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THE SIXTH ORATION OF M. T. CICERO AGAINST MARCUS ANTONIUS. CALLED ALSO THE SIXTH PHILIPPIC. ADDRESSED TO THE PEOPLE.
11.
[23]
Why then should we be displeased that the army of Marcus Brutus is thrown into
the scale to assist us in overwhelming these pests of the commonwealth? It is
the army, I suppose, of an intemperate and turbulent man. I am more afraid of
his being too patient; although in all the counsels and actions of that man
there never has been any thing either too much or too little. The whole
inclinations of Marcus Brutus, O conscript fathers, the whole of his thoughts,
the whole of his ideas, are directed toward the authority of the senate and the
freedom of the Roman people. These are the objects which he proposes to himself;
these are what he desires to uphold. He has tried what he could do by patience;
as he did nothing, he has thought it necessary to encounter force by force. And,
O conscript fathers, you ought at this time to grant him the same honors which
on the nineteenth of December you conferred by my advice on Decimus Brutus and
Caius Caesar, whose designs and conduct in regard to the republic, while they
also were but private individuals, was approved of and praised by your
authority.
[24]
And you ought to do the same now
with respect to Marcus Brutus, by whom an unhoped for and sudden reinforcement
of legions and cavalry, and numerous and trusty bands of allies, have been
provided for the republic.
Quintus Hortensius also ought to have a share of your praise, who, being governor
of Macedonia, joined Brutus as a most
faithful and untiring assistant in collecting that army. For I think that a
separate motion ought to be made respecting Marcus Appuleius, to whom Brutus
bears witness in his letters that he has been a prime assistant to him in his
endeavors to get together and equip his army.
[25]
And since this is the case,
“As Caius Pansa the consul has addressed to us a speech concerning the
letters which have been received from Quintus Caepio Brutus,1 proconsul, and have been read in this
assembly, I give my vote in this matter thus:
“Since, by the exertions and wisdom and industry and valor of Quintus
Caepio Brutus, proconsul, at a most critical period of the republic, the
province of Macedonia, and Illyricum, and all Greece, and the legions and armies and
cavalry, have been preserved in obedience to the consuls and senate and people
of Rome; Quintus Caepio Brutus,
proconsul, has acted well, and in a manner advantageous to the republic, and
suitable to his own dignity and to that of his ancestors, and to the principles
according to which alone the affairs of the republic can be properly managed;
and that conduct is and will be grateful to the senate and people of Rome.
[26]
“And moreover, as Quintus Caepio Brutus, proconsul, is occupying and
defending and protecting the province of Macedonia, and Illyricum, and all Greece, and is preserving them in safety; and as he is in
command of an army which he himself has levied and collected, he is at liberty
if he has need of any, to exact money for the use of the military service, which
belongs to the public, and can lawfully be exacted, and to use it, and to borrow
money for the exigencies of the war from whomsoever he thinks fit, and to exact
corn, and to endeavor to approach Italy
as near as he can with his forces. And as it has been understood from the
letters of Quintus Caepio Brutus, proconsul, that the republic has been greatly
benefited by the energy and valor of Quintus Hortensius, proconsul, and that all
his counsels have been in harmony with those of Quintus Caepio Brutus,
proconsul, and that that harmony has been of the greatest service to the
republic; Quintus Hortensius has acted well and becomingly, and in a manner
advantageous to the republic. And the senate decrees that Quintus Hortensius,
proconsul, shall occupy the province of Macedonia with his quaestors, or proquaestors and lieutenants,
until he shall have a successor regularly appointed by a resolution of the
senate.”
1 Brutus had been adopted by his maternal uncle Quintus Servilius Caepio; so that his legal designation was what is given in the text now, as Cicero is proposing a formal vote—though at all other times we see that he calls him Marcus Brutus.
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