Letter 19

Even if I had as much leisure as you do, or even if I wished to send letters as brief as you usually do, I could easily surpass you and would be far more frequent in writing than you. But to my extreme and incredible occupations is added this: that I want no letter from me to reach you without a subject and a purpose. And first, as is fitting for a citizen who loves his country, I shall set before you the state of public affairs; then, since you are nearest to us in affection, I shall also write about myself those things which I think you would not be unwilling to know. In public affairs at present, the fear of a Gallic war is the chief concern. For our brothers the Aedui have recently fought a disastrous battle, and the Helvetii are undoubtedly under arms and making raids into the province. The Senate has decreed that the consuls should draw lots for the two Gauls, that a levy should be held, that exemptions should not be valid, and that envoys with full authority should be sent to visit the states of Gaul and take care that they not join with the Helvetii. The envoys are Quintus Metellus Creticus, Lucius Flaccus, and — the ointment on the meat — Lentulus, son of Clodianus. And at this point I cannot pass over the fact that, when my lot came out first among the consulars, the full Senate declared with one voice that I should be retained in the city. The same thing happened to Pompey after me, so that we two seemed to be kept back as pledges of the republic. For why should I look for the acclamations of others toward me, when such tributes arise at home? Affairs in the city, meanwhile, stand as follows. An agrarian law was being vigorously pushed by the tribune Flavius with Pompey as its sponsor — a law that had nothing popular about it except its sponsor. From this law, with the approval of a public assembly, I was removing all those provisions that bore upon the disadvantage of private owners; I was exempting land that had been public in the consulship of Publius Mucius and Lucius Calpurnius; I was confirming the possessions of Sulla's settlers; I was keeping the people of Volaterrae and Arretium, whose land Sulla had confiscated but not distributed, in their holdings. The one provision I did not reject was that land should be purchased with the windfall money that would come in from the new revenues over five years. The Senate was opposed to this entire agrarian scheme, suspecting that some new power was being sought for Pompey; Pompey, for his part, had thrown himself wholeheartedly into getting the law passed. I, meanwhile, with the full goodwill of the agrarian claimants, was securing the possessions of all private owners — for that is our army, as you yourself know, the men of property — while at the same time I was satisfying the people and Pompey (for I wanted that too) with the purchase plan, which, if carefully carried out, I believed could both drain the bilge-water of the city and repopulate the desolate parts of Italy. But this whole matter, interrupted by the war, had gone cold. Metellus is a thoroughly good consul and very fond of me; that other one is such a nonentity that he plainly does not know what he has bought. These are the public affairs — unless you think it also pertains to the republic that a certain Herennius, a tribune of the plebs, a tribesman of yours, a thoroughly worthless and destitute fellow, has repeatedly begun agitating for the transfer of Publius Clodius to the plebs. He is frequently vetoed. These are, I believe, the matters of state. As for myself — ever since on that famous Nones of December I won, at the cost of resentment and the enmity of many, a certain extraordinary and immortal glory, I have not ceased to conduct myself in public life with the same greatness of spirit and to uphold the standing I had established and taken upon myself. But after I first perceived, through Clodius's acquittal, the fickleness and weakness of the courts, and then saw our tax-collectors easily detached from the Senate (though they were not torn from me personally), and then observed that those wealthy men — I mean your fish-pond fanciers — were not obscurely envious of me, I thought I must seek out some greater resources and firmer supports. And so, first, I brought Pompey, who had been silent about my achievements for far too long, to such a disposition that in the Senate — not once but often, and at great length — he credited me with having saved the empire and the world. This mattered not so much for my own sake (for those deeds are neither so obscure as to need testimony nor so doubtful as to need commendation) as for the republic's sake, since there were certain unscrupulous men who thought there would be some clash between me and Pompey arising from disagreement over those events. With him I have established such a close intimacy—

If I had as much time as you have, or if I could bring myself to write such short letters as you generally write, I could beat you hollow and write far more frequently than you write. But on the top of my inconceivable stress of work, you have to add my habit of never sending you a letter without a theme and a moral. First, as one ought to a loyal citizen, I will give you a sketch of political events, and then, as I am the nearest in your affection, I will tell you any of my own affairs that I think you would not be disinclined to know. In politics then at the present minute fears of war in Gaul are the main topic: for “our brothers” the Aedui have had a disastrous battle recently, and the Helvetii are undoubtedly in arms and making raids on our province. The Senate has decreed that the consuls should cast lots for the two Gauls, that levies should be made, furloughs cancelled, and ambassadors with full powers sent to visit the Gallic states and prevent them from joining the Aedui. The ambassadors are Quintus Metellus Creticus, and Lucius Flaccus, and—“the caper sauce on Clodiani filius. Atque hoc loco illud non queo praeterire, quod, cum de consularibus mea prima sors exisset, una voce senatus frequens retinendum me in urbe censuit. Hoc idem post me Pompeio accidit, ut nos duo quasi pignora rei publicae retineri videremur. Quid enim ego aliorum in me ἐπιφωνήματα exspectem, cum haec domi nascantur? Urbanae autem res sic se habent. Agraria lex a Flavio tribuno pl. vehementer agitabatur auctore Pompeio; quae nihil populare habebat praeter auctorem. Ex hac ego lege secunda contionis voluntate omnia illa tollebam, quae ad privatorum incommodum pertinebant, liberabam agrum eum, qui P. Mucio, L. Calpurnio consulibus publicus fuisset, Sullanorum hominum possessiones confirmabam, Volaterranos et Arretinos, quorum agrum Sulla publicarat neque diviserat, in sua possessione retinebam; unam rationem non reiciebam, ut ager hac adventicia pecunia emeretur, quae ex novis vectigalibus per quinquennium reciperetur. Huic toti rationi agrariae senatus adversabatur suspicans Pompeio novam quandam potentiam quaeri; Pompeius vero ad voluntatem perferendae legis incubuerat. Ego autem magna cum agrariorum gratia confirmabam omnium privatorum lenten fare”—Lentulus, son of Clodianus. And I cannot forbear adding here that when my lot came up first in the ballot among the ex-consuls, the Senate were unanimous in declaring that I should be kept in Rome. The same happened to Pompey after me, so that we two appear to be kept as pledges of the State. Why should I look for the “bravos” of strangers when these triumphs bloom for me at home? Well, this is the state of affairs in the city. The agrarian law was zealously pushed by the tribune Flavius with the support of Pompey, though its only claim to popularity was its supporter. My proposal to remove from the law any points which encroached on private rights was favourably received by a public meeting. I proposed to exempt from its action such land as was public in the consulship of P. Mucius and L. Calpurnius, to confirm Sulla’s veterans in their possessions, to allow the people of Volaterra and Arretium to retain in their holding their land which Sulla had made public land, but had not distributed: the only clause I did not reject was that land should be purchased by this wind-fall which will come in from the new foreign revenues in the next five years. The Senate was opposed to the whole agrarian scheme, suspecting that Pompey was aiming at getting some new powers. Pompey had set his heart on carrying the law through. I on the other hand, with the full approval of the applicants for land, was for securing the holdings of all private possessiones; is enim est noster exercitus, hominum, ut tute scis, locupletium; populo autem et Pompeio (nam id quoque volebam) satis faciebam emptione, qua constituta diligenter et sentinam urbis exhauriri et Italiae solitudinem frequentari posse arbitrabar. Sed haec tota res interpellata bello refrixerat. Metellus est consul sane bonus et nos admodum diligit; ille alter nihil ita est, ut plane, quid emerit, nesciat. Haec sunt in re publica, nisi etiam illud ad rem publicam putas pertinere, Herennium quendam, tribunum pl., tribulem tuum sane hominem nequam atque egentem, saepe iam de P. Clodio ad plebem traducendo agere coepisse. Huic frequenter interceditur. Haec sunt, ut opinor, in re publica. Ego autem, ut semel Nonarum illarum Decembrium iunctam invidia ac multorum inimicitiis eximiam quandam atque immortalem gloriam consecutus sum, non destiti eadem animi magnitudine in re publica versari et illam institutam ac susceptam dignitatem tueri, sed, posteaquam primum Clodi absolutione levitatem infirmitatemque iudiciorum perspexi, deinde vidi nostros publicanos facile a senatu diiungi, quamquam a me ipso non divellerentur, tum autem beatos homines, hos piscinarios dico amicos tuos, non obscure nobis invidere, putavi mihi maiores quasdam opes et firmiora praesidia esse quaerenda. Itaque primum, eum qui nimium diu de rebus nostris tacuerat. Pompeium persons—for, as you know, the strength of our party consists in the rich landed gentry—while at the same time I fulfilled my desire to satisfy Pompey and the populace by supporting the purchase of land, thinking that, if that were thoroughly carried out, the city might be emptied of the dregs of the populace, and the deserted parts of Italy peopled. But the matter has cooled off now this war has interrupted it. Metellus is an excellent consul and a great admirer of mine. The other one is an utter nonentity and clearly bought a pig in a poke when he got the consulship. That is all my political news, unless you think this has a bearing on politics. One Herennius, a tribune and fellow tribesman of yours, and a man of no character or position, has begun frequently proposing the transference of P. Clodius from a patrician to a plebeian; and his proposals are vetoed by many of his colleagues. This, I think, is all the public news. For myself, ever since that December day when I won such splendid and immortal glory, though it carried with it much envy and enmity, I have not ceased to employ the same high-minded policy and to keep the position I have won and taken up. But, as soon as the acquittal of Clodius showed me the uncertainty and instability of the law courts, and I saw too how easily our friends the tax-gatherers could be estranged from the Senate, though they might not sever their connection with me, while the well-to-do—your friends with the fish-ponds, I mean—took no pains to disguise their envy of me, I bethought me that I had better look out for some stronger support and more secure protection. So firstly I brought Pompey, the man who had held his peace too long about adduxi in eam voluntatem, ut in senatu non semel, sed saepe multisque verbis huius mihi salutem imperii atque orbis terrarum adiudicarit; quod non tam interfuit mea (neque enim illae res aut ita sunt obscurae, ut testimonium, aut ita dubiae, ut laudationem desiderent) quam rei publicae, quod erant quidam improbi, qui contentionem fore aliquam mihi cum Pompeio ex rerum illarum dissensione arbitrarentur. Cum hoc ego me tanta familiaritate coniunxi, ut uterque nostrum in sua ratione munitior et in re publica firmior hac coniunctione esse possit. Odia autem illa libidinosae et delicatae iuventutis, quae erant in me incitata, sic mitigata sunt comitate quadam mea, me unum ut omnes illi colant; nihil iam denique a me asperum in quemquam fit nec tamen quicquam populare ac dissolutum, sed ita temperata tota ratio est, ut rei publicae constantiam praestem, privatis meis rebus propter infirmitatem bonorum, iniquitatem malevolorum, odium in me improborum adhibeam quandam cautionem et diligentiam atque ita, tametsi his novis amicitiis implicati sumus, ut crebro mihi vafer ille Siculus insusurret Epicharmus cantilenam illam suam: Νᾶφε καὶ μέμνασ’ ἀπιστεῖν· ἄρθρα ταῦτα τᾶν φρενῶν. Ac nostrae quidem rationis ac vitae quasi quandam formam, ut opinor, vides. De tuo autem negotio saepe ad me scribis. Cui mederi nunc non possumus; est enim illud senatus my achievements, into a frame of mind for attributing to me the salvation of the empire and the world not once only, but time after time and with emphasis in the House. That was not so much for my own benefit—for my achievements were neither so obscure that they required evidence, nor so dubious that they required puffing up—but for the State’s sake, for there were some ill-natured persons who thought that there was a certain amount of disagreement between Pompey and myself, owing to a difference of opinion about those matters. With him I have formed such an intimate connection that both of us are strengthened in our policy and surer in our political position through our coalition. The dislike which had been aroused against me among our dissipated and dandified youths has been smoothed away by my affability, and now they pay me more attention than anyone. In short I avoid hurting anyone’s feelings, though I do not court popularity by relaxing my principles; indeed my whole conduct is regulated so, that, while I preserve my firmness in public life, in my private affairs the weakness of the loyal party, the prejudice of the disaffected and the hostility of the disloyal makes me move with some care and caution, and, involved though I am in my new friendships, I frequently have the refrain of Epicharmus, that subtle Sicilian, ringing in my ears: Be sober of head, and mistrustful of friends; Hinges are these on which wisdom depends. There you have, I think, an outline sketch of my rule of life. You keep writing about that business of yours; but at present I have no remedy for it. The decree consultum summa pedariorum voluntate nullius nostrum auctoritate factum. Nam, quod me esse ad scribendum vides, ex ipso senatus consulto intellegere potes aliam rem tum relatam, hoc autem de populis liberis sine causa additum. Et ita factum est a P. Servilio filio, qui in postremis sententiam dixit, sed immutari hoc tempore non potest. Itaque conventus, qui initio celebrabantur, iam diu fieri desierunt. Tu si tuis blanditiis tamen a Sicyoniis nummulorum aliquid expresseris, velim me facias certiorem. Commentarium consulatus mei Graece compositum misi ad te. In quo si quid erit, quod homini Attico minus Graecum eruditumque videatur, non dicam, quod tibi, ut opinor, Panhormi Lucullus de suis historiis dixerat, se, quo facilius illas probaret Romani hominis esse, idcirco barbara quaedam et σόλοικα dispersisse; apud me si quid erit eius modi, me imprudente erit et invito. Latinum si perfecero, ad te mittam. Tertium poema exspectato, ne quod genus a me ipso laudis meae praetermittatur. Hic tu cave dicas: Τίς πατέρ’ αἰνήσει; Si est enim apud homines quicquam quod potius sit, laudetur, nos vituperemur, qui non potius alia laudemus; quamquam non ἐγκωμιαστικὰ sunt haec, sed ἱστορικά, quae scribimus. Quintus frater purgat se mihi per litteras et adfirmat nihil a se cuiquam de te secus esse dictum. was passed by the enthusiasm of the silent members without any support from our party. For as to my signature which you find attached to it, you can see from the decree itself that it was quite a different matter which was brought forward, and this clause about the free peoples was added without rhyme or reason. It was the work of P. Servilius the younger, who was one of the last to speak: but it cannot be altered at the present time. So the meetings which at first were held about it have ceased long ago. If, however, you should manage to squeeze a few pence out of the Sicyonians, please let me know. I have sent you a copy of my account of my consulship in Greek. If there is anything in it, which to your Attic taste seems bad Greek or unscholarly, I will not say what Lucullus said to you—at Panhormus, I think—about his history, that he had interspersed a few barbarisms and solecisms as a clear proof that it was the work of a Roman. If there is anything of the kind in my work, it is there without my knowledge and against my will. When I have finished the Latin version, I will send it to you. In the third place you may expect a poem, not to let slip any method of singing my own praises. Please don’t quote “Who will praise his sire?” For if there is any more fitting subject for eulogy, then I am willing to be blamed for not choosing some other subject. However my compositions are not panegyrics at all but histories. My brother Quintus has written exculpating himself and declaring that he never said a word against Verum haec nobis coram summa cura et diligentia sunt agenda; tu modo nos revise aliquando. Cossinius hic, cui dedi litteras, valde mihi bonus homo et non levis et amans tui visus est et talis, qualem esse eum tuae mihi litterae nuntiarant. Idibus Martiis.

Non modo si mihi tantum esset otii, quantum est tibi, verum etiam si tam breves epistulas vellem mittere, quam tu soles, facile te superarem et in scribendo multo essem crebrior quam tu. Sed ad summas atque incredibiles occupationes meas accedit, quod nullam a me volo epistulam ad te sine argumento ac sententia pervenire. Et primum tibi, ut aequum est civi amanti patriam, quae sint in re publica, exponam; deinde, quoniam tibi amore nos proximi sumus, scribemus etiam de nobis ea, quae scire te non nolle arbitramur. Atque in re publica nunc quidem maxime Gallici belli versatur metus. Nam Haedui fratres nostri pugnam nuper malam pugnarunt, et Helvetii sine dubio sunt in armis excursionesque in provinciam faciunt. Senatus decrevit, ut consules duas Gallias sortirentur, delectus haberetur, vacationes ne valerent, legati cum auctoritate mitterentur, qui adirent Galliae civitates darentque operam, ne eae se cum Helvetiis coniungerent. Legati sunt Q. Metellus Creticus et L. Faccus et, to epi tei pakei myron , Lentulus Clodiani filius. Atque hoc loco illud non queo praeterire, quod, cum de consularibus mea prima sors exisset, una voce senatus frequens retinendum me in urbe censuit. Hoc idem post me Pompeio accidit, ut nos duo quasi pignora rei publicae retineri videremur. Quid enim ego aliorum in me epiphonemata exspectem, cum haec domi nascantur? Urbanae autem res sic se habent. Agraria lex a Flavio tribuno pl. vehementer agitabatur auctore Pompeio; quae nihil populare habebat praeter auctorem. Ex hac ego lege secunda contionis voluntate omnia illa tollebam, quae ad privatorum incommodum pertinebant, liberabam agrum eum, qui P. Mucio, L. Calpurnio consulibus publicus fuisset, Sullanorum hominum possessiones confirmabam, Volaterranos et Arretinos, quorum agrum Sulla publicarat neque diviserat, in sua possessione retinebam; unam rationem non reiciebam, ut ager hac adventicia pecunia emeretur, quae ex novis vectigalibus per quinquennium reciperetur. Huic toti rationi agrariae senatus adversabatur suspicans Pompeio novam quandam potentiam quaeri; Pompeius vero ad voluntatem perferendae legis incubuerat. Ego autem magna cum agrariorum gratia confirmabam omnium privatorum possessiones; is enim est noster exercitus, hominum, ut tute scis, locupletium; populo autem et Pompeio (nam id quoque volebam) satis faciebam emptione, qua constituta diligenter et sentinam urbis exhauriri et Italiae solitudinem frequentari posse arbitrabar. Sed haec tota res interpellata bello refrixerat. Metellus est consul sane bonus et nos admodum diligit; ille alter nihil ita est, ut plane, quid emerit, nesciat. Haec sunt in re publica, nisi etiam illud ad rem publicam putas pertinere, Herennium quendam, tribunum pl., tribulem tuum sane hominem nequam atque egentem, saepe iam de P. Clodio ad plebem traducendo agere coepisse. Huic frequenter interceditur. Haec sunt, ut opinor, in re publica. Ego autem, ut semel Nonarum illarum Decembrium iunctam invidia ac multorum inimicitiis eximiam quandam atque immortalem gloriam consecutus sum, non destiti eadem animi magnitudine in re publica versari et illam institutam ac susceptam dignitatem tueri, sed, posteaquam primum Clodi absolutione levitatem infirmitatemque iudiciorum perspexi, deinde vidi nostros publicanos facile a senatu diiungi, quam quam a me ipso non divellerentur, tum autem beatos homines, hos piscinarios dico amicos tuos, non obscure nobis invidere, putavi mihi maiores quasdam opes et firmiora praesidia esse quaerenda. Itaque primum, eum qui nimium diu de rebus nostris tacuerat, Pompeium adduxi in eam voluntatem, ut in senatu non semel, sed saepe multisque verbis huius mihi salutem imperii atque orbis terrarum adiudicarit; quod non tam interfuit mea (neque enim illae res aut ita sunt obscurae, ut testimonium, aut ita dubiae, ut laudationem desiderent) quam rei publicae, quod erant quidam improbi, qui contentionem fore aliquam mihi cum Pompeio ex rerum illarum dissensione arbitrarentur. Cum hoc ego me tanta familiaritate coniunxi, ut uterque nostrum in sua ratione munitior et in re publica firmior hac coniunctione esse possit Odia autem illa libidinosae et delicatae iuventutis, quae erant in me incitata, sic mitigata sunt comitate quadam mea, me unum ut omnes illi colant; nihil iam denique a me asperum in quemquam fit nec tamen quicquam populare ac dissolutum, sed ita temperata tota ratio est, ut rei publicae constantiam praestem, privatis meis rebus propter infirmitatem bonorum, iniquitatem malevolorum, odium in me improborum adhibeam quandam cautionem et diligentiam atque ita, tametsi his novis amicitiis implicati sumus, ut crebro mihi vafer ille Siculus insusurret Epicharmus cantilenam illam suam: Naphe kai memnas apistein; arthra tauta tan phrenon . Ac nostrae quidem rationis ac vitae quasi quandam formam, ut opinor, vides. De tuo autem negotio saepe ad me scribis. Cui mederi nunc non possmus; est enim illud senatus consultum summa pedariorum voluntate nullius nostrum auctioritate factum. Nam, quod me esse ad scribendum vides, ex ipso senatus consulto intellegere potes aliam rem tum relatam, hoc autem de populis liberis sine causa additum. Et ita factum est a P. .Servilio filio, qui in postremis sententiam dixit, sed immutari hoc tempore non potest. Itaque conventus, qui initio celebrabantur, iam diu fieri desierunt. Tu si tuis blanditiis tamen a Sicyoniis nummulorum aliquid expresseris, velim me facias certiorem. Commentarium consulatus mei Graece compositum misi ad te. In quo si quid erit, quod homini Attico minus Graecum eruditumque videatur, non dicam, quod tibi, ut opinor, Panhormi Lucullus de suis historiis dixerat, se, quo facilius illas probaret Romani hominis esse, idcirco barbara quaedam et soloika dispersisse; apud me si quid erit eius modi, me imprudente erit et invito. Latinum si perfecero, ad te mittam. Tertium poema exspectato, ne quod genus a me ipso laudis meae praetermittatur. Hic tu cave dicas: Tis pater ainesei ; si est enim apud homines quicquam quod potius sit, laudetur, nos vituperemur, qui non potius alia laudemus; quamquam non egkomiastika sunt haec, sed istorika , quae scribimus. Quintus frater purgat se mihi per litteras et adfirmat nihil a se cuiquam de te secus esse dictum. Verum haec nobis coram summa cura et diligentia sunt agenda; tu modo nos revise aliquando. Cossinius hic, cui dedi litteras, valde mihi bonus homo et non levis et amans tui visus est et talis, qualem esse eum tuae mihi litterne nuntiarant. Idibus Martiis.