60rum hominum studia cognoscere, qui suâ virtute fortunam civitatis consecuti, hanc vere suam patriam esse judicant: quam quidam hanc nati, et summo nati loco, non patriam suam, sed urbem hostium esse judicaverunt. Sed quid ego hujusce ordinis homines commemorem, quos privatæ fortunæ, quos communis respublica, quos denique liber65tas ea, quæ dulcissima est, ad salutem patriæ defendendam excitavit? servus est nemo, qui modo tolerabili conditione sit servitutis, qui non audaciam civium perditorum perhorrescat; qui non obstare cupiat; qui non tantum, quantum audet, et quantum potest, conferat ad communem salutem, voluntatis. Quare si quem vestrûm fortè commovet 70hoc, quod auditum est, lenonem quendam Lentuli concursare circum tabernas, pretio sperantem solicitari posse animos egentium atque imperitorum: est id quidem cœptum atque tentatum: sed nulli sunt inventi tam aut fortuna miseri, aut voluntate perditi, qui non ipsum illum sellæ atque operis, et quæstûs quotidiani locum, qui non cubile 75ac lectulum suum, qui denique non cursum hunc otiosum vitæ suæ salvum esse velint. Multo verò maxima pars eorum qui in tabernis sunt, immo vero (id enim potius est dicendum) genus hoc universum amantissimum est botii. Etenim omne eorum instrumentum, omnis opera, ac quæstus, frequentia civium sustinetur, alitur otio: quorum 80si quæstus, occlusis tabernis, minui solet, quid tandem incensis futu rum est? a PERORATIO. In hac peroratione postulat, et hortatur Senatum, ut Silani sententiam sequatur, cui se obtemperaturum profitetur. V. Quæ cum ita sint, P. C. vobis populi Rom. præsidia non desunt: vos ne populo Rom. deesse videamini, providete. Habetis consulem ex plurimis periculis et insidiis, atque ex media morte, non ad vitam suam, sed ad salutem vestram reservatum: omnes ordines 5 ad conservandam rempub. mente, voluntate, studio, virtute, voce consentiunt: obsessa facibus et telis impiæ conjurationis, vobis supplex d manus tendit patria communis: vobis se, vobis vitam omnium civium, vobis arcem et Capitolium, vobis aras Penatium, vobis illum C non ut vivat sibi. d precatur. a hanc brevitatem vitæ pacatam. b pacis. were those who had been manumitted from just slavery, and who, deserving well of their masters for their honesty and bravery, had liberty and the rights of citizens granted to them. 61. Hinc nati.] He intends Lentulus and Cethegus; who, though born at Rome, wished to destroy it, as if an enemy's city, with fire and sword. 66. Tolerabili conditione.] That servant is said to be in a tolerable condition who has not a hard and cruel master. 67. Obstare cupiat.] There is no one who does not desire to oppose the audacity of those conspiring citizens. 70. Concursare.] Sallust tells us, that the clients and freedmen of Lentulus, by taking different directions through the city, had attempted to raise the mechanics and servants, that they might bring him out of prison by force. 74. Sellæ atque operis.] Sella or officiana is the place where artists make their wares. From sella they were called sellularii. Ib. Cubile ac lectulum.] Cicero appears to make a distinction between these words. Perhaps cubile is more mean than lectus, as it is assigned by Virgil to moles and crows, lib. 1. Georg. 76. In tabernis sunt.] Things to be sold were placed in warehouses by the retailers. Taberna is also taken for an inn, because a price is paid for lodging. 8. Penatium.] The penates were twelve select gods, which were called country or domestic gods because they have power over us from our birth, or are in us, by whom we breathe. b ignem Vestæ perpetuum ac sempiternum, vobis omnia deorum templa atque delubra, vobis muros atque urbis tecta commendat. Præ-10 terea de vestra vita, de conjugum vestrarum ac librorum anima, de fortunis omnium, de sedibus, de focis vestris hodierno die vobis judicandum est. Habetis ducem memorem vestri, oblitum sui; quæ non semper facultas datur: habetis omnes ordines, omnes homines, universum populum Romanum (id quod in civili causa hodierno die15 primum videmus) unum atque idem sentientem. Cogitate quantis laboribus fundatum imperium, quanta virtute stabilitam liberatem, quanta deorum benignitate auctas exaggeratasque fortuna, una nox pene delerit. Id ne unquam posthac non modò confici, sed ne cogitari quidem possit, vobis hodierno die providendum est. Atque hæc, non20 ut vos, qui mihi studio pene præcurritis, excitarem, locutus sum, sed ut mea vox, quæ debet esse in repub. princeps, officio functa consulari videretur. Nunc antequam, P. C. ad sententiam redeo, de me pauca dicam. Ego, quanta manus est conjuratorum, quam videtis esse permagnam, tantam me inimicorum multitudinem suscepisse vi-25 deo: sed eam esse judico turpem et infirmam, contemptam et abjectam. Quòd si aliquando alicujus furore et scelere concitata manus ista plus valuerit quam vestra ac reipublicæ dignitas, me tamen meorum factorum atque consiliorum nunquam, P. C. pœnitebit. Etenim mors, quam illi mihi fortasse minitantur, omnibus est parata: vi-30 tæ tantam laudem, quanta vos me vestris decretis honestastis, nemo est assecutus. Cæteris enim semper bene gestæ, mihi uni conservatæ reipublicæ gratulationem decrevistis. Sit Scipio clarus, ille, cujus consilio atque virtute Hannibal in Africam redire, atque ex Italia decedere coactus est: ornetur alter eximia laude Africanus, qui duas35 urbes huic imperio infestissimas, Carthaginem Numantiamque delevit: habeatur vir egregius, L. Paullus ille, cujus currum rex potentissimus quondam et nobilissimus Perses honestavit: sit in æterna gloria Marius, qui bis Italiam obsidione et metu servitutis liberavit: anteponatur omnibus Pompeius, cujus res gestæ, atque virtutes iis-40 dem, quibus Solis cursus, regionibus ac terminis continentur; erit profecto inter horum laudes aliquid loci nostræ gloriæ: nisi fortè ma d 9. Ignem veste.] There was a perpetual fire upon the altar, of which the vestal virgins took care. 10. Delubra.] Delubra were little temples or chapels. 12. De focis.] The hearth was the place where the Penates and the domestic Lares were supposed to reside. 18. Una nox.] The conspirators thought to make the slaughter on the night of the Saturnals. 26. Sed eam.] He says, this multitude is collected from a vile herd, from which nothing is to be feared. 33. Sit Scipio clarus.] Scipio Africanus the elder, in the fifteenth year of the second Punic war, took an army over into Africa, by which Hannibal was forced to depart from Italy, and come to the aid of his country. 35. Ornetur alter.] The younger Africanus, the son of Paullus, was adopted by the son of the former Africanus. Vide Flor. lib. 2. cap. 1. et 18. 36. Carthaginem.] Carthage was a celebrated city of Africa, and the rival of Rome; it was founded by Dido, in the year 7, after Rome, and with new Carthage in Hispania Bœtica, was destroyed by Scipio. Ib. Numantiam.] Numantia was a city of Hispania Tarraconensis, besieged and taken by the Romans. 37. Paullus ille.] Plutarch wrote his life. Ib. Cujus currum.] When victors triumphed, the conquered generals were usually led before their chariots in pomp. 39. Marius.] Marius conquered the Teutones and Ambrones in the battle at Aquæ Sextia, in Provence; and the Cimbri, their allies, in the Claudian field; two hundred jus est, patefacere nobis provincias, quo exire possumus, quam curare, ut etiam illi qui absunt, habeant quò victores revertantur; quanquam 45est uno loco conditio melior externæ victoriæ, quam domestica: quòd hostes alienigenæ aut oppressi serviunt, aut recepti beneficio se obligatos putant: qui autem ex numero civium dementia aliqua depravati, hostes patriæ semel esse coeperunt, eos, cùm à pernicie reipublicæ repuleris, neque vi coercere, neque beneficio placare possis. 50Quare mihi cum perditis civibus æternum bellum susceptum esse video: quod ego vestro bonorumque omnium auxilio, memoriaque tantorum periculorum, quæ non modò in hoc populo, qui servatus est, sed etiam in omnium gentium sermonibus ac mentibus semper hærebit, à me, atque à meis facile propulsari posse confido. Neque ulla 55profecto tanta vis reperietur, quæ conjunctionem vestram equitumque Romanorum, et tantam conspirationem bonorum omnium perfringere et labefactare possit. Quæ cum ita sint, patres conscripti, pro imperio, pro exercitu, pro provincia quam neglexi, pro triumpho cœterisque laudis insignibus, quæ sunt à me propter urbis vestræque 60salutis custodiam repudiata, pro clientelis hospitiisque provincialibus, quæ tamen urbanis opibus non minore labore tueor, quàm comparo; pro his igitur omnibus rebus, et pro meis in vos singularibus studiis, proque hac, quam conspicitis, ad conservandam rempublicam diligentia, nihil aliud à vobis, nisi hujus temporis, totiusque mei consulatûs 65memoriam postulo: quæ dum erit vestris mentibus infixa, firmissimo me muro septum esse arbitrabor. Quod si meam spem vis improborum fefellerit atque superaverit, commendo vobis parvum meum filium; cui profectò satis erit præsidii non solum ad salutem, verum etiam ad dignitatem, si ejus, qui hæc omnia suo solius periculo con70servaverit, illum esse filium memineritis. Quapropter de summa salute vestra, populique Romani, P. C. de vestris conjugibus ac liberis; de aris ac focis; de fanis ac templis; de totius urbis tectis ac sedibus; de imperio, de libertate, de salute Italiæ, deque universa rep. decernite diligenter ut instituistis, ac fortiter. Habetis enim consu75lem, qui et parere vestris decretis non dubitet, et ea quæ statueritis, quoad vivet, defendere, et per se ipsum præstare possit. a externi. thousand of them being slain, and ninety thousand taken prisoners. Vide Plutarc. in vita Marii. 44. Quò victores revertantur.] Conquer ors ought to have a city whither to return, that they may there obtain the triumph due to their valour. Whence lib. 1. Offic. Cicero tells us, that Pompey said to him, "That it would have little availed him to obtain the honour of a third triumph, un less by my prudence I had preserved him a city wherein to triumph." For when this conspiracy raged, Pompey carried on the Mithridatic war in Asia. 46. Recepti.] They who gave themselves up were received into the friendship of the Roman people. 57. Pro imperio.] For managing affairs well, provinces were decreed to the consuls, to be governed by them; armies were given, and triumphs granted, than which nothing contributed more to the glory of the Romans. 60. Pro clientelis.[ They were called clients who honoured their patrons; for Romulus when he appointed patricians, and plebeians permitted each plebeian to choose one of the patricians as a patron, so that there might be no dissension be tween these two classes, but they brought him from home for the sake of honour, &c. Vide Singon. lib. 1. cap. 7. Ib. Hospitiisque provincialibus.] Cicero had many friends in the province of Sicily. 67. Meum filium.] He commends his son M. Cicero to the Senate, to whom he afterwards wrote his book of offices; and who at a legitimate age was the colleague of Octavius Augustus Cæsar in the consulship; he threw down the statues of Antony, who had caused his father to be put to death. L. MURENA. ARGUMENTUM.-Licinius Muræna plebeio genere natus, patrem habuit L. Murænam, qui in prætura cum adolescente filio de Mithridate triumphavit. Acta sub patre adolescentia, mox Quæstor unà cum Ser. Sulpicio factus est; deinde legatus L. Lucullo in Asiam contra Mithridatem, ubi singulari fide ac diligentia, industriam suam Imperatori probavit. Edilitatem deinde et Præturam obtinuit, quam primùm Romæ in jure dicendo, deinde in Gallia Cisalpina gessit. Inde petiit Consulatum cum Silano, L. Catilina, et Servio Sulpicio. Is cum Silano Consul designatus, à Sulpicio de ambitu accusatus est. Tria fuerunt accusationis capita; unum in mores Murenæ, quod in Asia fuerit, quodque saltaverit; alterum in genus, quia Sulpicius dignitate Murænâ, superior est, quod Patricius, quod juris civilis peritus, quod in questura, quod in prætura prior renuntiatus: Muræna vero, quod Plebeio, aut equestri saltem genere natus est, et in exercitu fere semper fuit. Tertium ambitûs fuit, quod contra legem Calpurniam et Senatus consultum, multi candidato Murænæ obviam venissent; quod multi sectati sint; quod ad spectandos gladiatores tributim locum dederit; quod ad prandia vulgo invitarit. PERSONE.-Tres fuerunt accusatores Murena; Sulpicius, qui competitor illius fuerat, et repulsam tulerat; Cn. Posthumius adolescens; M. Porcius Cato, quem, in ejus vita, scripsit Plutarchus, jurasse se éum accusaturum quem pecuniam populo dare cognovisset. Defenderunt vero Murænam Q. Hortensius, M. Crassus, et M. Cicero ; qui, cum Hortensium eloquentiæ laude tum florentem superare contenderet, nullam partem noctis conquievit, usque eo, ut nimiis curis et vigiliis afflictus, inferior quam ille in actione visus fuerit. TEMPUS.-Acta fuit hæc causa sub finem anni urbis conditæ 690. ipso Cicerone et Antonio Coss. antequam Muræna magistratum iniret. EVENTUS.-Felix fuit Ciceroni et Murænæ, quandoquidem anno proxime sequenti Consulatum gessit. PARTES.-Sunt Exordium, Propositio cum distributione, Contentio, Peroratio. EXORDIUM. Exordium duas partes habet. Prima precationem continet, quam fecit de more pro felici Murænæ consulatu, qaâ eidem sibique judicum benevolentiam conciliat, eorum extollendo potentiam, quam à diis translatam habent. Secunda pars continet excusationem apud Catonem et Sulpicium, duos Murænæ accusatores. I. Q U precatus sum à diis immortalibus, Judices, more institutoque majorum, illo die quo auspicatò comitiis centuriatis NOTES. 1. More.] Julius Festus, lib. 13. on the signification of words, says, Mos is the custom of a country in relation to religious rites and ceremonies long instituted. Ib. Institutoque.] Macrobius, lib. 3. cap. 8. Saturn. says, institutum is the usage of a certain author, which the common people call a commendable custom. 2. Auspicato.] The omens being taken, without which nothing at all, either public or private, was done among the Romans. Ib. Comitiis.] The comitia were assemblies of the people, legally convened by the magistrates, that they might order or prohibit something by their vote. There were three kinds of them: the Curiata, Centuriata, and Tributa. The Curiata were instituted by Romulus, the Centuriata by Serv. Tullius, the Tributa by the tribunes. They took their names from the manner in which the people voted: thus, in the Curiata they voted by curia; in the Centuriata, by centuries; and in the Tributa, by tribes. The curia were those thirty parts into which Romulus divided the Roman people. The centuries were those assemblies of the people divided into a hundred tribes, according to the census and age. The tribes were those divisions of the people into which, according to Dionysius, they were first divided by Romulus, after he had been declared king by that rustic mob of Albanians and people from all countries. S L. Murænam consulem a renunciavi, ut ea res mihi magistratuique meo, populo, plebique Romanæ bene atque feliciter eveniret: eadem 5 precor ab iisdem diis immortalibus ob ejusdem hominis consulatum unà cum salute obtinendum, et ut vestræ mentes atque sententiæ cum populi Rom. voluntate suffragiisque consentiant, eaque res vobis populoque Rom. pacem, tranquilitatem, otium, concordiamque afferat. Quod si illa solemnis comitiorum precatio consularibus auspi10ciis consecrata, tantam habet in se vim et religionem, quantam reipublicæ dignitas postulat: idem ego sum precatus, ut eis quoque hominibus, quibus hic consulatus, me rogante, datus esset, ea res fauste, feliciter, prospereque eveniret. Quæ cum ita sint Judices, et cum omnis deorum immortalium potestas, aut translata sit ad vos, aut 15d certe communicata vobiscum: idem consul eum vestræ fidei commendat, qui antea diis immortalibus commendavit ut ejusdem hominis voce et declaratus consul, et defensus, beneficium populi Rom. cum vestra atque omnium civium salute tueatur. Et quoniam in hoc officio studium meæ defensionis ab accusatoribus, atque etiam ipsa 20susceptio causæ reprehensa est; antequam pro L. Muræna dicere instituo, pro me ipso pauca dicam: non quo mihi potior hoc quidem in tempore sit officii mei, quam hujusce salutis defensio: sed, ut meo facto vobis probato, majore auctoritate ab hujus honore, fama, fortunisque omnibus, inimicorum impetus propulsare possim. Et primum 25M. Catoni, vitam ad certam rationis normam dirigenti, et diligentissime Ib. Centuriatis.] The comitia by centuries were equitable and of the highest authority; in which the consuls and superior officers were elected by the people, divided into centuries, according to rank and age. The Curiata were inferior, in which the people, in a promiscuous multitude of all ages and ranks,voted for the inferior officers and concerning military affairs. The inferior magistrates were also elected by the tribes, in which laws were passed by the common people at the request of a magistrate. But the comitia were also called calata, not because this was a peculiar and proper kind; for at first all the comitia were called calata, because the patricians were called by the common crier, but the plebeians by a trumpeter: being thus named from the word calare, which signifies to call. But when this word became obsolete, the name of calata comitia was retained only in regard to these which were held for the college of priests, or on account of the sacred rites of the king, to inaugurate the Flamines, or to make deeds. Rosinus treats at large of all these comitia, lib. 6. 4. Populo, plebique.] Populus differs from plebs as the genus from the species: by populus we are to understand all the people, including the patricians and senators; but plebs relates to the common people c absolutione. d saltem. exclusive of patricians and senators. Hence that law was defined plebiscitum, which was received by the plebs and not by the populus. 7. Suffragiis.] The consuls were elected by the votes of the people, by whom Muræna was made consul. 9. Quod si illa solemnis.] He enlarges on the preceding sentence: if there is any virtue in prayer, which belongs to public right, the same efficacy is in that which belongs to private right: since, then, it is made for the whole Roman people, it is made for Muræna. 11. Eis quoque hominibus.] When he prayed for prosperity to all the people, he also prayed for Silanus and Muræna. 12. Me rogante.] He either says, that he presided in the comitia by centuries, in which Muræna was elected, or that he asked the people to make Muræna consul. But the consul thus asked, Velitis, jubeatis, Quirites, hunc aut illum consulem fieri? 17. Beneficium pop. Rom.] He calls the consulship the kindness of the Roman people, because it was given by their votes to Murana, or any other consul. 25. M. Catoni.] He intends both the Philosopher Cato and the Stoic. As a Stoic, he directed all things to a certain rule of reason; but this is an elegant transferring of terms, such as the Greeks used |