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
Soon after the delivery of the last speech, despatches were received
from Brutus by the consuls, giving an account of his success against
Carus Antonius in Macedonia, stating that he had secured Macedonia,
Illyricum, and Greece with the armies in those countries, that Carus
Antonius had retired to Apollonia with seven cohorts, that a legion
under Lucius Piso had surrendered to young Cicero, who was commanding
his cavalry, that Dolabella's cavalry had deserted to him, and that
Vatinius had surrendered Dyrrachium and its garrison to him. He
likewise praised Quintus Hortensius, the proconsul of Macedonia, as
having assisted him in gaining over the Grecian provinces and the
armies in those districts.
As soon as Pansa received the despatches, he summoned the senate to
have them read, and in a set speech greatly extolled Brutus, and moved
a vote of thanks to him but Calenus, who followed him, declared his
opinion, that as Brutus had acted without any public commission or
authority he should be required to give up his army to the proper
governors of the provinces, or to whoever the senate should appoint
to receive it. After he had sat down, Cicero rose, and delivered the
following speech.
I. We all, O Pansa, ought both to feel and to show the greatest
gratitude to you, who--though we did not expect that you would hold
any senate to day,--the moment that you received the letters of Marcus
Brutus, that most excellent citizen, did not interpose even the
slightest delay to our enjoying the most excessive delight and mutual
congratulation at the earliest opportunity. And not only ought this
action of yours to be grateful to us all, but also the speech which
you addressed to us after the letters had been read. For you showed
plainly, that that was true which I have always felt to be so, that
no one envied the virtue of another who was confident of his own.
Therefore I, who have been connected with Brutus by many mutual good
offices and by the greatest intimacy, need not say so much concerning
him for the part that I had marked out for myself your speech has
anticipated me in. But, O conscript fathers, the opinion delivered by
the man who was asked for his vote before me, has imposed upon me the
necessity of saying rather more than I otherwise should have said, and
I differ from him so repeatedly at present, that I am afraid (what
certainly ought not to be the case) that our continual disagreement
may appear to diminish our friendship.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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