Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
he, "to use this language at home, to your sons;" Verres having
a son who had fallen into disgraceful courses. Hortensius the
orator, not daring directly to undertake the defense of Verres,
was yet persuaded to appear for him at the laying on of the
fine, and received an ivory sphinx for his reward; and when
Cicero, in some passage of his speech, obliquely reflected on
him, and Hortensius told him he was not skillful in solving
riddles, "No," said Cicero, "and yet you have the Sphinx in your
house!"
Verres was thus convicted; though Cicero, who set the fine at
seventy-five myriads, lay under the suspicion of being
corrupted by bribery to lessen the sum. But the Sicilians, in
testimony of their gratitude, came and brought him all sorts of
presents from the island, when he was aedile; of which he made
no private profit himself, but used their generosity only to
reduce the public price of provisions.
He had a very pleasant seat at Arpi, he had also a farm near
Naples, and another about Pompeii, but neither of any great
value. The portion of his wife, Terentia, amounted to ten
myriads, and he had a bequest valued at nine myriads of denarii;
upon these he lived in a liberal but temperate style, with the
learned Greeks and Romans that were his familiars. He rarely,
if at any time, sat down to meat till sunset, and that not so
much on account of business, as for his health and the weakness
of his stomach. He was otherwise in the care of his body nice
and delicate, appointing himself, for example, a set number of
walks and rubbings. And after this manner managing the habit
of his body, he brought it in time to be healthful, and capable
of supporting many great fatigues and trials. His father's
house he made over to his brother, living himself near the
Palatine hill, that he might not give the trouble of long
journeys to those that made suit to him. And, indeed, there
were not fewer daily appearing at his door, to do their court to
him, than there were that came to Crassus for his riches, or to
Pompey for his power amongst the soldiers, these being at that
time the two men of the greatest repute and influence in Rome.
Nay, even Pompey himself used to pay court to Cicero, and
Cicero's public actions did much to establish Pompey's authority
and reputation in the state.
Numerous distinguished competitors stood with him for the
praetor's office; but he was chosen before them all, and managed
the decision of causes with justice and integrity. It is
related that Licinius Macer, a man himself of great power in the
city, and supported also by the assistance of Crassus, was
accused before him of extortion, and that, in confidence on his
own interest and the diligence of his friends, whilst the judges
were debating about the sentence, he went to his house, where
hastily trimming his hair and putting on a clean gown, as
already acquitted, he was setting off again to go to the Forum;
but at his hall door meeting Crassus, who told him that he was
condemned by all the votes, he went in again, threw himself upon
his bed, and died immediately. This verdict was considered very
creditable to Cicero, as showing his careful management of the
courts of justice. On another occasion, Vatinius, a man of rude
manners and often insolent in court to the magistrates, who had
large swellings on his neck, came before his tribunal and made
some request, and on Cicero's desiring further time to consider
it, told him that he himself would have made no question about
it, had he been praetor. Cicero, turning quickly upon him,
answered, "But I, you see, have not the neck that you have."
When there were but two or three days remaining in his office,
Manilius was brought before him, and charged with peculation.
Manilius had the good opinion and favor of the common people,
and was thought to be prosecuted only for Pompey's sake, whose
particular friend he was. And therefore, when he asked a space
of time before his trial, and Cicero allowed him but one day,
and that the next only, the common people grew highly offended,
because it had been the custom of the praetors to allow ten days
at least to the accused: and the tribunes of the people having
called him before the people, and accused him, he, desiring to
be heard, said, that as he had always treated the accused with
equity and humanity, as far as the law allowed, so he thought it
hard to deny the same to Manilius, and that he had studiously
appointed that day of which alone, as praetor, he was master,
and that it was not the part of those that were desirous to help
him, to cast the judgment of his cause upon another praetor.
These things being said made a wonderful change in the people,
and, commending him much for it, they desired that he himself
would undertake the defense of Manilius; which he willingly
consented to, and that principally for the sake of Pompey, who
was absent. And, accordingly, taking his place before the
people again, he delivered a bold invective upon the
oligarchical party and on those who were jealous of Pompey.
Yet he was preferred to the consulship no less by the nobles
than the common people, for the good of the city; and both
parties jointly assisted his promotion, upon the following
reasons. The change of government made by Sylla, which at first
seemed a senseless one, by time and usage had now come to be
considered by the people no unsatisfactory settlement. But
there were some that endeavored to alter and subvert the whole
present state of affairs not from any good motives, but for
their own private gain; and Pompey being at this time employed
in the wars with the kings of Pontus and Armenia, there was no
sufficient force at Rome to suppress any attempts at a
revolution. These people had for their head a man of bold,
daring, and restless character, Lucius Catiline, who was
accused, besides other great offenses, of deflowering his virgin
daughter, and killing his own brother; for which latter crime,
fearing to be prosecuted at law, he persuaded Sylla to set him
down, as though he were yet alive, amongst those that were to be
put to death by proscription. This man the profligate citizens
choosing for their captain, gave faith to one another, amongst
other pledges, by sacrificing a man and eating of his flesh; and
a great part of the young men of the city were corrupted by him,
he providing for everyone pleasures, drink, and women, and
profusely supplying the expense of these debauches. Etruria,
moreover, had all been excited to revolt, as well as a great
part of Gaul within the Alps. But Rome itself was in the most
dangerous inclination to change, on account of the unequal
distribution of wealth and property, those of highest rank and
greatest spirit having impoverished themselves by shows,
entertainments, ambition of offices, and sumptuous buildings,
and the riches of the city having thus fallen into the hands of
mean and low-born persons. So that there wanted but a slight
impetus to set all in motion, it being in the power of every
daring man to overturn a sickly commonwealth.
Catiline, however, being desirous of procuring a strong position
to carry out his designs, stood for the consulship, and had
great hopes of success, thinking he should be appointed, with
Caius Antonius as his colleague, who was a man fit to lead
neither in a good cause nor in a bad one, but might be a
valuable accession to another's power. These things the
greatest part of the good and honest citizens apprehending, put
Cicero upon standing for the consulship; whom the people readily
receiving, Catiline was put by, so that he and Caius Antonius
were chosen, although amongst the competitors he was the only
man descended from a father of the equestrian, and not of the
senatorial order.
Though the designs of Catiline were not yet publicly known, yet
considerable preliminary troubles immediately followed upon
Cicero's entrance upon the consulship. For, on the one side,
those who were disqualified by the laws of Sylla from holding
any public offices, being neither inconsiderable in power nor in
number, came forward as candidates and caressed the people for
them; speaking many things truly and justly against the tyranny
of Sylla, only that they disturbed the government at an improper
and unseasonable time; on the other hand, the tribunes of the
people proposed laws to the same purpose, constituting a
commission of ten persons, with unlimited powers, in whom as
supreme governors should be vested the right of selling the
public lands of all Italy and Syria and Pompey's new conquests,
of judging and banishing whom they pleased, of planting
colonies, of taking moneys out of the treasury, and of levying
and paying what soldiers should be thought needful. And several
of the nobility favored this law, but especially Caius Antonius,
Cicero's colleague, in hopes of being one of the ten. But what
gave the greatest fear to the nobles was, that he was thought
privy to the conspiracy of Catiline, and not to dislike it,
because of his great debts.
Cicero, endeavoring in the first place to provide a remedy
against this danger, procured a decree assigning to him the
province of Macedonia, he himself declining that of Gaul, which
was offered to him. And this piece of favor so completely won
over Antonius, that he was ready to second and respond to, like
a hired player, whatever Cicero said for the good of the
country. And now, having made his colleague thus tame and
tractable, he could with greater courage attack the
conspirators. And, therefore, in the senate, making an oration
against the law of the ten commissioners, he so confounded those
who proposed it, that they had nothing to reply. And when they
again endeavored, and, having prepared things beforehand, had
called the consuls before the assembly of the people, Cicero,
fearing nothing, went first out, and commanded the senate to
follow him, and not only succeeded in throwing out the law, but
so entirely overpowered the tribunes by his oratory, that they
abandoned all thought of their other projects.
For Cicero, it may be said, was the one man, above all others,
who made the Romans feel how great a charm eloquence lends to
what is good, and how invincible justice is, if it be well
spoken; and that it is necessary for him who would dexterously
govern a commonwealth, in action, always to prefer that which
is honest before that which is popular, and in speaking, to free
the right and useful measure from everything that may occasion
offense. An incident occurred in the theater, during his
consulship, which showed what his speaking could do. For
whereas formerly the knights of Rome were mingled in the theater
with the common people, and took their places amongst them as it
happened, Marcus Otho, when he was praetor, was the first who
distinguished them from the other citizens, and appointed them a
proper seat, which they still enjoy as their special place in
the theater. This the common people took as an indignity done
to them, and, therefore, when Otho appeared in the theater, they
hissed him; the knights, on the contrary, received him with loud
clapping. The people repeated and increased their hissing; the
knights continued their clapping. Upon this, turning upon one
another, they broke out into insulting words, so that the
theater was in great disorder. Cicero, being informed of it,
came himself to the theater, and summoning the people into the
temple of Bellona, he so effectually chid and chastised them for
it, that, again returning into the theater, they received Otho
with loud applause, contending with the knights who should give
him the greatest demonstrations of honor and respect.
The conspirators with Catiline, at first cowed and disheartened,