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[21]
But, O
conscript fathers, that proposition is unsuited to the dignity of the consuls,
unsuited to the critical character of the times; namely, the proposition that
the consuls, for the sake of pursuing Dolabella, shall have the provinces of
Asia and Syria allotted to them. I will explain why it
is inexpedient for the republic; but first of all, consider what ignominy it
fixes on the consuls. When a consul elect is being besieged, when the safety of
the republic depends upon his liberation, when mischievous and parricidal
citizens have revolted from the republic, and when we are carrying on a war in
which we are fighting for our dignity, for our freedom, and for our lives; and
when, if any one falls into the power of Antonius, tortures and torments are
prepared for him; and when the struggle for all these objects has been committed
and entrusted to our most admirable and gallant consuls,—shall any
mention be made of Asia and Syria, so that we may appear to have given any
injurious cause for others to entertain suspicion of us, or to bring us into
unpopularity?
M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge. London. George Bell & Sons. 1903.
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