BOOK II
CHAPTER I
The Conspiracy of Catiline -- Discovered by Cicero -- The Conspirators
arrested, and put to Death--Battle of Pistoria and Death of Catiline
AFTER the reign of Sulla, and the later operations of
Sertorius and Perpenna in Spain,
other internal commotions of a similar nature took place among the Romans
until Gaius Cæsar and Pompey the Great waged war against each
other, and Cæsar made an end of Pompey and was himself killed in
the senate-chamber because he was accused of exercising royal power. How
these things came about and how both Pompey and Cæsar lost their
lives, this second book of the Civil Wars will show. Pompey had
lately cleared the
sea of pirates, who were then more numerous
than ever before,
and afterward had overthrown Mithridates, king of Pontus, and regulated his
kingdom and the other nations that he had subdued in the East.
Cæsar was still a young man, but powerful in speech and action,
daring in every way, ambitious of everything, and profuse beyond his means
in the pursuit of honors. While yet ædile and prætor he
had incurred great debts and had made himself wonderfully agreeable to the
multitude, who always sing the praises of those who are lavish in
expenditures.
[
2]
At this time Lucius Catiline
1 was a person of importance, of great celebrity, and
high birth, but a madman. It was believed that he had killed his own son
because of his own love for Aurelia Orestilla, who was not willing to marry
a man who had a son. He had been a friend and zealous partisan of Sulla. He
had reduced himself to
CICERO
In the Museum at Madrid (Bernoulli)
facts were not yet publicly known, was nevertheless fearful
lest suspicion should increase with time. Trusting to
rapidity of movement he forwarded money to Fæsulæ and
directed his fellow-conspirators to kill Cicero and set the city on fire at
a number of different places the same night. Then he departed to join Gaius
Manlius, intending to collect additional forces and invade the city while
burning. So extremely vain was he that he had the rods and axes borne before
him as though he were a proconsul, and he proceeded on his journey to
Manlius, enlisting soldiers as he went. Lentulus and his fellow-conspirators
decided that when they should learn that Catiline had arrived at
Fæsulæ, Lentulus and Cethegus should present themselves
at Cicero's door early in the morning with concealed daggers, expecting to
be admitted because of their rank; enter into conversation with him in the
vestibule on some subject, no matter what; draw him away from his own
people, and kill him; that Lucius Bestia, the tribune, should at once call
an assembly of the people by heralds and accuse Cicero of timidity and of
stirring up war and disturbing the city without cause, and that on the night
following Bestia's speech the city should be set on fire by others in twelve
places and plundered, and the leading citizens killed.
[
4]
Such were the designs of Lentulus, Cethegus, Statilius, and Cassius, the
chiefs of the conspiracy, and they waited for the appointed time. Meanwhile
ambassadors of the Allobroges, who were in the city making complaint against
their magistrates, were solicited to join the conspiracy of Lentulus in
order to cause an uprising against the Romans in Gaul. Lentulus sent in
company with them, to Catiline, a man of Croton named Vulturcius, who
carried letters without signatures. The Allobroges being in doubt
communicated the matter to Fabius Sanga, the patron of their state--it was
the custom of all the subject states to have patrons at Rome. Sanga
communicated the facts to Cicero, who captured the Allobroges and Vulturcius
on their journey and brought them straightway before the Senate.
2 They confessed to their
understanding with Lentulus and testified in his presence that Cornelius
Lentulus had often said that it was written in the book of fate that three
Cornelii should be monarchs of Rome, two of whom, Cinna and Sulla, had
already been such.
[
5]
When they had so testified the Senate deprived Lentulus of his office. Cicero
put each of the conspirators under arrest at the houses of the
prætors, and returned directly to take the vote of the Senate
concerning them. In the meantime there was a great tumult around the
senate-house, the affair being as yet little understood, and those who did
understand it being alarmed. The slaves and freedmen of Lentulus and
Cethegus, reënforced by numerous artisans, made a circuit by back
streets and assaulted the houses of the prætors in order to rescue
their masters. When Cicero heard of this he hurried out of the senate-house
and stationed the necessary guards and then came back and hastened the
taking of the vote. Silanus, the consul-elect, spoke first, as it was the
custom among the Romans for the one who was about to assume that office to
deliver his opinion first, because, as I think, he would have most to do
with the execution of the decrees, and hence would give more careful
consideration and circumspection to each. It was the opinion of Silanus that
the culprits should suffer the extreme penalty, and many senators agreed
with him until it came Nero's turn to deliver his opinion. Nero judged that
it would be best to keep them under guard until Catiline should be beaten in
the field and they could obtain the most accurate knowledge of the facts.
[
6]
Gaius Cæsar was not free from the suspicion of complicity with
these men, but Cicero did not venture to bring into the controversy one so
popular with the masses. Cæsar proposed that Cicero should
distribute the culprits among the towns of Italy, according to his own
discretion, to be kept until Catiline should be beaten in fight, and that
then they should be regularly tried, instead of inflicting an irremediable
punishment upon members of the nobility in advance of argument and trial. As
this opinion appeared to be just and acceptable, most of the senators
changed completely, until Cato openly manifested his suspicion of
Cæsar; and Cicero, who had apprehensions concerning the coming
night (lest the crowd who were concerned with the conspiracy and were still
in the forum in a state of suspense, fearful for themselves and the
conspirators, might do something desperate), persuaded the Senate to give
judgment against them without trial as persons caught in the act. Cicero
immediately, while the Senate was still in session, conducted each of the
conspirators from the houses where they were in custody to the prison,
without the knowledge of the crowd, and saw them put to death. Then he went
back to the forum and signified that they were dead. The crowd dispersed in
alarm, congratulating themselves that they had not been found out. Thus the
city breathed freely once more after the great fear that had weighed upon it
that day.
[
7]
Catiline had assembled about 20,000 troops, of whom
one-fourth part were already armed, and was moving toward Gaul in order to
complete his preparations, when Antonius, the other consul, overtook him
beyond the Alps
3
and easily defeated the madly conceived adventure of the man, which was
still more madly put to the test without preparation. Neither Catiline nor
any of the nobility who were associated with him deigned to fly, but all
perished at close quarters with their enemies. Such was the end of the
uprising of Catiline, which almost brought the city to the extreme of peril.
Cicero, who had been hitherto distinguished only for eloquence, was now in
everybody's mouth as a man of action, and was considered unquestionably the
saviour of his country on the eve of its destruction, for which reason the
thanks of the assembly were bestowed upon him, amid general acclamations. At
the instance of Cato the people saluted him as the Father of his Country.
Some think that this appellation, which is now bestowed upon those emperors
who are deemed worthy of it, had its beginning with Cicero. Although they
are in fact kings, it is not given to them with their other titles
immediately upon their accession, but is decreed to them in the progress of
time, not as a matter of course, but as a final testimonial of the greatest
services.
CHAPTER II
Cæsar in Spain--The Triumvirate of Cæsar, Pompey, and
Crassus--Cæsar's Agrarian Law--Tumult in the City--Cato
ejected from the Forum -- The Affair of Vettius -- Cæsar
conciliates the Knights -- Is appointed Governor of Gaul -- Gives his
Daughter in Marriage to Pompey
[
8]
Cæsar, who had been chosen prætor for Spain, was
detained in the
city by his creditors, as he owed much more than he could pay, by reason of
his political expenses. He was reported as saying that he needed 25,000,000
sesterces
4 in order to have nothing at all. However, he arranged
with those who were detaining him as best he could and proceeded to Spain.
Here he neglected the transaction of public business, the administration of
justice, and all matters of that kind because he considered them of no use
to his
purposes, but he raised an army and attacked the
independent Spanish tribes one by one until he made the whole country
tributary to the Romans. He also sent much money to the public treasury at
Rome. For these reasons the Senate awarded him a triumph. He was making
preparations outside the walls for a most splendid procession, during the
days when candidates for the consulship were required to present themselves.
It was not lawful for one who was going to have a triumph to enter the city
and then go back again for the triumph. As Cæsar was very anxious
to secure the office, and his procession was not yet ready, he sent to the
Senate and asked permission to stand for the consulship while absent,
through the intercession of friends, for although he knew it was against the
law it had been done by others. Cato opposed his proposition and used up the
last day for the presentation of candidates, in speech making. Thereupon
Cæsar abandoned his triumph, entered the city, offered himself as
a candidate, and waited for the comitia.
[
9]
In the meantime Pompey, who had acquired great glory and power by his
Mithridatic war, was asking the Senate to ratify numerous concessions that
he had granted to kings, princes, and cities. Many senators, however, moved
by envy, made opposition, and especially Lucullus, who had held the command
against Mithridates before Pompey, and who considered that the victory was
his, since he had left the king in a state of extreme weakness for Pompey.
Crassus coöperated with Lucullus in this matter. Pompey was
indignant and made friends with Cæsar and promised under oath to
support him for the consulship. The latter thereupon brought Crassus into
friendly relations with Pompey. Thus these three most powerful men
coöperated together for their mutual advantage. This coalition the
Roman writer Varro treated in a book entitled
Tricaranus (the
three-headed monster).
5 The Senate had its suspicions of them and elected
Lucius Bibulus as Cæsar's colleague to hold him in check.
[
10]
Strife sprang up between them immediately and they proceeded to arm
themselves secretly against each other. Cæsar, who was a master of
dissimulation, made speeches in the Senate in the interest of harmony with
Bibulus, as though he were taking care lest harm should come to the republic
from their disagreement. As he was believed to be sincere, Bibulus was
thrown off his guard. While Bibulus was unprepared and suspecting nothing,
Cæsar secretly got a large band of soldiers in readiness and
brought before the Senate measures for the relief of the poor by the
distribution of the public land to them. The best part of this land around
Capua,
6 which was leased for the
public benefit, he proposed to bestow upon those who were the fathers of at
least three children, by which means he bought for himself the favor of a
multitude of men. Twenty-thousand, who had three children each, came forward
at once. As many senators opposed his motion he
pretended
to be indignant at their injustice, and rushed out of the Senate and did not
convene it again for the remainder of the year,
7 but harangued the people
from the rostra. In a public assembly he asked Pompey and Crassus what they
thought about his proposed laws. Both gave their approval, and the people
came to the voting-place carrying concealed daggers.
[
11]
The Senate (since no one called it together and it was not lawful for one
consul to do so without the consent of the other) assembled at the house of
Bibulus, but did nothing to counteract the force and preparation of
Cæsar. They planned, however, that Bibulus should oppose
Cæsar's laws, so that they should seem to be overcome by force
rather than by their own negligence. Accordingly, Bibulus burst into the
forum while Cæsar was still speaking. Strife and tumult arose,
blows were given, and those who had daggers broke the fasces and insignia of
Bibulus and wounded some of the tribunes who stood around him. Bibulus was
in no wise terrified, but bared his neck to Cæsar's partisans and
loudly called on them to strike. "If I cannot persuade Cæsar to do
right," he said, "I will affix upon him the guilt and stigma of my death."
His friends, however, led him, against his will, out of the crowd and into
the neighboring temple of Jupiter Stator. Cato was indignant at these
proceedings, and, being a young man, forced his way to the midst of the
crowd and began to make a speech, but was lifted up and dragged out by
Cæsar's partisans. Then he went around secretly by another street
and again mounted the rostra; but as he despaired of making a speech, since
nobody would listen to him, he abused Cæsar roundly until he was
ejected by the Cæsarians, and Cæsar secured the
enactment of his laws.
[
12]
The plebeians swore to observe these laws forever, and Cæsar
directed the Senate to do the same. Many of them, including Cato, refused,
and Cæsar proposed and the people enacted the death penalty to the
recusants. Then they became alarmed and took the oath, including the
tribunes,
8 for it was
no longer of any use to speak against it after the law had been confirmed by
the others. And now Vettius, a plebeian, ran into the forum with a drawn
dagger and said that he had been sent by Bibulus, Cicero, and Cato to kill
Cæsar and Pompey, and that the dagger had been given to him by
Postumius, the lictor of Bibulus. Although this affair was open to suspicion
on both sides, Cæsar made use of it to inflame the multitude and
postponed the examination of the assailant. Vettius was thrown into prison
and killed the same night. As this transaction was variously commented on,
Cæsar did not let it pass unnoticed, but said that it had been
done by the opposite party who were afraid of exposure.
9 Finally, the people furnished him a guard to protect him
against conspirators, and Bibulus abstained from public business altogether,
like a private citizen, and did not go out of his house for the remainder of
his official term.
[
13]
As Cæsar now had the sole administration of public affairs, he did
not make any further inquiry concerning Vettius. He brought forward new laws
to win the favor of the multitude, and caused all of Pompey's acts to be
ratified, as he had promised him. The so-called knights, who held the middle
place in rank between the Senate and the plebeians, and were extremely
powerful in all ways by reason of their wealth, and of the farming of the
provincial revenues which they contracted for, and who kept for this purpose
multitudes of very trusty servants, had been asking the Senate for a long
time to release them from a part of what they owed to the treasury. The
Senate was consuming time on this question. As Cæsar did not want
anything of the Senate then, but was employing the people only, he released
the publicans from a third part of their contracts. For this unexpected
favor, which was far beyond their deserts, the knights extolled
Cæsar to the skies. Thus a more powerful body of defenders than
that of the plebeians was added to Cæsar's support through one
political act. He gave spectacles and combats of wild beasts beyond his
means, borrowing money on all sides, and surpassing all former exhibitions
in lavish display and splendid gifts, in consequence of which he was
appointed governor of both Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul for five years,
with the command of four legions.
[
14]
As Cæsar saw that he would be away from home a long time, and
believed that envy would be in proportion to benefits conferred, he gave his
daughter in marriage to Pompey, although she was betrothed to
Cæpio, because he feared that even a friend might become envious
of his great success. He promoted the boldest of his partisans to the
principal offices for the ensuing year. He designated his friend Aulus
Gabinius as consul, with Lucius Piso as his colleague, whose daughter,
Calpurnia, Cæsar married, although Cato cried out that the
government was debauched by marriages. For tribunes he chose Vatinius and
Clodius Pulcher, although the latter had been suspected of an amour with the
wife of Cæsar himself during a religious ceremony of women,
10 but whom
Cæsar did not bring to trial because Clodius was very popular with
the masses; but he divorced his wife. Others prosecuted Clodius for impiety
at the sacred rites, and Cicero made the argument for the prosecution. When
Cæsar was called as a witness he refused to testify against
Clodius, but even raised him to the tribuneship as a foil to Cicero who was
already decrying the triumvirate as tending toward monarchy. Thus
Cæsar turned a private grievance to useful account and benefited
one enemy in order to revenge himself on another. It appears, however, that
Clodius had previously requited Cæsar by helping him to secure the
governorship of Gaul.
CHAPTER III
Clodius prosecutes Cicero for putting Citizens to Death without Trial --
Cicero banished and recalled--Cæsar's Conference at
Lucca--Bloodshed in the Forum--The Triumvirs divide the
Government--Death of Cæsar's Daughter -- Shocking State of
Roman Political Life -- Pompey and Milo -- Assassination of Clodius --
Disorders consequent thereon--Pompey made Sole Consul--His Law against
Bribery
[
15]
Such were the acts of Cæsar's consulship. He then
laid down his magistracy and proceeded directly to his
new government. Clodius now brought an accusation against Cicero for putting
Lentulus and Cethegus and their followers to death without trial.
11 Cicero, who had exhibited the highest courage
in that transaction, became utterly unnerved at his trial. He put on coarse
raiment and, defiled with squalor and dirt, supplicated those whom he met in
the streets, not being ashamed to annoy people who knew nothing about the
business, so that his doings excited laughter rather than pity by reason of
his unseemly aspect. Into such trepidation did he fall at this single trial
of his own, although he had been managing other people's causes successfully
all his life. In like manner they say that Demosthenes the Athenian did not
stand his ground when accused, but fled before the trial. When Clodius
interrupted Cicero's supplications on the streets with contumely, he gave
way to despair and, like Demosthenes, went into voluntary exile. A multitude
of his friends went out of the city with him, and the Senate recommended him
to the attention of cities, kings, and princes. Clodius demolished his house
and his villas. Clodius was so much elated by this affair that he compared
himself with Pompey, who was then the most powerful man in Rome.
[
