Civil Wars

"Think you that Cæsar's fellow-soldiers will allow his body to be dragged through the streets, dishonored, and cast away unburied -- for our laws prescribe such treatment for tyrants? Will they consider the rewards they have received for their victories in Gaul and Britain secure, when he who gave them is treated with contumely? What will the Roman people themselves do? What the Italians? What ill-will of gods and men will attend you if you put ignominy upon one who advanced your dominion to shores of the ocean hitherto unknown? Will not such fickleness on our part be held in greater reprobation and condemnation if we vote to confer honor on those who have slain a consul in the senate-house, an inviolable man in a sacred place, in full senate, under the eyes of the gods, and if we dishonor one whom even our enemies honor for his bravery ? I warn you to abstain from these proceedings as being sacrilegious in themselves and not in our power. I move that all the acts and intentions of Cæsar be ratified and that the authors of the crime be by no means applauded (for that would be neither pious, nor just, nor consistent with the ratification of Cæsar's acts). Let them be spared, if you please, as an act of clemency only, for the sake of their families and friends, if the latter will accept it in this sense in behalf of the murderers and acknowledge it in the light of a favor."

When Antony had said these things with intense feeling and impetuosity, all the others remaining silent and agreeing, the following decree was passed: "There shall be no prosecution for the murder of Cæsar, but all of his acts and decrees are confirmed, because this policy is deemed advantageous to the commonwealth." The friends of the murderers insisted that those last words should be added for their security, implying that Cæsar's acts were confirmed as a measure of utility and not of justice; and in this matter Antony yielded to them. When this decree had been voted the leaders of the colonists who were present asked for another act special to themselves, in addition to the general one, in order to confirm their colonies. Antony did not oppose this, but rather intimidated the Senate to pass it. So this was adopted, and another like it concerning the colonists who had been already sent out. The Senate was thereupon dismissed, and a number of senators collected around Lucius Piso, whom Cæsar had made the custodian of his will[*](Suetonius says that Cæsar deposited his will with the eldest of the Vestal virgins. His account is as follows: "At the instance of Lucius Piso, his father-in-law, Cæsar's will was opened and read in the house of Antony, which will he had made on the preceding ides of September, in his Lavican villa, and had deposited with the eldest of the Vestal virgins. Quintus Tubero relates that Pompey had been constantly made his heir in the wills written by him from his first consulship to the beginning of the civil war, and that this fact was publicly made known to the army. In his latest will he made the three grandsons of his sisters his heirs, giving to Gaius Octavius three-fourths and to Lucius Pinarius and Quintus Pedius the remaining fourth." (Jul. 83.) The epitome of Livy (cxvi.) says that the will gave Octavius one-half.) and urged him not to make the will public, and not to give the body a public funeral, lest some new disturbance should arise therefrom. As he would not yield they threatened him with a public prosecution for defrauding the people of such an amount of wealth which ought to go into the public treasury; thus giving new signs that they were suspicious of a tyranny.

Then Piso called out with a loud voice and demanded that the consuls should reconvene the senators, who were still present, which was done, and then he said: "These men who talk of having killed a tyrant are already so many tyrants over us in place of one. They forbid the burying of a Pontifex Maximus and they threaten me when I produce his will. Moreover, they intend to confiscate his property as that of a tyrant. They have ratified Cæsar's acts as regards themselves, but they annul those which relate to him. It is no longer Brutus or Cassius who do this, but those who instigated them to the murder.[*](a)ll' oi( ka)kei/nous e)s to/nde to\n o)/leqron e)kripi/santes. Combes-Dounous translates these words: "Those who have hurled Brutus and Cassius into the abyss," an error due perhaps to a hasty reading of the last word and deriving it from e)kri/ptw, to cast away, instead of e)kripi/zw, to instigate.) Of his burial you are the masters. Of his will I am, and never will I betray what has been intrusted to me unless somebody kills me also." This speech excited clamor and indignation on all sides, and especially among those who hoped that they should obtain something from the will. It was decreed that the will should be read in public and that Cæsar should have a public funeral. Thereupon the Senate adjourned.

When Brutus and Cassius learned what had been done they sent messengers to the plebeians, whom they invited to come up to them at the Capitol. Presently a large number came together and Brutus addressed them as follows: " Here, citizens, we meet you, we who yesterday met together with you in the forum. We have come hither, not as taking refuge in a sanctuary (for we have done nothing wrong), nor in a citadel (for as regards our own affairs we intrust ourselves to you), but the sudden and unexpected attack made upon Cinna compelled us to do so. I know that our enemies accuse us of perjury and say that we render a lasting peace difficult. What we have to reply to these accusations we will say in your presence, citizens, with whose help we shall do what remains to be done for the restoration of democratic government. After Gaius Cæsar advanced from Gaul with hostile arms against his country, and Pompey, the most popular man among you, suffered as he did, and after him a great number of other good citizens, who had been driven into Africa and Spain, had perished, Cæsar was naturally apprehensive, although his power was firmly intrenched, and we granted him amnesty at his request and confirmed it by oath. If he had required us to swear not only to condone the past, but to be willing slaves for the future, what would our present accusers have done? For my part I think that, being Romans, they would have chosen to die many times rather than take an oath of voluntary servitude.

"If Cæsar did no more against your liberty then are we perjured. But if he restored to you neither the magistracies of the city nor those of the provinces, neither the command of armies, the priestly offices, the leadership of colonies, nor any other posts of honor; if he neither consulted the Senate about anything nor asked the authority of the people, but if Cæsar's command was all in all; if he was not even ever satiated with our misfortunes as Sulla was (for Sulla, when he had destroyed his enemies restored to you the government of the commonwealth, but Cæsar, as he was going away for another long military expedition, anticipated by his appointments your elections for five years), what sort of freedom was this in which not a ray of hope could be any longer discerned? What shall I say of the defenders of the people, Cæsetius and Marullus? Were not the incumbents of a sacred and inviolable office ignominiously banished? Although the law and the oath prescribed by our ancestors forbid calling the tribunes to account during their term of office, Cæsar banished them even without a trial. Have we then, or has he, done violence to inviolable persons -- unless you say that Cæsar was sacred and inviolable, upon whom we conferred that distinction not of our own free will, but by compulsion, and not until he had invaded his country with arms and killed a great number of our noblest and best citizens? Did not our fathers in a democracy and without compulsion take an oath that the office of tribune should be sacred and inviolable, and declare with maledictions that it should remain so forever? What has become of the public tribute? What of the public accounts? Who opened the public treasury without our consent? Who removed part of the consecrated money? Who threatened with death another tribune who opposed him?

"'But what kind of an oath after this will be a guarantee of peace ?' they ask. If there is no tyrant there will be no need of oaths. Our fathers never needed any. If anybody else seeks to establish tyranny, no faith, no oath, will ever bind Romans to the tyrant. This we said before, while we were still in danger; this we will continue to say forever for our country's sake. We, who held places of honor securely at the hands of Cæsar, had a higher regard for our country than for our offices. They slander us about the colonies and so excite you against us. If there are any present who have been settled in colonies, or are about to be settled, you will gratify me by making yourselves known."

A large number did so, whereupon Brutus continued, "Bravo, my men, you have done well to come here with the others. You ought, since you receive due honors and bounties from your country, to give her equal honor in return as she sends you forth. The Roman people gave you to Cæsar to fight against the Gauls and Britons, and your valiant deeds call for recognition and recompense. But Cæsar, taking advantage of your military oath, led you against your country much against your will. He led you against our best citizens in Africa, in like manner against your will. If this were all that you had done you would perhaps be ashamed to ask reward for such exploits, but since neither envy, nor time, nor the forgetfulness of men can extinguish the glory of your deeds in Gaul and Britain, you shall have the rewards due to them, such as the people gave to those who served in the army of old, yet not by taking land from your unoffending fellow-citizens, nor by dividing other people's property with new-comers, nor by considering it proper to requite your services by means of acts of injustice. When our ancestors overcame their enemies they did not take from them all their land. They shared it with them and colonized a portion of it with Roman soldiers, who were to serve as guards over the vanquished. If the conquered territory was not sufficient for the colonies, they added some of the public domain or bought other land with the public money. In this way the people colonized you without harm to anybody. But Sulla and Cæsar, who invaded their country like a foreign land and needed guards and garrisons against their own country, did not dismiss you to your homes, nor buy land for you, nor divide among you the property of citizens which they confiscated, nor did they make compensation for the relief of those who were despoiled, although those who despoiled them had plenty of money from the treasury and plenty from confiscated estates. They took, by the law of war, -- nay, by the practice of robbery, -- from Italians who had committed no offence, who had done no wrong, their land and houses, tombs and temples, which we do not take away even from foreign enemies, except a mere tenth of their produce by way of tax.