The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Volume 4Cicero, Marcus Tullius
History
The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, Volume 4
Cicero, Marcus Tullius
Speeches, addresses, etc., Latin -- Translations into English
IX. He is protecting the interests of his buffoons and gamesters and
pimps. He is protecting Capho's and Sasu's interests too, pugnacious
and muscular centurions, whom he placed among his troops of male and
female buffoons. Besides all this, he demands "that the decrees of
himself and his colleague concerning Caesar's writings and memoranda
are to stand." Why is he so anxious that every one should have what he
has bought, if he who sold it all has the price which he received for
it? "And that his accounts of the money in the temple of Ops are not
to be meddled with." That is to say, that those seven hundred millions
of sesterces are not to be recovered from him. "That the septemviri
are to be exempt from blame or from prosecution for what they have
done." It was Nucula, I imagine, who put him in mind of that, he was
afraid, perhaps, of losing so many clients. He also wishes to make
stipulations in favour of "those men who are with him who may have
done anything against the laws." He is here taking care of Mustela and
Tiro, he is not anxious about himself. For what has he done? has he
ever touched the public money, or murdered a man, or had armed men
about him? But what reason has he for taking so much trouble about
them? For he demands, "that his own judiciary law be not abrogated."
And if he obtains that, what is there that he can fear? can he be
afraid that any one of his friends may be convicted by Cydas, or
Lysiades, or Curius? However, he does not press us with many more
demands. "I give up," says he, "Gallia Togata; I demand Gallia
Comata"[41]--he evidently wishes to be quite at his ease--'with six
legions, and those made up to their full complement out of the army
of Decimus Brutus,--not only out of the troops whom he has enlisted
himself; "and he is to keep possession of it as long as Marcus Brutus
and Carus Cassius, as consuls, or as proconsuls, keep possession of
their provinces." In the comitia held by him, his brother Carus (for
it is his year) has already been repulsed. "And I myself," says he,
"am to retain possession of my province five years." But that is
expressly forbidden by the law of Caesar, and you defend the acts of
Caesar.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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