To Quadratus.
The more carefully and closely you have read the books I composed to vindicate the character of Helvidius, the more anxious, you say, you are for me to write an account of the whole affair from beginning to end, which you were too young to take any part in, giving you details which do not appear in my volumes as well as those which do. When Domitian was put to death, I took counsel with myself and came to the conclusion that there was now a splendid and glorious opportunity for prosecuting the guilty, vindicating the oppressed, and at the same time bringing myself into prominence. It seemed to me that of all the many crimes committed by that crowd of wretches, there was none more atrocious than that a senator should have laid violent hands upon another senator in the senate-house, that a man of praetorian rank should have assaulted a man of consular rank, and a judge an accused person. Besides, Helvidius and I were friends, so far as friendship was possible with one who, owing to the terrorism that prevailed, tried to conceal his illustrious name and equally illustrious virtues in strict retirement; and I was also a friend of Arria and Fannia, * the former of whom was the step-mother of Helvidius, and the latter the mother of Arria.
But it was not so much my feelings as a friend, but my sense of public duty, my indignation at what had taken place, and the importance of the precedent, which stirred me. For the first few days after liberty had been restored each man was busy in his own interests impeaching his own private enemies - at least the more unimportant of them - and at once obtaining their condemnation, but all was being done with uproar and turbulence. I considered it would show greater modesty and boldness not to overthrow the worst criminal of them all on the general odium against the practices of the late reign, but to attack him on a specific charge, after the first furious outburst had worn itself out and the general rage was daily abating, and when men were beginning again to think of what was just. So, though I was in great distress at the time, for I had just recently lost my wife, ** I sent to Anteia - who was the wife of Helvidius - asking her to come and see me, as the bereavement I had recently suffered kept me still confined to my house. When she came, I said: "I have made up my mind not to let the death of your husband pass unavenged. Tell Arria and Fannia - they had already returned from exile - of my resolve, take counsel with yourself and them and decide whether you desire to be associated with a performance in which I do not need the assistance of a second, though I do not wish to be so greedy for my personal glory as to grudge you a share in it." Anteia took my message and they lost no time in complying, and it fortunately happened that the senate met three days afterwards.
It was my unfailing practice to consult Corellius on all matters, for I looked upon him as the most far-seeing and the wisest man of our time ; but in this business I was satisfied with my own judgment, for I was afraid that he would try and dissuade me from my design, as he was always rather prone to hesitation and caution. However, I could not make up my mind to refrain from giving him a hint, when the day came, of what I was going to do, though I did not ask his advice as to whether I should proceed with my intention, for I have found by experience that, when you have decided on a course of action, it is a mistake to consult as to its wisdom those whose advice you ought to follow when once you ask them for it.
I entered the senate ; I craved permission to address the house, and for a little time everyone agreed with what I said. But when I began to touch upon the charge I was bringing and foreshadow whom I was accusing - though I had not yet named him - there were loud cries of dissent from all sides. One exclaimed, "Let us know who it is that you are denouncing out of order? " ; another, "Who is it that is being put on his trial before he has been impeached ?" ; another, "Let us who survive remain in security." I listened without fear or trepidation, sustained by the righteousness of the cause I had undertaken, while it always materially contributes to one's confidence or fear whether one's audience is merely unwilling to hear your case or actively disapproves of it. It would be tedious to relate all the exclamations which were flung from side to side, but at last the consul said : "Secundus, you will be given an opportunity of saying what you wish to say when it comes to your turn to speak." To that I replied: "That will be a favour which you grant to everyone." Then I sat down, and other business was transacted. In the meantime one of my friends, a man of consular rank, came and had a private and earnest conversation with me. He thought that I had plunged rashly and recklessly into the fray and most strenuously urged me to desist, adding that I should make myself a marked man with future emperors. "Be it so," said I, "so long as they are bad ones." No sooner had he left me than a second friend came up, saying, "What rashness is this of yours? Whither are you rushing? To what perils are you exposing yourself? What confidence can you have in the present when you do not know what the future may bring forth ? Remember you are provoking a man who is at this moment prefect of the treasury and will soon be consul, and, besides, think what influence he possesses and what friends he has to back him up !" Then he named a certain person who at the time was in the East, in command of a splendid army, but whose loyalty was the subject of much grave suspicion. To this I replied: "I have foreseen all you say, and I have fully weighed it in my mind, † nor do I fear, if so chance wills it, to pay the penalty for a most honourable deed, so long as I take vengeance on a most consummate rascal."
By this time the time for recording opinions had arrived. Among the speakers were Domitius Apollinaris, the consul-designate, Fabricius Veiento, Fabius Maximinus, Vettius Proculus, the colleague of Publicius Certus, who was the subject of debate, and the father-in-law of the wife whom I had just lost. After these Ammius Flaccus spoke. They all defended Certus, just as if I had already named him, which I had not, and took up and defended his cause, though the charge had been left vague. †† I need not tell you the substance of their speeches, for you have them in my books, just as I took them down in their own words. They were opposed by Avidius Quietus and Cornutus Tertullus. Quietus urged that it was most unjust to refuse to hear the complaints of the aggrieved persons, and, therefore, Arria and Fannia ought not to be robbed of their right to lodge a complaint. It did not matter, he said, what class a person belonged to, the point was whether his case was just. Cornutus said that he had been appointed guardian by the consuls to the daughter of Helvidius at the request of her mother and step-father, and that he could not think of failing in his duties at such a moment. However, he would set a limit to his own personal resentment and only support the very moderate request of these excellent ladies, who would be satisfied with bringing before the notice of the senate the crime-stained servility of Publicius Certus, and asking that, though the penalty for his most iniquitous crime might be foregone, he might at least be branded with some mark of disgrace similar to being officially degraded by the censors. Satrius Rufus followed with an equivocal speech, the meaning of which was by no means clear. "I consider," he said, "Publicius Certus will be wronged unless he is acquitted ; he has been impeached by the friends of Arria ; and Fannia, and by his own friends. Nor ought we to be anxious on his account, for we, who think well of him, are also to act as his judges. If he is innocent, as I hope and prefer to think he is, and as I will continue to believe until something is proved against him, you will be able to acquit him." Such were the sentiments delivered, in the order in which the speakers were severally called upon to speak.
Then my turn came ; I rose to my feet, and opening my remarks as you will find in my book, I replied to all, one by one. It was wonderful to notice with what attention and applause all my points were received by those who a little before were shouting me down. This sweeping change of view was due either to the importance of the subject under debate, or to the success of my speech, or to the boldness of the speaker. At length I concluded; Veiento began to answer me, but no one suffered him to speak ; he was greeted with such interruptions and clamours that he exclaimed, "I beg of you, conscript fathers, not to force me to appeal to the tribunes for protection." Immediately the tribune Murena broke in with, "I permit you, most honourable Veiento, to speak." At that the tumult broke out again. In the pauses between the outcries the consul read over the names and took the votes by a division, and then adjourned the House, leaving Veiento still on his feet and struggling to deliver his speech. He complained bitterly of the indignity - as he called it - which had been shown him, quoting the line from Homer: "Old man, the young fighters wear you down." ‡ There was hardly a member of the senate who did not embrace and kiss me and vie with his friends in heaping praises upon my head for having restored the custom, which had long fallen into disuse, of consulting for the public good by undertaking the protection of private persons who had been wronged, and for having freed the senate from the strong odium into which it had fallen with the other orders of society, which complained that, while the senate was severe in the punishment of other people, it invariably spared a senator by mutual agreement, as it were, among its members.
Certus was not present when all this took place, either owing to his having some suspicion of what was about to happen, or else he was ill, which was the reason he assigned for his absence. It is true that Caesar never referred to the senate the inquiry into Certus's crimes, yet I gained the point for which I had striven. For it was a colleague of Certus who gained the consulship, and Certus's place was taken by someone else, and so the sentence at the close of my speech was fulfilled, where I said, "Let him give back, now that we have a model emperor to reign over us, the prize which was conferred upon him by the worst of emperors." Subsequently, I recalled the speech to my memory as best I could, and added a good deal. By a coincidence, which looked rather more than a coincidence. Certus was taken ill and died a very few days after I published my book. I have heard people say that he was haunted by a phantom which was for ever presenting itself to his mind and gaze, and that he thought he saw me threatening him with a sword. I should not like to say that this actually was the case, but it adds to the moral that it should be considered as true. Well, I have written you a letter which, judged by the standard length of a letter, is about as long as the books you have read, but you have only yourself to blame, since you were not content with the published books. Farewell.
[Note: See letter iii. 16.
]
[Note: His second wife, the daughter of Pompeia Celerina.
]
(†) Virgil, Aeneid vi. 105.
(††) Certus had clearly been involved in the prosecution that led to the death of Helvidius in 93 A.D.; but it is not clear exactly what crime Pliny accused him of committing.
(‡) Homer, Iliad viii. 102; the words of Diomedes to Nestor.
L To Quadratus.
The more carefully and closely you have read the books I composed to vindicate the character of Helvidius, the more anxious, you say, you are for me to write an account of the whole affair from beginning to end, which you were too young to take any part in, giving you details which do not appear in my volumes as well as those which do. When Domitian was put to death, I took counsel with myself and came to the conclusion that there was now a splendid and glorious opportunity for prosecuting the guilty, vindicating the oppressed, and at the same time bringing myself into prominence. It seemed to me that of all the many crimes committed by that crowd of wretches, there was none more atrocious than that a senator should have laid violent hands upon another senator in the senate-house, that a man of praetorian rank should have assaulted a man of consular rank, and a judge an accused person. Besides, Helvidius and I were friends, so far as friendship was possible with one who, owing to the terrorism that prevailed, tried to conceal his illustrious name and equally illustrious virtues in strict retirement; and I was also a friend of Arria and Fannia, * the former of whom was the step-mother of Helvidius, and the latter the mother of Arria.
But it was not so much my feelings as a friend, but my sense of public duty, my indignation at what had taken place, and the importance of the precedent, which stirred me. For the first few days after liberty had been restored each man was busy in his own interests impeaching his own private enemies - at least the more unimportant of them - and at once obtaining their condemnation, but all was being done with uproar and turbulence. I considered it would show greater modesty and boldness not to overthrow the worst criminal of them all on the general odium against the practices of the late reign, but to attack him on a specific charge, after the first furious outburst had worn itself out and the general rage was daily abating, and when men were beginning again to think of what was just. So, though I was in great distress at the time, for I had just recently lost my wife, ** I sent to Anteia - who was the wife of Helvidius - asking her to come and see me, as the bereavement I had recently suffered kept me still confined to my house. When she came, I said: "I have made up my mind not to let the death of your husband pass unavenged. Tell Arria and Fannia - they had already returned from exile - of my resolve, take counsel with yourself and them and decide whether you desire to be associated with a performance in which I do not need the assistance of a second, though I do not wish to be so greedy for my personal glory as to grudge you a share in it." Anteia took my message and they lost no time in complying, and it fortunately happened that the senate met three days afterwards.
It was my unfailing practice to consult Corellius on all matters, for I looked upon him as the most far-seeing and the wisest man of our time ; but in this business I was satisfied with my own judgment, for I was afraid that he would try and dissuade me from my design, as he was always rather prone to hesitation and caution. However, I could not make up my mind to refrain from giving him a hint, when the day came, of what I was going to do, though I did not ask his advice as to whether I should proceed with my intention, for I have found by experience that, when you have decided on a course of action, it is a mistake to consult as to its wisdom those whose advice you ought to follow when once you ask them for it.
I entered the senate ; I craved permission to address the house, and for a little time everyone agreed with what I said. But when I began to touch upon the charge I was bringing and foreshadow whom I was accusing - though I had not yet named him - there were loud cries of dissent from all sides. One exclaimed, "Let us know who it is that you are denouncing out of order? " ; another, "Who is it that is being put on his trial before he has been impeached ?" ; another, "Let us who survive remain in security." I listened without fear or trepidation, sustained by the righteousness of the cause I had undertaken, while it always materially contributes to one's confidence or fear whether one's audience is merely unwilling to hear your case or actively disapproves of it. It would be tedious to relate all the exclamations which were flung from side to side, but at last the consul said : "Secundus, you will be given an opportunity of saying what you wish to say when it comes to your turn to speak." To that I replied: "That will be a favour which you grant to everyone." Then I sat down, and other business was transacted. In the meantime one of my friends, a man of consular rank, came and had a private and earnest conversation with me. He thought that I had plunged rashly and recklessly into the fray and most strenuously urged me to desist, adding that I should make myself a marked man with future emperors. "Be it so," said I, "so long as they are bad ones." No sooner had he left me than a second friend came up, saying, "What rashness is this of yours? Whither are you rushing? To what perils are you exposing yourself? What confidence can you have in the present when you do not know what the future may bring forth ? Remember you are provoking a man who is at this moment prefect of the treasury and will soon be consul, and, besides, think what influence he possesses and what friends he has to back him up !" Then he named a certain person who at the time was in the East, in command of a splendid army, but whose loyalty was the subject of much grave suspicion. To this I replied: "I have foreseen all you say, and I have fully weighed it in my mind, † nor do I fear, if so chance wills it, to pay the penalty for a most honourable deed, so long as I take vengeance on a most consummate rascal."
By this time the time for recording opinions had arrived. Among the speakers were Domitius Apollinaris, the consul-designate, Fabricius Veiento, Fabius Maximinus, Vettius Proculus, the colleague of Publicius Certus, who was the subject of debate, and the father-in-law of the wife whom I had just lost. After these Ammius Flaccus spoke. They all defended Certus, just as if I had already named him, which I had not, and took up and defended his cause, though the charge had been left vague. †† I need not tell you the substance of their speeches, for you have them in my books, just as I took them down in their own words. They were opposed by Avidius Quietus and Cornutus Tertullus. Quietus urged that it was most unjust to refuse to hear the complaints of the aggrieved persons, and, therefore, Arria and Fannia ought not to be robbed of their right to lodge a complaint. It did not matter, he said, what class a person belonged to, the point was whether his case was just. Cornutus said that he had been appointed guardian by the consuls to the daughter of Helvidius at the request of her mother and step-father, and that he could not think of failing in his duties at such a moment. However, he would set a limit to his own personal resentment and only support the very moderate request of these excellent ladies, who would be satisfied with bringing before the notice of the senate the crime-stained servility of Publicius Certus, and asking that, though the penalty for his most iniquitous crime might be foregone, he might at least be branded with some mark of disgrace similar to being officially degraded by the censors. Satrius Rufus followed with an equivocal speech, the meaning of which was by no means clear. "I consider," he said, "Publicius Certus will be wronged unless he is acquitted ; he has been impeached by the friends of Arria ; and Fannia, and by his own friends. Nor ought we to be anxious on his account, for we, who think well of him, are also to act as his judges. If he is innocent, as I hope and prefer to think he is, and as I shall continue to believe until something is proved against him, you will be able to acquit him." Such were the sentiments delivered, in the order in which the speakers were severally called upon to speak.
Then my turn came ; I rose to my feet, and opening my remarks as you will find in my book, I replied to all, one by one. It was wonderful to notice with what attention and applause all my points were received by those who a little before were shouting me down. This sweeping change of view was due either to the importance of the subject under debate, or to the success of my speech, or to the boldness of the speaker. At length I concluded; Veiento began to answer me, but no one suffered him to speak ; he was greeted with such interruptions and clamours that he exclaimed, "I beg of you, conscript fathers, not to force me to appeal to the tribunes for protection." Immediately the tribune Murena broke in with, "I permit you, most honourable Veiento, to speak." At that the tumult broke out again. In the pauses between the outcries the consul read over the names and took the votes by a division, and then adjourned the House, leaving Veiento still on his feet and struggling to deliver his speech. He complained bitterly of the indignity - as he called it - which had been shown him, quoting the line from Homer: "Old man, the young fighters wear you down." ‡ There was hardly a member of the senate who did not embrace and kiss me and vie with his friends in heaping praises upon my head for having restored the custom, which had long fallen into disuse, of consulting for the public good by undertaking the protection of private persons who had been wronged, and for having freed the senate from the strong odium into which it had fallen with the other orders of society, which complained that, while the senate was severe in the punishment of other people, it invariably spared a senator by mutual agreement, as it were, among its members.
Certus was not present when all this took place, either owing to his having some suspicion of what was about to happen, or else he was ill, which was the reason he assigned for his absence. It is true that Caesar never referred to the senate the inquiry into Certus's crimes, yet I gained the point for which I had striven. For it was a colleague of Certus who gained the consulship, and Certus's place was taken by someone else, and so the sentence at the close of my speech was fulfilled, where I said, "Let him give back, now that we have a model emperor to reign over us, the prize which was conferred upon him by the worst of emperors." Subsequently, I recalled the speech to my memory as best I could, and added a good deal. By a coincidence, which looked rather more than a coincidence. Certus was taken ill and died a very few days after I published my book. I have heard people say that he was haunted by a phantom which was for ever presenting itself to his mind and gaze, and that he thought he saw me threatening him with a sword. I should not like to say that this actually was the case, but it adds to the moral that it should be considered as true. Well, I have written you a letter which, judged by the standard length of a letter, is about as long as the books you have read, but you have only yourself to blame, inasmuch as you were not content with the published books. Farewell.
(*) See letter iii. 16.
(**) His second wife, the daughter of Pompeia Celerina.
(†) Virgil, Aeneid vi. 105.
(††) Certus had clearly been involved in the prosecution that led to the death of Helvidius in 93 A.D.; but it is not clear exactly what crime Pliny accused him of committing.
(‡) Homer, Iliad viii. 102; the words of Diomedes to Nestor.
C. PLINIUS QUADRATO SUO S.
Quanto studiosius intentiusque legisti libros quos de Helvidi ultione composui, tanto impensius postulas, ut perscribam tibi quaeque extra libros quaeque circa libros, totum denique ordinem rei cui per aetatem non interfuisti.
Occiso Domitiano statui mecum ac deliberavi, esse magnam pulchramque materiam insectandi nocentes, miseros vindicandi, se proferendi. Porro inter multa scelera multorum nullum atrocius videbatur, quam quod in senatu senator senatori, praetorius consulari, reo iudex manus intulisset. Fuerat alioqui mihi cum Helvidio amicitia, quanta potuerat esse cum eo, qui metu temporum nomen ingens paresque virtutes secessu tegebat; fuerat cum Arria et Fannia, quarum altera Helvidi noverca, altera mater novercae. Sed non ita me iura privata, ut publicum fas et indignitas facti et exempli ratio incitabat. Ac primis quidem diebus redditae libertatis pro se quisque inimicos suos, dumtaxat minores, incondito turbidoque clamore postulaverat simul et oppresserat. Ego et modestius et constantius arbitratus immanissimum reum non communi temporum invidia, sed proprio crimine urgere, cum iam satis primus ille impetus defremuisset et languidior in dies ira ad iustitiam redisset, quamquam tum maxime tristis amissa nuper uxore, mitto ad Anteiam — nupta haec Helvidio fuerat -; rogo ut veniat, quia me recens adhuc luctus limine contineret. Ut venit, 'Destinatum est' inquam 'mihi maritum tuum non inultum pati. Nuntia Arriae et Fanniae' — ab exsilio redierant -, 'consule te, consule illas, an velitis ascribi facto, in quo ego comite non egeo; sed non ita gloriae meae faverim, ut vobis societate eius invideam.' Perfert Anteia mandata, nec illae morantur.
Opportune senatus intra diem tertium. Omnia ego semper ad Corellium rettuli, quem providentissimum aetatis nostrae sapientissimumque cognovi: in hoc tamen contentus consilio meo fui veritus ne vetaret; erat enim cunctantior cautiorque. Sed non sustinui inducere in animum, quominus illi eodem die facturum me indicarem, quod an facerem non deliberabam, expertus usu de eo quod destinaveris non esse consulendos quibus consultis obsequi debeas. Venio in senatum, ius dicendi peto, dico paulisper maximo assensu. Ubi coepi crimen attingere, reum destinare, adhuc tamen sine nomine, undique mihi reclamari. Alius: 'Sciamus, quis sit de quo extra ordinem referas', alius: 'Quis est ante relationem reus?', alius: 'Salvi simus, qui supersumus.' Audio imperturbatus interritus: tantum susceptae rei honestas valet, tantumque ad fiduciam vel metum differt, nolint homines quod facias an non probent. Longum est omnia quae tunc hinc inde iacta sunt recensere. Novissime consul: 'Secunde, sententiae loco dices, si quid volueris.' 'Permiseras' inquam 'quod usque adhuc omnibus permisisti.' Resido; aguntur alia. Interim me quidam ex consularibus amicis, secreto curatoque sermone, quasi nimis fortiter incauteque progressum corripit revocat, monet ut desistam, adicit etiam: 'Notabilem te futuris principibus fecisti.' 'Esto' inquam 'dum malis.' Vix ille discesserat, rursus alter: 'Quid audes? Quo ruis? Quibus te periculis obicis? Quid praesentibus confidis incertus futurorum? Lacessis hominem iam praefectum aerarii et brevi consulem, praeterea qua gratia quibus amicitiis fultum!' Nominat quendam, qui tunc ad orientem amplissimum exercitum non sine magnis dubiisque rumoribus obtinebat. Ad haec ego: "ëOmnia praecepi atque animo mecum ante peregi" nec recuso, si ita casus attulerit, luere poenas ob honestissimum factum, dum flagitiosissimum ulciscor.'
Iam censendi tempus. Dicit Domitius Apollinaris consul designatus, dicit Fabricius Veiento, Fabius Postuminus, Bittius Proculus collega Publici Certi, de quo agebatur, uxoris autem meae quam amiseram vitricus, post hos Ammius Flaccus. Omnes Certum nondum a me nominatum ut nominatum defendunt crimenque quasi in medio relictum defensione suscipiunt. Quae praeterea dixerint, non est necesse narrare: in libris habes; sum enim cuncta ipsorum verbis persecutus. Dicunt contra Avidius Quietus, Cornutus Tertullus: Quietus, iniquissimum esse querelas dolentium excludi, ideoque Arriae et Fanniae ius querendi non auferendum, nec interesse cuius ordinis quis sit, sed quam causam habeat; Cornutus, datum se a consulibus tutorem Helvidi filiae petentibus matre eius et vitrico; nunc quoque non sustinere deserere officii sui partes, in quo tamen et suo dolori modum imponere et optimarum feminarum perferre modestissimum affectum; quas contentas esse admonere senatum Publici Certi cruentae adulationis et petere, si poena flagitii manifestissimi remittatur, nota certe quasi censoria inuratur. Tum Satrius Rufus medio ambiguoque sermone 'Puto' inquit 'iniuriam factam Publicio Certo, si non absolvitur; nominatus est ab amicis Arriae et Fanniae, nominatus ab amicis suis. Nec debemus solliciti esse; idem enim nos, qui bene sentimus de homine, et iudicaturi sumus. Si innocens est, sicut et spero et malo et, donec aliquid probetur, credo, poteritis absolvere.' Haec illi quo quisque ordine citabantur. Venitur ad me. Consurgo, utor initio quod in libro est, respondeo singulis. Mirum qua intentione, quibus clamoribus omnia exceperint, qui modo reclamabant: tanta conversio vel negotii dignitatem vel proventum orationis vel actoris Constantiam subsecuta est. Finio. Incipit respondere Veiento; nemo patitur; obturbatur obstrepitur, adeo quidem ut diceret: 'Rogo, patres conscripti, ne me cogatis implorare auxilium tribunorum.' Et statim Murena tribunus: 'Permitto tibi, vir clarissime Veiento, dicere.' Tunc quoque reclamatur. Inter moras consul citatis nominibus et peracta discessione mittit senatum, ac paene adhuc stantem temptantemque dicere Veientonem reliquit. Multum ille de hac — ita vocabat — contumelia questus est Homerico versu: ὦ γέρον, ἦ μάλα δή σε νέοι τείρουσι μαχηταί. Non fere quisquam in senatu fuit, qui non me complecteretur exoscularetur certatimque laude cumularet, quod intermissum iam diu morem in publicum consulendi susceptis propriis simultatibus reduxissem; quod denique senatum invidia liberassem, qua flagrabat apud ordines alios, quod severus in ceteros senatoribus solis dissimulatione quasi mutua parceret.
Haec acta sunt absente Certo; fuit enim seu tale aliquid suspicatus sive, ut excusabatur, infirmus. Et relationem quidem de eo Caesar ad senatum non remisit; obtinui tamen quod intenderam: nam collega Certi consulatum, successorem Certus accepit, planeque factum est quod dixeram in fine: 'Reddat praemium sub optimo principe, quod a pessimo accepit.' Postea actionem meam utcumque potui recollegi, addidi multa. Accidit fortuitum, sed non tamquam fortuitum, quod editis libris Certus intra paucissimos dies implicitus morbo decessit. Audivi referentes hanc imaginem menti eius hanc oculis oberrasse, tamquam videret me sibi cum ferro imminere. Verane haec, affirmare non ausim; interest tamen exempli, ut vera videantur.
Habes epistulam, si modum epistulae cogites, libris quos legisti non minorem; sed imputabis tibi qui contentus libris non fuisti. Vale.
◆
To Quadratus.
The more carefully and closely you have read the books I composed to vindicate the character of Helvidius, the more anxious, you say, you are for me to write an account of the whole affair from beginning to end, which you were too young to take any part in, giving you details which do not appear in my volumes as well as those which do. When Domitian was put to death, I took counsel with myself and came to the conclusion that there was now a splendid and glorious opportunity for prosecuting the guilty, vindicating the oppressed, and at the same time bringing myself into prominence. It seemed to me that of all the many crimes committed by that crowd of wretches, there was none more atrocious than that a senator should have laid violent hands upon another senator in the senate-house, that a man of praetorian rank should have assaulted a man of consular rank, and a judge an accused person. Besides, Helvidius and I were friends, so far as friendship was possible with one who, owing to the terrorism that prevailed, tried to conceal his illustrious name and equally illustrious virtues in strict retirement; and I was also a friend of Arria and Fannia, * the former of whom was the step-mother of Helvidius, and the latter the mother of Arria.
But it was not so much my feelings as a friend, but my sense of public duty, my indignation at what had taken place, and the importance of the precedent, which stirred me. For the first few days after liberty had been restored each man was busy in his own interests impeaching his own private enemies - at least the more unimportant of them - and at once obtaining their condemnation, but all was being done with uproar and turbulence. I considered it would show greater modesty and boldness not to overthrow the worst criminal of them all on the general odium against the practices of the late reign, but to attack him on a specific charge, after the first furious outburst had worn itself out and the general rage was daily abating, and when men were beginning again to think of what was just. So, though I was in great distress at the time, for I had just recently lost my wife, ** I sent to Anteia - who was the wife of Helvidius - asking her to come and see me, as the bereavement I had recently suffered kept me still confined to my house. When she came, I said: "I have made up my mind not to let the death of your husband pass unavenged. Tell Arria and Fannia - they had already returned from exile - of my resolve, take counsel with yourself and them and decide whether you desire to be associated with a performance in which I do not need the assistance of a second, though I do not wish to be so greedy for my personal glory as to grudge you a share in it." Anteia took my message and they lost no time in complying, and it fortunately happened that the senate met three days afterwards.
It was my unfailing practice to consult Corellius on all matters, for I looked upon him as the most far-seeing and the wisest man of our time ; but in this business I was satisfied with my own judgment, for I was afraid that he would try and dissuade me from my design, as he was always rather prone to hesitation and caution. However, I could not make up my mind to refrain from giving him a hint, when the day came, of what I was going to do, though I did not ask his advice as to whether I should proceed with my intention, for I have found by experience that, when you have decided on a course of action, it is a mistake to consult as to its wisdom those whose advice you ought to follow when once you ask them for it.
I entered the senate ; I craved permission to address the house, and for a little time everyone agreed with what I said. But when I began to touch upon the charge I was bringing and foreshadow whom I was accusing - though I had not yet named him - there were loud cries of dissent from all sides. One exclaimed, "Let us know who it is that you are denouncing out of order? " ; another, "Who is it that is being put on his trial before he has been impeached ?" ; another, "Let us who survive remain in security." I listened without fear or trepidation, sustained by the righteousness of the cause I had undertaken, while it always materially contributes to one's confidence or fear whether one's audience is merely unwilling to hear your case or actively disapproves of it. It would be tedious to relate all the exclamations which were flung from side to side, but at last the consul said : "Secundus, you will be given an opportunity of saying what you wish to say when it comes to your turn to speak." To that I replied: "That will be a favour which you grant to everyone." Then I sat down, and other business was transacted. In the meantime one of my friends, a man of consular rank, came and had a private and earnest conversation with me. He thought that I had plunged rashly and recklessly into the fray and most strenuously urged me to desist, adding that I should make myself a marked man with future emperors. "Be it so," said I, "so long as they are bad ones." No sooner had he left me than a second friend came up, saying, "What rashness is this of yours? Whither are you rushing? To what perils are you exposing yourself? What confidence can you have in the present when you do not know what the future may bring forth ? Remember you are provoking a man who is at this moment prefect of the treasury and will soon be consul, and, besides, think what influence he possesses and what friends he has to back him up !" Then he named a certain person who at the time was in the East, in command of a splendid army, but whose loyalty was the subject of much grave suspicion. To this I replied: "I have foreseen all you say, and I have fully weighed it in my mind, † nor do I fear, if so chance wills it, to pay the penalty for a most honourable deed, so long as I take vengeance on a most consummate rascal."
By this time the time for recording opinions had arrived. Among the speakers were Domitius Apollinaris, the consul-designate, Fabricius Veiento, Fabius Maximinus, Vettius Proculus, the colleague of Publicius Certus, who was the subject of debate, and the father-in-law of the wife whom I had just lost. After these Ammius Flaccus spoke. They all defended Certus, just as if I had already named him, which I had not, and took up and defended his cause, though the charge had been left vague. †† I need not tell you the substance of their speeches, for you have them in my books, just as I took them down in their own words. They were opposed by Avidius Quietus and Cornutus Tertullus. Quietus urged that it was most unjust to refuse to hear the complaints of the aggrieved persons, and, therefore, Arria and Fannia ought not to be robbed of their right to lodge a complaint. It did not matter, he said, what class a person belonged to, the point was whether his case was just. Cornutus said that he had been appointed guardian by the consuls to the daughter of Helvidius at the request of her mother and step-father, and that he could not think of failing in his duties at such a moment. However, he would set a limit to his own personal resentment and only support the very moderate request of these excellent ladies, who would be satisfied with bringing before the notice of the senate the crime-stained servility of Publicius Certus, and asking that, though the penalty for his most iniquitous crime might be foregone, he might at least be branded with some mark of disgrace similar to being officially degraded by the censors. Satrius Rufus followed with an equivocal speech, the meaning of which was by no means clear. "I consider," he said, "Publicius Certus will be wronged unless he is acquitted ; he has been impeached by the friends of Arria ; and Fannia, and by his own friends. Nor ought we to be anxious on his account, for we, who think well of him, are also to act as his judges. If he is innocent, as I hope and prefer to think he is, and as I will continue to believe until something is proved against him, you will be able to acquit him." Such were the sentiments delivered, in the order in which the speakers were severally called upon to speak.
Then my turn came ; I rose to my feet, and opening my remarks as you will find in my book, I replied to all, one by one. It was wonderful to notice with what attention and applause all my points were received by those who a little before were shouting me down. This sweeping change of view was due either to the importance of the subject under debate, or to the success of my speech, or to the boldness of the speaker. At length I concluded; Veiento began to answer me, but no one suffered him to speak ; he was greeted with such interruptions and clamours that he exclaimed, "I beg of you, conscript fathers, not to force me to appeal to the tribunes for protection." Immediately the tribune Murena broke in with, "I permit you, most honourable Veiento, to speak." At that the tumult broke out again. In the pauses between the outcries the consul read over the names and took the votes by a division, and then adjourned the House, leaving Veiento still on his feet and struggling to deliver his speech. He complained bitterly of the indignity - as he called it - which had been shown him, quoting the line from Homer: "Old man, the young fighters wear you down." ‡ There was hardly a member of the senate who did not embrace and kiss me and vie with his friends in heaping praises upon my head for having restored the custom, which had long fallen into disuse, of consulting for the public good by undertaking the protection of private persons who had been wronged, and for having freed the senate from the strong odium into which it had fallen with the other orders of society, which complained that, while the senate was severe in the punishment of other people, it invariably spared a senator by mutual agreement, as it were, among its members.
Certus was not present when all this took place, either owing to his having some suspicion of what was about to happen, or else he was ill, which was the reason he assigned for his absence. It is true that Caesar never referred to the senate the inquiry into Certus's crimes, yet I gained the point for which I had striven. For it was a colleague of Certus who gained the consulship, and Certus's place was taken by someone else, and so the sentence at the close of my speech was fulfilled, where I said, "Let him give back, now that we have a model emperor to reign over us, the prize which was conferred upon him by the worst of emperors." Subsequently, I recalled the speech to my memory as best I could, and added a good deal. By a coincidence, which looked rather more than a coincidence. Certus was taken ill and died a very few days after I published my book. I have heard people say that he was haunted by a phantom which was for ever presenting itself to his mind and gaze, and that he thought he saw me threatening him with a sword. I should not like to say that this actually was the case, but it adds to the moral that it should be considered as true. Well, I have written you a letter which, judged by the standard length of a letter, is about as long as the books you have read, but you have only yourself to blame, since you were not content with the published books. Farewell.
[Note: See letter iii. 16.
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[Note: His second wife, the daughter of Pompeia Celerina.
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(†) Virgil, Aeneid vi. 105.
(††) Certus had clearly been involved in the prosecution that led to the death of Helvidius in 93 A.D.; but it is not clear exactly what crime Pliny accused him of committing.
(‡) Homer, Iliad viii. 102; the words of Diomedes to Nestor.
Human translation — Attalus.org
Latin / Greek Original
C. PLINIUS QUADRATO SUO S.
Quanto studiosius intentiusque legisti libros quos de Helvidi ultione composui, tanto impensius postulas, ut perscribam tibi quaeque extra libros quaeque circa libros, totum denique ordinem rei cui per aetatem non interfuisti.
Occiso Domitiano statui mecum ac deliberavi, esse magnam pulchramque materiam insectandi nocentes, miseros vindicandi, se proferendi. Porro inter multa scelera multorum nullum atrocius videbatur, quam quod in senatu senator senatori, praetorius consulari, reo iudex manus intulisset. Fuerat alioqui mihi cum Helvidio amicitia, quanta potuerat esse cum eo, qui metu temporum nomen ingens paresque virtutes secessu tegebat; fuerat cum Arria et Fannia, quarum altera Helvidi noverca, altera mater novercae. Sed non ita me iura privata, ut publicum fas et indignitas facti et exempli ratio incitabat. Ac primis quidem diebus redditae libertatis pro se quisque inimicos suos, dumtaxat minores, incondito turbidoque clamore postulaverat simul et oppresserat. Ego et modestius et constantius arbitratus immanissimum reum non communi temporum invidia, sed proprio crimine urgere, cum iam satis primus ille impetus defremuisset et languidior in dies ira ad iustitiam redisset, quamquam tum maxime tristis amissa nuper uxore, mitto ad Anteiam — nupta haec Helvidio fuerat -; rogo ut veniat, quia me recens adhuc luctus limine contineret. Ut venit, 'Destinatum est' inquam 'mihi maritum tuum non inultum pati. Nuntia Arriae et Fanniae' — ab exsilio redierant -, 'consule te, consule illas, an velitis ascribi facto, in quo ego comite non egeo; sed non ita gloriae meae faverim, ut vobis societate eius invideam.' Perfert Anteia mandata, nec illae morantur.
Opportune senatus intra diem tertium. Omnia ego semper ad Corellium rettuli, quem providentissimum aetatis nostrae sapientissimumque cognovi: in hoc tamen contentus consilio meo fui veritus ne vetaret; erat enim cunctantior cautiorque. Sed non sustinui inducere in animum, quominus illi eodem die facturum me indicarem, quod an facerem non deliberabam, expertus usu de eo quod destinaveris non esse consulendos quibus consultis obsequi debeas. Venio in senatum, ius dicendi peto, dico paulisper maximo assensu. Ubi coepi crimen attingere, reum destinare, adhuc tamen sine nomine, undique mihi reclamari. Alius: 'Sciamus, quis sit de quo extra ordinem referas', alius: 'Quis est ante relationem reus?', alius: 'Salvi simus, qui supersumus.' Audio imperturbatus interritus: tantum susceptae rei honestas valet, tantumque ad fiduciam vel metum differt, nolint homines quod facias an non probent. Longum est omnia quae tunc hinc inde iacta sunt recensere. Novissime consul: 'Secunde, sententiae loco dices, si quid volueris.' 'Permiseras' inquam 'quod usque adhuc omnibus permisisti.' Resido; aguntur alia. Interim me quidam ex consularibus amicis, secreto curatoque sermone, quasi nimis fortiter incauteque progressum corripit revocat, monet ut desistam, adicit etiam: 'Notabilem te futuris principibus fecisti.' 'Esto' inquam 'dum malis.' Vix ille discesserat, rursus alter: 'Quid audes? Quo ruis? Quibus te periculis obicis? Quid praesentibus confidis incertus futurorum? Lacessis hominem iam praefectum aerarii et brevi consulem, praeterea qua gratia quibus amicitiis fultum!' Nominat quendam, qui tunc ad orientem amplissimum exercitum non sine magnis dubiisque rumoribus obtinebat. Ad haec ego: "ëOmnia praecepi atque animo mecum ante peregi" nec recuso, si ita casus attulerit, luere poenas ob honestissimum factum, dum flagitiosissimum ulciscor.'
Iam censendi tempus. Dicit Domitius Apollinaris consul designatus, dicit Fabricius Veiento, Fabius Postuminus, Bittius Proculus collega Publici Certi, de quo agebatur, uxoris autem meae quam amiseram vitricus, post hos Ammius Flaccus. Omnes Certum nondum a me nominatum ut nominatum defendunt crimenque quasi in medio relictum defensione suscipiunt. Quae praeterea dixerint, non est necesse narrare: in libris habes; sum enim cuncta ipsorum verbis persecutus. Dicunt contra Avidius Quietus, Cornutus Tertullus: Quietus, iniquissimum esse querelas dolentium excludi, ideoque Arriae et Fanniae ius querendi non auferendum, nec interesse cuius ordinis quis sit, sed quam causam habeat; Cornutus, datum se a consulibus tutorem Helvidi filiae petentibus matre eius et vitrico; nunc quoque non sustinere deserere officii sui partes, in quo tamen et suo dolori modum imponere et optimarum feminarum perferre modestissimum affectum; quas contentas esse admonere senatum Publici Certi cruentae adulationis et petere, si poena flagitii manifestissimi remittatur, nota certe quasi censoria inuratur. Tum Satrius Rufus medio ambiguoque sermone 'Puto' inquit 'iniuriam factam Publicio Certo, si non absolvitur; nominatus est ab amicis Arriae et Fanniae, nominatus ab amicis suis. Nec debemus solliciti esse; idem enim nos, qui bene sentimus de homine, et iudicaturi sumus. Si innocens est, sicut et spero et malo et, donec aliquid probetur, credo, poteritis absolvere.' Haec illi quo quisque ordine citabantur. Venitur ad me. Consurgo, utor initio quod in libro est, respondeo singulis. Mirum qua intentione, quibus clamoribus omnia exceperint, qui modo reclamabant: tanta conversio vel negotii dignitatem vel proventum orationis vel actoris Constantiam subsecuta est. Finio. Incipit respondere Veiento; nemo patitur; obturbatur obstrepitur, adeo quidem ut diceret: 'Rogo, patres conscripti, ne me cogatis implorare auxilium tribunorum.' Et statim Murena tribunus: 'Permitto tibi, vir clarissime Veiento, dicere.' Tunc quoque reclamatur. Inter moras consul citatis nominibus et peracta discessione mittit senatum, ac paene adhuc stantem temptantemque dicere Veientonem reliquit. Multum ille de hac — ita vocabat — contumelia questus est Homerico versu: ὦ γέρον, ἦ μάλα δή σε νέοι τείρουσι μαχηταί. Non fere quisquam in senatu fuit, qui non me complecteretur exoscularetur certatimque laude cumularet, quod intermissum iam diu morem in publicum consulendi susceptis propriis simultatibus reduxissem; quod denique senatum invidia liberassem, qua flagrabat apud ordines alios, quod severus in ceteros senatoribus solis dissimulatione quasi mutua parceret.
Haec acta sunt absente Certo; fuit enim seu tale aliquid suspicatus sive, ut excusabatur, infirmus. Et relationem quidem de eo Caesar ad senatum non remisit; obtinui tamen quod intenderam: nam collega Certi consulatum, successorem Certus accepit, planeque factum est quod dixeram in fine: 'Reddat praemium sub optimo principe, quod a pessimo accepit.' Postea actionem meam utcumque potui recollegi, addidi multa. Accidit fortuitum, sed non tamquam fortuitum, quod editis libris Certus intra paucissimos dies implicitus morbo decessit. Audivi referentes hanc imaginem menti eius hanc oculis oberrasse, tamquam videret me sibi cum ferro imminere. Verane haec, affirmare non ausim; interest tamen exempli, ut vera videantur.
Habes epistulam, si modum epistulae cogites, libris quos legisti non minorem; sed imputabis tibi qui contentus libris non fuisti. Vale.