concerned, he did not think the de-
cree/air. Perhaps then de suo jure
decedere,' (vid. prec. n.) meant what
Veil. Pat. testifies, (ii. 62.) the offer
(per edictum) of retiring into banish-
ment if the concord of the state were
secured. This appeal not suiting
Antony's views, was answered by a
threat of arms.
15. Malis suasoribus] Laco, Mus-
tela, Numisius, &c.
16. Galliis] The Transalpine
Gaul had been assigned to L. Mu-
natius Plancus ; the Cisalpine to De-
cimus Brutus. Antony, in order to be
near Rome, claimed them both, with
PHILIPPICA PRIMA, Cap. 4.
329
IV. Turn vero tanta sum cupiditate incensus ad reditum,
ut mihi nulli neque remi, neque venti satisfacerent : non quo
me ad tempus occursurum non putarem, 1 sed ne tardius,
quam cuperem, reipublicae gratularer. Atque ego celeriter
Veliam 2 devectus, Brutum vidi; 3 quanto meo dolore, non
dico. Turpe mihi ipsi videbatur, in earn urbem me audere
reverti, ex qua Brutus cederet, et ibi velle tuto esse, ubi ille
non posset. Neque vero ilium similiter, atque ipse enim.
commotum esse vidi. Erectus enim maximi ac pulcherrimi
tacti 4 sui conscientia, nihil de suo casu, multa de vestro que-
rebatur. Exque eo primum cognovi, quae Kalendis 5 Sexti-
libus in senatu fuisset L. Pisonis 6 oratio : qui quamquam pa-
rum erat, (id enim ipso a Bruto audieram) a quibus debue-
rat, adjutus, tamen et Bruti testimonio (quo quid potest esse
gravius ?) et omnium praedicatione, quos postea vidi, mag-
nam mihi videbatur gloriam consecutus. Hunc igitur ut
sequerer, 7 properavi, quern praesentes 8 non sunt secuti : non
ut proficerem aliquid, (neque enim sperabam id, nee prae-
*n extension of the ordinary time.
Att. xiv. 14. ' Quae scribis, Kal.
.fun. Antonium de proviaciis relatu-
rum, ut et ipse Galiias habeat et utris-
que dies prorogetur, &c.'
Sect. IV. 1. Non quo non pu-
tarem] Al. von quo putarem: his
haste was not occasioned by any
doubt of not being in time 10 serve his
country. Orel. V. E. Without non,
' ad tempus' may mean the first of
August. It was the seventh that he
heard of Antony's promising con-
duct.
2. Veliam] Velia was a sea-port
oi Lucania, contiguous to which Bru-
tus was lying with his fleet. The
name is derived from Slog, locus ; and
is considered by Dionys. Halicar. as
digammated.
3. Brutum vidi] When Brutus
left Rome he repaired to Lanuvium,
and spent his time for some weeks in
visits to Cicero, Lucullus, Sec. In-
trod. 6. In the mean time he and
Cassius collected a considerable fleet,
and at this time, (the middle of Au-
gust,) Brutus was lying off the river
Heles, three miles east of Velia. An
account of this interview is given,
Att. xvi. 7.
4. Pulcherrimi j'acli] The slaying
of a tyrant.
5. Kalendis.] The Calends, Nones,
and Ides, were the regular days for
holding the senate, which Antony
convened as usual, though Cicero had
not attended for some months.
6. L. Pisonis] The father of Cal-
purnia, Caesar's wife. Phil. v. 7.
Against him Cic, whose colouring
of a man's character, varied with the
medium through which he viewed it,
pronounced the violent invective still
extant. Thus Caesar, Antony, Dola-
bella, &c, are alternately the objects
of his highest panegyric and most
virulent abuse. Piso was against
voting divine honours to Caesar.
7. Ut sequerer] ' To second,' the
proper sense of * sequi,' whose fut.
participle is 'sequundus.' i.e. ' se-
cundus.'
8. Prxsentes] The senators pre-
sent.
F F 2
330
M. T. CICERONIS ORATIO
stare poteram,) sed ut, si quid mihi humanitus accidisset,-'
(multa autem impendere videntiir praeter naturam etiam,
praeterque fatum, 10 ) hujus tamen diei vocem testem reipub-
licae relinquerem meae perpetuae erga se voluntatis.
Quoniam utriusque consilii causam, Patres conscripti,
probatam vobis esse confido, priusquam de republica dicere
incipio, pauca querar de hesterna M. Antonii injuria i 11 cui
sum amicus, idque me nonnullo ejus officio 12 debere esse,
prae me semper tuli.
V. Quid tandem erat causae, cur in senatum hesterno die
tam acerbe cogerer? solusne aberam? an non saepe minus
f requentes fuistis ? an ea res agefcmtur, ut etiam aegrotos de-
ierri oporteret ? Hannibal, 1 credo, 2 erat ad portas, aut de
Pyrrhi pace 3 agebatur ; ad quam causam etiam Appium il-
ium,* et caecum, et senem, delatum esse memoriae proditum
est. De supplicationibus 5 referebatur ; quo in genere sena-
9. Humanitus accidisset] To bap-
pen in accordance with the lot of hu-
manity to befal. Manil. 20. n. 1.
10. Prater nat. fatum] An am-
plification, or hendiad., to intimate a
premature death ; as if he said, con-
trary to the fate or law, of nature.'
Cat. iv. 4. n. 7. Similarly, Dem. de
Cor. 59. tov Trie itpappivng cat tov
avTopaTov Oavarov, i. e. a natural
death, being contrasted with that of
the patriot, and Mil. 7, * necessarium
mortem,' where, vid. n. 4. Abram.,
however, takes it to mean a violent
death ; i. e. a death arising neither
from the course of nature, nor from
any series of external causes (fatum),
e. g. the fall of a horse, fire, ship-
wreck.
11. Hesterna injuria'] His threa-
tening to pull down his house. Inf. 5.
n. 8.
12. Nonnulb ejus officio] After the
battle of Pharsalia, Antony was sta-
tioned by Caesar at Brundusium to
hinder the Pompeians from landing.
Cic, however, was permitted to land
and had his life spared. Phil. ii. 3.
Antony had also attempted to kill Clo-
dius, Cicero's great enemy. Mil. 15.
u. 12.
Sect. V. 1. Hannibal) After the
battle of Cannae, Hannibal, proceeding
towards Rome, pitched his camp on
the Anio, three mile3 from the city.
Liv. xxvi. 10. Pliny says that he hurl-
ed a spear within the walls. Hence it
became a proverbial expression for any
great danger.
2. Credo] The context must deter-
mine when this word is used ironi-
cally, as it appears to be here.
3. De Pyrrhi pace] This peace was
solicited for Pyrrhus by Cyneas, a ce-
lebrated Greek orator, who had in-
structions to bribe the senators, and
even the ladies of Rome. Appius,
surnamed Caecus, hearing of it, caused
himself to be carried to the senate,
where he inveighed so bitterly against
Pyrrhus, praying that he were deaf
as well as blind, that he might not
hear the disgrace of his country ; that
the senate decreed to enter on no
terms of peace with Pyrrhus as long
as he continued in Italy.
4. Appittm ilium] The great Ap-
pius. Mil. 7. n. 7.
5. Supplicationibus] ' Thanksgiv-
ings offered to the gods in the temples. '
When couches (pulvinaria) were
spread, and the images of the gods
PHILIPPICA PRIMA, Cap. 6.
331
tores deesse non solent. Coguntur enim non pignoribus, G sed
eorum, quorum de honore agitur, gratia ; quod idem fit,
quum de triumpho refertur. Ita 7 sine cura consules sunt, ut
paene liberum sit senatori, non adesse. Qui quum mihi mos
notus esset, quumque de via languerem et mihimet displice-
rem, misi pro amicitia, qui hoc ei diceret. At ille, vobis
audientibus, cum fabris se domum meam venturum esse
dixit. Nimis iracunde hoc quidem, et valde intemperanter.
Cujus enim maleficii tanta ista poena est, ut dicere in hoc
ordine auderet, se publicis operis disturbaturum publice ex
senatus sententia aedificatam domum ? 8 Quis autem unquam
tanto damno senatorem coegit ? aut quid est ultra pignus, aut
multam ? 9 Quod si scisset, quam sententiam dicturus essem,
remisisset aliquid profecto de severitate cogendi.
VI. An me censetis, Patres conscripti, quod vos inyiti
secuti estis, decreturum fuisse, ut parentalia 1 cum supplicati-
onibus miscerentur ? ut inexpiabiles religiones 2 in rempubli-
placed on them, it was called ' lecti-
sternium.'
6. Non pignoribus] Thanksgivings,
though made to the gods, yet reflected
honour on the individual through
whom they were made. * Pignora'
were not necessary to collect senators
on such complimentary occasions,
private friendship towards the indivi-
dual being sufficient. The ' pignora'
were exacted by the ' apparitors, at
the instance of the person who sum-
moned the senate, usually the consul,
not only for absence, but for contu-
macy or other improper conduct. It
is likely they consisted of such costly
or necessary articles of furniture as it
would most inconvenience the owner
to want. If a proper apology or
excuse were not offered, the consul
proceeded 'caedere pignora,' which
Gesner will have ' to destroy ;' Forcel-
lini, to sell by auction' the forfeits.
In the latter sense the ' multa,' a
fixed sum, was paid out of the pro-
ceeds. Hence it is always said ' pig-
nora capere,' ' multam dicere.' Thus
Livy (xxxvii. 51.) ' Et pignora capta
et multa; dicta:.' Some, however,
think that ' pignora' and multas'
were two distinct ways of punishing
senators. De Or. iii. 1 .
7. Jta] Either * thus,' i. e. in con-
sequence of this ; or, ' so careless are
the consuls on the subject that, &c.'
8. Publice aidificatam domum] Ci-
cero's house had been demolished
by Clodius, and a temple to liberty
built on its site. It was rebuilt at the
public expense ; which Cic. often
boasts of. De Harusp. 8, he says that
there were more decrees of the senate
about his house, than about any pub-
lic work, monument, or temple exist-
ing.
9. Pignus uut multam] Supr.
n.6.
Sect. VI. 1. Parentalia] As
' parricidium' was extended beyond
its proper sense to mean any murder,
so ' parentalia,' the obsequies of a
parent, is taken to mean any obse-
quies. They consisted of victims, li-
bations, garlands, &c. j and were of-
fered at the tomb of the deceased.
2. Inexpiabiles relig.] ' Religiones'
sunt ea ipsa qu<e metum (deorum) af-
ferunt. Forcel. ' Inexpiabiles,' inca-
332
M. T. CICERONIS ORATIO
nam inducerentur ? ut decernerentur supplicationes mortuo ? 3
Nihil dico, cui. Fuerit ille L. Brutus,* qui et ipse dominatu
regio rempublicam liberavit, et ad similem virtutem et simile
factum stirpem 5 jam prope in quingentesimum annum 6 propa-
gavit : adduci tamen non possem, ut quemquam mortuum
oonjungerem cum immortalium religione ; ut, cujus sepulcrum
nusquam 7 exstet, ubi parentetur, ei publice supplicetur. Ego
vero earn sententiam dixissem, Patres conscripti, utmeadver-
sus populum Romanum, si qui accidisset gravior reipublicae
casus, si bellum, 8 si morbus, si fames, facile possem defen-
dere; quae partim jam sunt, partim timeo ne impendeant.
Sed hoc ignoscant dii immortales, velim, et populo Romano,
qui id non probat, et huic ordini, qui decrevit invitus.
pable of expiation, impious.
3. Mortuo] Al. mortuorum. There
is a certain ambiguity in the expres-
sions made use of regarding these sup-
plications. Thus Cat. iii. 1. 6, *At-
<;ue etiara supplicatio diis immortalibus
meo nomine decreta est ;' and Sull. 30.
' Cui uni togato supplicationera sena-
tus decrevit.' Here we see thanks-
givings decreed to the immortal gods
and to Cicero j not, however, in the
same sense, the latter merely meaning
in honour of Cic. ; or, as it is ex-
pressed before, ' meo nomine.' ' Mor-
tuo, however, is here used in the first
sense, as if Antony reallydid claim di-
vine honours for Caesar, and of this
Cic. complains. But Suetonius (Jul.
84,) mentions a decree procured long
before this, ' quo omnia ei divina si-
mul et humana decreverat ;' which
Antony read at his funeral ; so that Cic.
need not have dwelt so strongly on this
slight additional absurdity. V. E. well
remarks, that these divine honours
paid to a mortal might lead, and did
lead, to fatal consequences. During
the subsequent times of confusion, af-
ter the capture of Perugia, Caesar Oc-
tavianus, afterwards named Augustus,
is stated to have sacrificed at once, on
the ides of March, three hundred
knights and senators at the altar of the
new divinity. Sueton. Octav. 12.
4. Fuerit L. Brutus] He opposes
the greatest patriot to the greatest ty-
rant in the annals of his country.
5. Stirpem] Dionysius Ilalicar.
says that Jun. Brutus left neither son
nor daughter, and adds, as a proof,
that the Junii and Bruti were plebei-
ans, as appears from their always hold-
ing plebeian offices. However this
may be, the tradition favoured the de-
scent of M. Brutus from the elder
Brutus, and that was enough for Cic.
At the request of Brutus, his pedigree
was prepared by Atticus.
6. In quingent. annum] Tarquin
was expelled a. u. 244. This ora-
tion was delivered a. u. 709.
7. Nusquam] Al. usquam. The
former agrees better with the fact ; for
the column built over his ' bustum,'
was before this demolished ; unless
we consider the sepulchre of his ances-
tors to be his own, where it appears
from Dio his ashes were deposited.
ra yap avrov oi tt\iv9fpoi irpoavei-
Xovro, Kai lc to irarpuiov pvtipuov
KareQtvTo. Trans. ' Shall the man
who has not even a grave for obse-
quies, be sacrificed to, as a deity with
a temple V ' Usquam' means that the
fact of his having a grave overthrows
his claims to divine honours.
8. Si bellum] The state was then
at war with Sextus Pompey.
PHILIPPICA PRIMA, Cap. 7. 333
Quid ? de reliquis 9 reipublica? malis licetne dicere ? Mihi vero
licet, et semper licebit dignitatem tueri, mortem contemnere.
Potestas modo veniendi in hunc locum sit : dicendi pericu-
lum non recuso. Atque utinam, Patres conscripti, Kalendis
Sextilibus 10 adesse potuissem ! non quo profici potuerit ali-
quid : sed ne unus modo consularis, quod turn accidit, dig-
nus illo honore, dignus republica inveniretur. Qua quidem
ex re magnum accipio dolorem, homines amplissimis populi
Romani beneficiis usos, 11 L. Pisonem, ducem optima? sen-
tentiae 12 non secutos. Idcircone nos populus Romanus con-
sules fecit, ut in altissimo amplissimoque gradu dignitatis lo-
cati, rempublicam pro nihilo haberemus ? Non modo voce
nemo L. Pisoni consularis, sed ne vultu quidem assensus est.
Qua?, malum ! est ista voluntaria servitus ? Fuerit qua?dam 13
necessaria. Neque ego hoc ab omnibus 14 iis desidero, qui
sententiam consulari loco 15 dicunt. Alia causa est eorum,
quorum silentio ignosco : alia eorum, quorum vocem re-
quiro. 16 Quos quidem doleo in suspicionem populo Romano
venire, non modo metus, quod ipsum esset turpe, sed alium
alia de causa 17 deesse dignitati sua?.
VII. Quare primum maximas gratias et ago et habeo 1 L.
. 9. Quid? de reliquis'] Antony had certain degree of it is necessary,
beset the senate with soldiers, and ad- 14. Ab omnibus] For some of the
mitted whom he pleased. This did consulars were relatives of Antony ;
not augur well for freedom of debate, e. g. Luc. Caesar, his maternal uncle.
Having therefore expressed his opi- These Cic. would excuse,
nion on the decrees of the preceding 15. Consulari loco] The persons
day, Cicero asks, must we stop here 1 who had admission to the place ap-
Will Antony's 'advocates' permit us propriated to those of consular or prae-
to go no farther in detailing the evils torial dignity, had not all borne those
of the times'? As for myself, I will offices: the right to sit there, some-
say, they may prevent my entrance times was conferred by the senate, as
into the senate at all, but they shall an honour to individuals. V.E.
not prevent the free expressions of my 1 6. Requiro] Mil. i. n. 5. Ovid,
sentiments when there. One of Ci- Met. vii. 515. ' Multos tamen inde
cero's modest assertions. ' requiro, Quos quondam vidi vestra
10. Kalend. SextiL] When Antony prius urbe receptus.'
proposed the deifying of Caesar and 17. Alium alia de causa] He hints
was opposed by Piso. that they secretly favoured the designs
11. Homines beneficiis usos] E.g. of Antony against his country, or
Ser. Sulpicius, Luc. Caesar, C. Mar- aimed at power themselves.
cellus, Servilius Isauricus, &c. Sect. VII. 1. Gratias et ago et
12. Optima sententia] Viz. Not habeo] We say, ' habere gratiam'
to grant the supplications to Caesar. ' agere gratias;' but if both verbs are
13. Fuerit qutedam] Admit that a joined, as here, the plural is used.
334
M. T. C1CER0NIS ORATIO
Pisoni, qui non, quid efficere posset in republica, cogitavit,
sed quid facere ipse deberet : deinde a vobis, Patres con-
scripti, peto, ut, etiam si sequi minus audebitis orationem
atque auctoritatem 2 meam, benigne me tamen, ut adhuc fe-
cistis, audiatis.
Primum igitur acta Caesaris 3 servanda censeo; non quo
probem : 4 (quis enim id quidem potest ?) sed quia rationem
habendam maxime arbitror pacis atque otii. Vellem ades-
set Antonius, modo sine advocatis. 5 Sed, ut opinor, licet ei
minus valere : 6 quod mihi heri per ilium non licuit. Doce-
ret me, vel potius vos, Patres conscripti, quemadmodum ipse
Caesaris acta defenderet. 7 An in commentariolis et chirogra-
phis et libellis se uno auctore 8 prolatis, ne prolatis quidem,
sed tantummodo dictis, acta Caesaris firma erunt : quae ille
in aes incidit, in quo 9 populi jussa perpetuasque leges esse
2. Auctoritatem] i.e. 'Kxemplum.'
Cicero joins the two as synonymous.
Balb. 31.
3. Acta Casaris] After Cesar's
death, while the conspirators were yet
in credit, it was proposed in the se-
nate, to rescind the acts of Caesar.
This, Cic. opposed, because it would
offend, and perhaps injure so many,
as to endanger the public peace. In
the mean time, Calpuraia had Ce-
sar's papers and effects conveyed to
Antony's house, as a place of safety ;
and Antony by gaining over Tiberius,
the amanuensis of Caesar, was ena-
bled to forge whatever acts or decrees
he thought proper. Cicero's com-
plaint then was, that the memoranda,
which they all knew to be spurious,
should be ratified while his laws, if
not actually annulled, were violated
by counter-edicts.
4. Non quo probem] For the legis-
lator was a tyrant ; or perhaps he
means, ' them *U,' for some of them,
e. g. the law about provinces, as we
shall see, he highly approves of.
5. Sine advocatis] The veterans in
Antony's pay, who the day before sur-
rounded the senate. He had some
time before this obtained from the
senate a guard for his person (Inf.
11. Phil. ii. 44, and v. 6,) and for
this purpose had employed Ityreans,
who may be also alluded to here.
Ascon. says, " Qui defendit alterum
in judicio, aut ' patronus' dicitur si
orator est, aut ' advocatus' si jus sug-
gerit aut praesentiara suam accommo-
dat amico, aut 'procurator/ si ne-
gotium suscipit, aut cognitor' si
praesentis causam novit et sic tuetur
ut suam. "
6. Licet ei minus valere] Antony
was absent on the plea of sickness.
7' Casaris acta defenderet] For
Antony, in violating Caesar's laws,
a fortiori, violates his acts, and could
not therefore defend them.
8. Se uno auctore] Either, he
being the sole voucher that they were
Caesar's,' as Phil. ii. 39, ' Quo auc-
tore proferunturV or ' being, himself,
the sole author of them,' as Phil. v.
4. ' Haec se ex commentariis Caesa-
ris, quorum ipse auctor erat agere di-
cebat.' So Phil. ii. 37, ' auctorem
odimus, acta defendimus.'
9. In qvui] i. e. ' In doing which,
sc. engraving them on brass, he
showed his wish that they should
continue permanent laws, not tempo-
rary enactments.' Vid. Manil. 8. n.
4. Some supply, ' aere ;' but, hav-
PH1LIPPICA PRIMA, Cap. 7.
335
voluit, 10 pro nihilo habebuntur ? Equidem existimo, 11 nihil
tarn esse in actis Caesaris, quam leges Caesaris. An, si cui
quid ille promisit, id erit fixum, quod idem facere non po-
tuit ? ut multis multa promissa non fecit. 12 Qua? tamen
multo plura illo mortuo reperta sunt, quam a vivo beneficia
per omnes annos tributa et data. Sed ea non muto, non
moveo ; summo etiam studio prseclara illius acta 13 defendo.
Pecunia utinam ad Opis maneret ! u cruenta 15 ilia quidem,
sed his temporibus, 16 quoniam iis, quorum est, non redditur,
necessaria. Quamquam ea quoque sit eflfusa, si ita in actis
fiat ! Ecquid est, quod tarn proprie dici possit actum ejus,
qui togatus 17 in republica cum potestate imperioque versatus
sit, quam lex ? Quaere acta Gracchi : leges Sempronia? 13 pro-
ferentur. Quaere Sullae, Corneliae. 19 Quid ? Cn. Pompeii
ing said that Caesar engraved them on
brass, surely none would doubt his
intention that they (or any laws)
should continue there.
10. Voluit] Perhaps a sarcasm on
the despotism of Caesar. ' Consul ro-
gavit ; populus voluit, jussit, &c.'
11. Existimo] This long argument
is to prove, that if the acts of Caesar
are to be valid, Antony has no colour
to annul his laws.
12. Quod idem non fecit] ' Which
promise even he could not perform ;'
for it appears better to refer ' idem' to
Caesar. ' Facere promissum,' toper-
form a promise. Off*, i. 10.
13. PrcEclara illius acta] i. e.
Those which were really for the
good of the state. He presently spe-
cifies some of them.
14. Pecunia utinam, $c] Perhaps
the connexion here is : I said that I
am against altering Caesar's acts, how-
ever much I might wish it ; e. g. con-
sidering the necessities of the state, it
were to be wished that the money
plundered from the Pompeians, and
kept by Caesar in the temple of Ops,
were still untouched ; yet, let it be
squandered, if so it be enacted. Now,
if I respect such an act of Caesar's as
this, may I not expect Antony to re-
gard his laws 1
15. Cruenta] Procured by shed-
ding the blood (cruor) of the Pom-
peians.
16. His temporibus] The treasury
was so exhausted, during these times,
that the public shows could not be
celebrated for want of money ; and
the Triumviri levied contributions oft"
the wealthy. Even ladies, if we be-
lieve Appian, were taxed. Vide Hooke
x. 15.
17. Togatus] From 'toga,' (te-
go,) because it covered the whole
body, is here opposed to ' sagatus'
(sagum) the civil to the military
robe. It was customary for all the
citizens to assume the sagum' in
times of war and danger, whether
they actually served or not, as we
find they did a short time after this,
when Antony was declared a public
enemy.
18. Leges Sempronia] Laws were
usually named after their proposer,
and the nomen,' or name of the
'gens,' always preferred. The Grac-
chi were of the ' gens Sempronia,'
&c. Among these was a judiciary
law to tranfer the right of judging
from the senate to the equites.
19. Cornelia] One of these re-
versed the above law, and restored
the judices to the senate.
336 M. T. CICERONIS ORATIO
tertius consulatus c0 in quibus actis constitit? Nempe in legi-
bus. De Caesare ipso si quaereres, quidnam egisset in urbe
et in toga : leges multas responderet se et praeclaras tulisse ;
chirographa 21 vero aut mutaret, aut non daret ; aut, si dedis-
set, 22 non istas res in actis suis dnceret. Sed haec ipsa con-
cedo ; quibusdam etiam in rebus conniveo : in maximis vero
rebus, id est, legibus, acta Caesaris dissolvi ferendum non
puto.
VIII. Quae lex 1 melior, utilior, optima 2 etiam republica
saepius flagitata, quam, ne praetoriae provinciae plus quam an-
num, neve plus quam biennium consulares obtinerentur ?
Hac lege sublata, videntume vobis Caesaris acta servari I
Quid ? lege, quae promulgata est de tertia decuria, 2 nonne
omnes judiciariae leges Caesaris dissolvuntur ? Et vos acta
Caesaris defenditis, qui leges ejus evertitis ? Nisi forte, 3 si
quid memoriae causa retulit in libellum, id numerabitur in
actis, et quamvis iniquum et inutile 4 sit, defendetur : quod
ad populum centuriatis comitiis tulit, id in actis Caesaris non
habebitur. At quae est 5 ista tertia decuria ? Centurionum,
inquit. Quid? isti ordini judicatus lege Julia, etiam ante
20. Pompeii tert. const//.] a. u. liberties of his country before he en-
701. Vid. Introd. to Mil. acted this law.
21. Chirographa] Quae tantum sua 2. De tertia decuria] Caesar had
manu in commentariis scripsisset, se reduced the order of the judges to
facturum aut daturum. Ern. two, the senators and equites, having
22. Si dedisset] And, therefore, abolished the Tribuni aerarii, an order
could not recall or alter them. added by Cotta. This Antony re-
Sect. VIII. 1. Qua lex] Caesar placed by a decury of centurions, and
had sufficient experience, during the thus, in effect, annulled Caesar's law.
nine years in which he held the pro- 3. Nisi forte] Mil. 3. n. 10.
vince of Gaul, of the dangers likely 4. Inutile] Mischievous. So
to result to the government at home, axptiog in Greek. Off. ii. 14. Sedi-
from men of abilities holding offices tiosus et inutilis civis.'
so long abroad. He therefore enacted 5. At qua est, fyc] This may be
this law, which was nullified by a paraphrased : ' But what, says Cic,
counter-law of two of Antony's crea- is this third decury of yours, Antony?
tuies, extendingthe Praetorian provin- Of Centurions, he replies: What?
ces to two, and the consular, to six had not they already a share in the