing since the beginning of their existence except what they have stolen: their home, their wives, their lands, their empire? Once vagabonds without fatherland, without parents, created to be the scourge of the whole world, no laws, human or divine, prevent them from seizing and destroying allies and friends, those near them and those afar off, weak or powerful, and from considering every government which does not serve them, especially monarchies, as their enemies.

18 Of a truth, few men desire freedom, the greater part are content with just masters; we are suspected of being rivals of the Romans and future avengers. 19 But you, who possess Seleuceia, greatest of cities, and the realm of Persis famed for its riches, what can you expect from them other than guile in the present and war in the future? 20 The Romans have weapons against all men, the sharpest where victory yields the greatest spoils; it is by audacity, by deceit, and by joining war to war that they have grown great. 21 Following their usual custom, they will destroy everything or perish in the attempt . . . and this is not difficult if you on the side of Mesopotamia and we on that of Armenia surround their army, which is without supplies and without allies, and has been saved so far only by its good fortune or by our own errors. 22 You will gain the glory of having rendered aid to great kings and of having crushed the plunderers of all the nations. 23 This is my advice and this course I urge you to follow; do not prefer by our ruin to put off your own for a time rather than by our alliance to conquer.

FRAGMENTS OF UNCERTAIN REFERENCE

[X. 12] L He was full of anger and grief at the loss of such allies. The armed men rushed out of the ships in skiffs or by swimming, and some of them were carried by their boats onto the shore, which was full of sea-weed. The enemy, a cowardly race of poorly-armed Greeks and Africans, did not resist them any further. Then, after burying their allies as well as they could and carrying off anything of use which was nearby, they went off to Spain, because there was no chance of achieving their current objective.

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Scholia Bobiensia, a commentary on the speeches of Cicero

The Scholia Bobiensia is an anonymous ancient commentary on the speeches of Cicero. It has been preserved on a palimpsest that was written at the famous monastery of Bobbio. Only a fraction of the commentary has survived, and like most palimpsests, there are frequent gaps in the text. Some of the gaps are there because the commentator was fond of quoting technical terms in Greek, which puzzled the Latin-speaking scribe. However, the commentary is valuable because it has preserved fragments of three speeches, which otherwise have been lost. The complete Latin text of the Scholia is available on this site.

Excerpts from the Scholia are translated here, including all the surviving introductions to the speeches. The numbers in red are the page numbers from the edition by T. Stangl (1912). Quotations from Cicero are in italics, and Greek phrases are shown in dark red. See key to translations for an explanation of the format of the translation.

Contents:
In defence of Sulla
Against P. Clodius and Curio
About the king of Alexandria
In defence of Flaccus
When he gave thanks to the senate
When he gave thanks to the people
In defence of Milo
In defence of Sestius
In defence of Plancius
About the debts of Milo
In defence of Archias

IN DEFENCE OF SULLA

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[78] {Sull_17} L On the contrary, this man was so inactive that he spent the whole time at Neapolis.
It might have appeared that P. Sulla withdrew from everyone's sight and left the city of Rome, because he acknowledged his guilt after his wrongdoing had been detected. Therefore the orator changes it into a proof of {Sulla's} sense of honour, by saying that he wanted to be out of the sight of his fellow-citizens, because he was ashamed that in any part of his life his honour should be stained and his dignity should be impaired. It does not worry us that Cicero speaks about Sulla, as if he was free to remain at Rome even after being convicted of bribery; because he was allowed to do so by the Lex Calpurnia. In earlier times, men who were convicted of this crime under the Lex Cornelia were punished by a ban on holding magistracies for ten years. Somewhat later, the Lex Calpurnia imposed a stricter punishment, of a fine and life-time ban from holding office; [79] L but those who were convicted were still allowed to remain at Rome. Later again, after the conviction of Sulla and Autronius, the consuls C. Antonius and Cicero introduced an even stricter punishment for bribery, that on top of the penalties stipulated by previous laws, {those who were convicted} should be sent into exile.

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[80] {Sull_23} L M. Cato the censor and Tiberius Coruncanius came from the town of Tusculum; also Manius Curius, who triumphed over the Samnites, seems to have been born in the Sabine region. While he was sitting there by his stove, [81] L he rejected the gold, which the enemy offered to him. He said that it was his particular desire, not that he should have abundant riches, but that he should rule over his wealthy enemies.

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[81] {Sull_26} L The orator launches into this topic wonderfully, as he stresses his own good repute and the many benefits he has conferred on the state, saying that after enduring so many dangers he could have honourably withdrawn from all toils, but his spirit was so devoted to his country that he could never grow old in idleness. And here, in my opinion, he has imitated C. Gracchus; for Gracchus said about the laws that he proposed, to quote his own words: "I was born into a distinguished family, but I lost my brother on your account, and now no-one survives from the family of P. Africanus and Ti. Gracchus except myself and my son. Therefore, if I spoke to you and asked you to permit me to take a rest for the time being, so that our family would not be utterly destroyed and at least some offspring of our family would survive, perhaps you would willingly allow me to do so. "

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AGAINST P. CLODIUS [AND CURIO]

[85] L The Greeks call [this kind of speech praising and blaming], because it consists mainly of praise and censure. Cicero is not accusing C. Curio or P. Clodius of a crime, but because they had been involved in an ill-tempered dispute in the senate, Cicero decided to write this speech. It is clearly full of sarcasm and wit, by which he defames their characters and condemns their vices in the strongest possible terms.

The beginning of this dispute is said to have arisen from the trial of P. Clodius. Clodius was accused, with Pompeia the wife of C. Caesar, of committing sacrilege in the house of Caesar, who at that time was both pontifex maximus and praetor, during the religious rites of the Bona Dea, which are performed by the Vestal virgins and the the most respected matrons in secret, when no men are allowed to be present. Clodius escaped from the house, but the affair became very notorious and brought the religious rites into disrepute, so that the senate was forced to pass a decree, that the consuls should investigate most thoroughly, whether any offence had been committed against the religion of the state. And also C. Caesar, the pontifex maximus, seemed to have made a judgement on the affair, by divorcing his wife as a result of it. Afterwards, P. Clodius was brought to trial on a charge of sacrilege; he was accused by L. Lentulus and defended by C. Curio, the father. For at that time there were three men of the Curio family, who all achieved distinction, and they are still mentioned in {history} books. Curio, the grandfather, defended Servius Fulvius on a charge of sacrilege; this C. Curio, the father, defended P. Clodius; and thirdly Curio, the tribune of the plebs, died in the Pompeian civil war in Africa, when he was fighting on behalf of Caesar, but was cut down by the cavalry of king Juba. But that is enough about the Curio family.

There were many lengthy disputes before the trial took place, and a turbulent mob helped Clodius to resist coming to court, with violence and rioting. The instigator of this trouble was Q. Fufius Calenus, a tribune of the plebs, who is frequently mentioned by Cicero in his Philippic speeches. But almost the entire senate stood in defence of the sanctity of religion against the threat of sacrilege, and in the end a jury was chosen. At first, the jurors asked the senate for protection, so that they could safely pass judgement on Clodius, who was a very powerful man. But in fact many witnesses gave damaging evidence against Clodius, and among them was Cicero himself. When he was asked, he said that Clodius had come to greet him on the same day that Clodius maintained that he had been staying at Interamna, which is a distance of 90 miles away from Rome; and this was Clodius' alibi to prove that he could not have committed the crime of sacrilege in Rome.

At the end of the trial, Clodius was found guilty by 25 jurors; however, the vote turned out to be in his favour, because 31 of the jurors voted that he should be acquitted. From that time onwards, Clodius began to be a deadly enemy of Cicero; and during the same year, while he held the office [86] L of quaestor, he spoke against Cicero in many assemblies of the people. He even announced threateningly that he would seek to be transferred to a plebeian family, so that he could become tribune of the plebs. Cicero replied to these threats in this outspoken and vigorous speech [by disparaging the characters] of both Clodius and Curio.

Commentary

I decided, senators, not to say anything about Clodius, either amongst you or in any other place, for as long as he was under trial.
He seems to make [this introduction] as a sign of his dignity and moderation, but he bitterly insists that, although Clodius was acquitted, he really did commit sacrilege. By stating that he gently and patiently showed forbearance to P. Clodius while Clodius was under trial, he undoubtedly confirms the reliability of his own evidence, and shows that everything he said about him was true, because he refused to criticise him during the time of the trial.

And he alleged in crazy harangues.
He deliberately and pointedly calls Clodius crazy, in order to increase the suspicion that Clodius committed sacrilege, because he was deranged by nature.

He denounced both me and the republic.
This enhances Cicero's reputation and strongly condemns Clodius. It increases Cicero's glory, because he cannot be separated from the republic; and it adds to the infamy of Clodius, because by becoming an enemy of Cicero he has become an enemy of the state.

That I was doing nothing to increase the other's risk.
He ensures that he is not considered to have lied, when he gave evidence.

But if they decided that no man appeared to have gone, where he went.
There is a depth of bitterness in this phrase, in which he censures the shameless character of P. Clodius. By saying that "no man appeared to have gone, where he went", he suggests that the jurors who acquitted him with their votes meant to say, not that the charge of sacrilege could not be proved, but that they did not consider Clodius to be a man.

So that he escaped naked from the trial, as if from a shipwreck.
In this passage he denounces the disgraceful behaviour of the jurors, who acquitted {Clodius} with their votes. According to some, they received {a bribe} of 300,000 {sestertii}; according to others, it was 400,000 {sestertii}.

That we promise him a special {command} in Syria.
[87] L As we said in the introduction, at that time Clodius was quaestor. Therefore he says that Clodius, giving way to greed, intended to take for himself the wealthiest provinces, as if he could obtain from the senate {a country} that he hoped to ransack.