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
Cassius, proconsul, shall be superior to that of him who may be the
regular governor of the province at the time. That king Deiotarus the
father, and also king Deiotarus the son, if they assist Caius Cassius,
proconsul, with their armies and treasures, as they have heretofore
often assisted the generals of the Roman people, will do a thing which
will be grateful to the senate and people of Rome; and that also, if
the rest of the kings and tetrarchs and governors in those districts
do the same, the senate and people of Rome will not be forgetful of
their loyalty and kindness; and that Caius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius the
consuls, one or both of them, as it seems good to them, as soon
as they have re-established the republic, shall at the earliest
opportunity submit a motion to this order about the consular and
praetorian provinces; and that, in the meantime, the provinces should
continue to be governed by those officers by whom they are governed at
present, until a successor be appointed to each by a resolution of the
senate."
XIII. By this resolution of the senate you will inflame the existing
ardour of Cassius, and you will give him additional arms; for you
cannot be ignorant of his disposition, or of the resources which he
has at present. His disposition is such as you see; his resources,
which you have heard stated to you, are those of a gallant and
resolute man, who, even while Trebonius was alive, would not permit
the piratical crew of Dolabella to penetrate into Syria. Allienus, my
intimate friend and connexion, who went thither after the death of
Trebonius, will not permit himself to be called the lieutenant of
Dolabella. The army of Quintus Caecilius Bassus, a man indeed without
any regular appointment, but a brave and eminent man, is vigorous and
victorious. The army of Deiotarus the king, both father and son, is
very numerous, and equipped in our fashion. Moreover, in the son
there is the greatest hope, the greatest vigour of genius and a good
disposition, and the most eminent valour. Why need I speak of the
father, whose good-will towards the Roman people is coeval with his
life; who has not only been the ally of our commanders in their wars,
but has also served himself as the general of his own troops. What
great things have Sylla, and Murena, and Servilius, and Lucullus said
of that man; what complimentary, what honourable and dignified mention
have they often made of him in the senate! Why should I speak of
Cnaeus Pompeius, who considered Deiotarus the only friend and real
well-wisher from his heart, the only really loyal man to the Roman
people in the whole world? We were generals, Marcus Bibulus and I, in
neighbouring provinces bordering on his kingdom; and we were assisted
by that same monarch both with cavalry and infantry. Then followed
this most miserable and disastrous civil war; in which I need not say
what Deiotarus ought to have done, or what would have been the most
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