Letter 13: Cicero writes to Brutus from Rome to Macedonia in June 43 BC.
Marcus Tullius Cicero→Marcus Junius Brutus|c. 43 BC|Marcus Tullius Cicero and Marcus Junius Brutus|From Rome|To Macedonia|AI-assisted
politicssenaterepublican-crisis
Imported from the public-domain Shuckburgh translation on ToposText, paired with The Latin Library Latin. The local ref preserves Latin Library a-letter distinctions where ToposText repeats a traditional label.
[Written at Rome, about the middle of July, 711 (43 BC).]
CICERO TO BRUTUS, GREETINGS.
Up to now we have had no letter from you, not even a rumor to indicate that, once you learned of the senate's resolution, you are bringing your army into Italy. The Republic urgently wanted you to do this, and to do it without delay. For the internal evil grows graver by the day, and we struggle with enemies at home no less than with those abroad. These domestic enemies existed, to be sure, from the very start of the war, but then they were more easily broken. The senate was at that time more upright, roused not only by my motions but also by my exhortations. In the senate Pansa was forceful enough and keen, both against the rest of that sort and most of all against his own father-in-law; as consul he lacked neither courage at the outset nor loyalty at the end. [2] The war was being waged at Mutina, in such a way that you could find nothing to blame in Caesar [Octavian], though some things in Hirtius. The fortune of this war was "as fickle in success, as kind in adversity." The Republic was victorious, Antony's forces cut down and the man himself driven out. Then came so many blunders on the part of [Decimus] Brutus that in a way the victory slipped from our hands. Our commanders did not pursue the terrified, the unarmed, the wounded, and time was granted to Lepidus, in which we might experience, amid greater calamities, that fickleness of his which we had often observed before. The armies of Brutus and Plancus are good but raw; the auxiliary forces of the Gauls are most loyal and very large. [3] But Caesar [Octavian], who up to now had been steered by my counsels, himself of outstanding natural ability and admirable steadiness, certain men by most unprincipled letters and through deceitful intermediaries and messengers have driven into the most confident hope of the consulship. As soon as I perceived this, I neither ceased to admonish him in his absence by letter, nor to reproach his connections who were present and who seemed to be lending support to his ambition, nor did I hesitate in the senate to lay open the sources of these most criminal schemes. Nor indeed do I recall the senate or the magistrates ever being better in any matter; for in the case of an extraordinary honor for a powerful man, or rather for the most powerful man (since indeed power now rests upon force and arms), it has never happened that no tribune of the plebs, no man in some other magistracy, no private citizen came forward as its sponsor. Yet in the midst of this firmness and virtue the state was still anxious. For we are mocked, Brutus, now by the caprices of the soldiers, now by the insolence of their commander. Each man demands as much power for himself in the Republic as he has strength of arms; reason, restraint, law, custom, duty count for nothing, nor the judgment and esteem of the citizens, nor any reverence for posterity. [4] Foreseeing all this long beforehand, I was fleeing from Italy at the time when the report of your edicts called me back; you indeed urged me on, Brutus, at Velia. For although it grieved me to be going into that city which you, who had freed it, were fleeing—a thing which had once befallen me too, in a like danger though by a sadder chance—yet I went on and reached Rome, and with no garrison I shook Antony, and against his unspeakable arms I strengthened the protecting forces that were offered through Caesar's [Octavian's] design and authority. If he stands by his word and obeys me, we seem likely to have protection enough; but if the schemes of the impious prove stronger than ours, or if the weakness of his youth proves unable to bear the weight of affairs, all hope rests in you. Therefore fly here, I beg you, and the Republic, which you freed more by your virtue and greatness of spirit than by the outcome of events, free now in its conclusion. Everyone will rally to you from all sides. Urge Cassius to the same by letter. [5] The hope of liberty lies nowhere except in the headquarters of your camps. We have, to be sure, firm commanders and armies from the west. As for this young man's protecting force, I for my part trust it is firm so far, but so many are undermining it that at times I am terrified it may be shaken. There you have the whole condition of the Republic, such at least as it was when I was sending this letter. I should wish that things hereafter be better. But if it turns out otherwise (which may the gods avert as an omen!), I shall grieve for the lot of the Republic, which ought to have been immortal; for myself, indeed—how little is left?
§ Brut.1.10 DCCCXCII (Brut. I, 10) TO M. IUNIUS BRUTUS (IN MACEDONIA) ROME (JUNE) I have no letter as yet from you — not so much as a rumour — to show that you are aware of the resolution of the senate and are bringing your army into Italy. That you should do so, and with all speed, the Republic urgently requires: for the internal mischief daily grows more serious, and we are in difficulties from enemies at home no less than from those abroad. The former have, it is true, always existed from the beginning of the war, but they were then more easily crushed. The senate was then in a more resolute frame of mind, roused to action not only by the motions which I brought forward, but also by my earnest exhortations. Pansa was then in the senate very strenuous and bold in his attacks upon all men of that sort, and especially his father-in-law. As consul his courage never failed him from the beginning, nor his loyalty at the end. The conduct of the war at Mutina left nothing to complain of in Caesar, though some few points in Hirtius. The fortune of this war is “For happy though but ill, for ill not worst.” The Republic was victorious: Antony 's forces were cut to pieces, and he himself driven out of the country. Then came so many mistakes on the part of Decimus Brutus, that in a certain sense the victory slipped through our fingers. Our generals did not pursue the demoralized, unarmed, wounded enemy, and time was granted to Lepidus to give us a taste of that fickleness, which we had had many occasions to know before, in a more disastrous field. The armies of Brutus and Plancus are good but raw; their auxiliary forces of Gauls are very numerous and very loyal. But certain persons by most unprincipled letters and misleading agents and messages induced Caesar — up to that time wholly governed by my advice, and personally possessed of brilliant ability and admirable firmness of character — to entertain a very confident hope of the consulship. As soon as I discovered that, I never ceased offering him advice by letter in his absence, and remonstrating with his connexions who were in town, and who seemed to be supporting his ambition; nor in the senate did I hesitate to lay bare the sources of a most criminal plot. Nor indeed do I remember a better disposition on the part of senate or magistrates. For in the case of voting an extra-constitutional office to a man of power, or rather of super-eminent power — since power now depends on force and arms — it never yet happened that no tribune, no one in any other office, no private senator was found to support it. But in spite of this firmness and manly spirit, the city was after all in a state of anxiety. For we are flouted, Brutus, both by the airs assumed by the soldiers and the arrogance of their commander. Each man claims to be powerful in the Republic in proportion to his physical force. Reason, moderation, law, custom, duty — all go for nothing: as do the judgment and opinion of their fellow citizens, and their respect for the verdict of posterity. It was because I foresaw all this long ago that I was on the point of flying from Italy at the time when the report of the edicts issued by you and Cassius recalled me. You also roused my spirits, Brutus, at Velia. For though it vexed me to be going to a city from which you who freed it were an exile — which had also happened to me formerly in a similar danger, though with more melancholy result-yet I continued my journey and reached Rome, and without any guard to protect me I shook the power of Antony, and encouraged by my influence and advice the protecting force offered by Caesar against his treasonable arms. And if Caesar keeps his word and follows my counsel, I think we shall have protection enough. But if the counsels of the disloyal have greater weight than mine, or if the weakness of his time of life proves unequal to the strain of the business, our whole hope is in you. Wherefore fly hither, I beseech you, and put the last touch to the freedom of a state, which you liberated by courage and high spirit rather than by any fortunate coincidence. Men of all sorts will crowd round you. Write and urge Cassius to do the same. Hope of liberty is nowhere to be found except in the headquarters of your two camps. We have, it is true, generals and armies in the west on which we Can rely. The protecting force of the young Caesar, for instance, I regard at present as trustworthy: but so many are trying to shake his loyalty that at times I am mortally afraid of his giving way. That is a complete view of the political situation, as it exists at the moment at which I write. I could wish that it might improve as we go on: but if otherwise — which God forbid! I shall grieve for the sake of the Republic, which ought to have been immortal: but for myself — what a brief span of life is left!
[X] Scr. Romae med. m. Quint. a. 711 (43).
CICERO BRVTO SAL.
nullas adhuc a te litteras habebamus, ne famam quidem quae declararet te cognita senatus auctoritate in Italiam adducere exercitum; quod ut faceres idque maturares magno opere desiderabat res publica. ingravescit enim in dies intestinum malum, nec extemis hostibus magis quam domesticis laboramus, qui erant omnino ab initio belli sed facilius frangebantur. erectior senatus erat non sententiis solum nostris sed etiam cohortationibus excitatus. erat in senatu satis vehemens et acer Pansa cum in ceteros huius generis tum maxime in socerum, cui consuli non animus ab initio, non fides ad extremum defuit. [2] bellum ad Mutinam gerebatur, nihil ut in Caesare reprehenderes, non nulla in Hirtio. huius belli fortuna
ut in secundis fluxa, ut in adversis bona.
erat victrix res publica caesis Antoni copiis, ipso expulso. Bruti deinde ita multa peccata ut quodam modo victoria excideret e manibus. perterritos, inermis, saucios non sunt nostri duces persecuti, datumque Lepido tempus est in quo levitatem eius saepe perspectam maioribus in malis experiremur. sunt exercitus boni sed rudes Bruti et Planci, sunt fidelissima et maxima auxilia Gallorum; [3] sed Caesarem meis consiliis adhuc gubernatum, praeclara ipsum indole admirabilique constantia, improbissimis litteris quidam fallacibusque interpretibus ac nuntiis impulerunt in spem certissimam consulatus. quod simul atque sensi, neque ego illum absentem litteris monere destiti nec accusare praesentis eius necessarios qui eius cupiditati suffragari videbantur, nec in senatu sceleratissimorum consiliorum fontis aperire dubitavi. nec vero ulla in re memini aut senatum meliorem aut magistratus; numquam enim in honore extraordinario potentis hominis vel potentissimi potius (quando quidem potentia iam in vi posita est et armis) accidit ut nemo tribunus plebis, nemo alio magistratu, nemo privatus auctor exsisteret. sed in hac constantia atque virtute erat tamen sollicita civitas. inludimur enim, Brute, tum militum deliciis, tum imperatoris insolentia. tantum quisque se in re publica posse postulat quantum habet virium; non ratio, non modus, non lex, non mos, non officium valet, non iudicium non existimatio civium, non posteritatis verecundia. [4] haec ego multo ante prospiciens fugiebam ex Italia tum, cum me vestrorum edictorum fama revocavit; incitavisti vero tu me, Brute, Veliae. quamquam enim dolebiwn in eam me urbem ire quam tu fugeres qui eam liberavisses, quod mihi quoque quondam acciderat periculo simili, casu tristiore, perrexi tamen Romamque perveni nulloque praesidio quatefeci Antonium contraque eius arma nefanda praesidia quae oblata sunt Caesaris consilio et auctoritate firmavi. qui si steterit fide mihique paruerit, satis videmur habituri praesidi; sin autem impiorum consilia plus valuerint quam nostra aut imbecillitas aetatis non potuerit gravitatem rerum sustinere, spes omnis est in te. quam ob rem advola obsecro, atque eam rem publicam, quam virtute atque animi magnitudine magis quam eventis rerum liberavisti, exitu libera. omnis omnium concursus ad te futurus est. hortare idem per litteras Cassium. [5] spes libertatis nusquam nisi in vestrorum castrorum principiis est. firmos omnino et duces habemus ab occidente et exercitus. hoc adulescentis praesidium equidem adhuc firmum esse confido, sed ita multi labefactant ut ne moveatur interdum extimescam. habes totum rei publicae statum, qui quidem tum erat, cum has litteras dabam. velim deinceps meliora sint. sin aliter fuerit, (quod di omen avertant!) rei publicae vicem dolebo quae immortalis esse debebat; mihi quidem quantulum reliqui est?
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[Written at Rome, about the middle of July, 711 (43 BC).] CICERO TO BRUTUS, GREETINGS.
Up to now we have had no letter from you, not even a rumor to indicate that, once you learned of the senate's resolution, you are bringing your army into Italy. The Republic urgently wanted you to do this, and to do it without delay. For the internal evil grows graver by the day, and we struggle with enemies at home no less than with those abroad. These domestic enemies existed, to be sure, from the very start of the war, but then they were more easily broken. The senate was at that time more upright, roused not only by my motions but also by my exhortations. In the senate Pansa was forceful enough and keen, both against the rest of that sort and most of all against his own father-in-law; as consul he lacked neither courage at the outset nor loyalty at the end. [2] The war was being waged at Mutina, in such a way that you could find nothing to blame in Caesar [Octavian], though some things in Hirtius. The fortune of this war was "as fickle in success, as kind in adversity." The Republic was victorious, Antony's forces cut down and the man himself driven out. Then came so many blunders on the part of [Decimus] Brutus that in a way the victory slipped from our hands. Our commanders did not pursue the terrified, the unarmed, the wounded, and time was granted to Lepidus, in which we might experience, amid greater calamities, that fickleness of his which we had often observed before. The armies of Brutus and Plancus are good but raw; the auxiliary forces of the Gauls are most loyal and very large. [3] But Caesar [Octavian], who up to now had been steered by my counsels, himself of outstanding natural ability and admirable steadiness, certain men by most unprincipled letters and through deceitful intermediaries and messengers have driven into the most confident hope of the consulship. As soon as I perceived this, I neither ceased to admonish him in his absence by letter, nor to reproach his connections who were present and who seemed to be lending support to his ambition, nor did I hesitate in the senate to lay open the sources of these most criminal schemes. Nor indeed do I recall the senate or the magistrates ever being better in any matter; for in the case of an extraordinary honor for a powerful man, or rather for the most powerful man (since indeed power now rests upon force and arms), it has never happened that no tribune of the plebs, no man in some other magistracy, no private citizen came forward as its sponsor. Yet in the midst of this firmness and virtue the state was still anxious. For we are mocked, Brutus, now by the caprices of the soldiers, now by the insolence of their commander. Each man demands as much power for himself in the Republic as he has strength of arms; reason, restraint, law, custom, duty count for nothing, nor the judgment and esteem of the citizens, nor any reverence for posterity. [4] Foreseeing all this long beforehand, I was fleeing from Italy at the time when the report of your edicts called me back; you indeed urged me on, Brutus, at Velia. For although it grieved me to be going into that city which you, who had freed it, were fleeing—a thing which had once befallen me too, in a like danger though by a sadder chance—yet I went on and reached Rome, and with no garrison I shook Antony, and against his unspeakable arms I strengthened the protecting forces that were offered through Caesar's [Octavian's] design and authority. If he stands by his word and obeys me, we seem likely to have protection enough; but if the schemes of the impious prove stronger than ours, or if the weakness of his youth proves unable to bear the weight of affairs, all hope rests in you. Therefore fly here, I beg you, and the Republic, which you freed more by your virtue and greatness of spirit than by the outcome of events, free now in its conclusion. Everyone will rally to you from all sides. Urge Cassius to the same by letter. [5] The hope of liberty lies nowhere except in the headquarters of your camps. We have, to be sure, firm commanders and armies from the west. As for this young man's protecting force, I for my part trust it is firm so far, but so many are undermining it that at times I am terrified it may be shaken. There you have the whole condition of the Republic, such at least as it was when I was sending this letter. I should wish that things hereafter be better. But if it turns out otherwise (which may the gods avert as an omen!), I shall grieve for the lot of the Republic, which ought to have been immortal; for myself, indeed—how little is left?
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
[X] Scr. Romae med. m. Quint. a. 711 (43). CICERO BRVTO SAL.
nullas adhuc a te litteras habebamus, ne famam quidem quae declararet te cognita senatus auctoritate in Italiam adducere exercitum; quod ut faceres idque maturares magno opere desiderabat res publica. ingravescit enim in dies intestinum malum, nec extemis hostibus magis quam domesticis laboramus, qui erant omnino ab initio belli sed facilius frangebantur. erectior senatus erat non sententiis solum nostris sed etiam cohortationibus excitatus. erat in senatu satis vehemens et acer Pansa cum in ceteros huius generis tum maxime in socerum, cui consuli non animus ab initio, non fides ad extremum defuit. [2] bellum ad Mutinam gerebatur, nihil ut in Caesare reprehenderes, non nulla in Hirtio. huius belli fortuna ut in secundis fluxa, ut in adversis bona. erat victrix res publica caesis Antoni copiis, ipso expulso. Bruti deinde ita multa peccata ut quodam modo victoria excideret e manibus. perterritos, inermis, saucios non sunt nostri duces persecuti, datumque Lepido tempus est in quo levitatem eius saepe perspectam maioribus in malis experiremur. sunt exercitus boni sed rudes Bruti et Planci, sunt fidelissima et maxima auxilia Gallorum; [3] sed Caesarem meis consiliis adhuc gubernatum, praeclara ipsum indole admirabilique constantia, improbissimis litteris quidam fallacibusque interpretibus ac nuntiis impulerunt in spem certissimam consulatus. quod simul atque sensi, neque ego illum absentem litteris monere destiti nec accusare praesentis eius necessarios qui eius cupiditati suffragari videbantur, nec in senatu sceleratissimorum consiliorum fontis aperire dubitavi. nec vero ulla in re memini aut senatum meliorem aut magistratus; numquam enim in honore extraordinario potentis hominis vel potentissimi potius (quando quidem potentia iam in vi posita est et armis) accidit ut nemo tribunus plebis, nemo alio magistratu, nemo privatus auctor exsisteret. sed in hac constantia atque virtute erat tamen sollicita civitas. inludimur enim, Brute, tum militum deliciis, tum imperatoris insolentia. tantum quisque se in re publica posse postulat quantum habet virium; non ratio, non modus, non lex, non mos, non officium valet, non iudicium non existimatio civium, non posteritatis verecundia. [4] haec ego multo ante prospiciens fugiebam ex Italia tum, cum me vestrorum edictorum fama revocavit; incitavisti vero tu me, Brute, Veliae. quamquam enim dolebiwn in eam me urbem ire quam tu fugeres qui eam liberavisses, quod mihi quoque quondam acciderat periculo simili, casu tristiore, perrexi tamen Romamque perveni nulloque praesidio quatefeci Antonium contraque eius arma nefanda praesidia quae oblata sunt Caesaris consilio et auctoritate firmavi. qui si steterit fide mihique paruerit, satis videmur habituri praesidi; sin autem impiorum consilia plus valuerint quam nostra aut imbecillitas aetatis non potuerit gravitatem rerum sustinere, spes omnis est in te. quam ob rem advola obsecro, atque eam rem publicam, quam virtute atque animi magnitudine magis quam eventis rerum liberavisti, exitu libera. omnis omnium concursus ad te futurus est. hortare idem per litteras Cassium. [5] spes libertatis nusquam nisi in vestrorum castrorum principiis est. firmos omnino et duces habemus ab occidente et exercitus. hoc adulescentis praesidium equidem adhuc firmum esse confido, sed ita multi labefactant ut ne moveatur interdum extimescam. habes totum rei publicae statum, qui quidem tum erat, cum has litteras dabam. velim deinceps meliora sint. sin aliter fuerit, (quod di omen avertant!) rei publicae vicem dolebo quae immortalis esse debebat; mihi quidem quantulum reliqui est?