remembered, that those who are adjudged enemies to the ftate, can no longer be confidered as citizens; and that the author of that law himself fuffered death by the order of the people. Neither does Cæfar think that the profufe and prodigal Lentulus, who has concerted fo many cruel and bloody fchemes for the deflruction of the Roman people, and the ruin of the city, can be called a popular man. Accordingly this mild and merciful fenator makes no fcruple of condemning P. Lentulus to perpetual bonds and imprisonment; and provides that no one fhall henceforward have it in his power to boast of having procured a mitigation of this punishment, or made himfelf popular by a ftep fo deftructive to the quiet of his fellowcitizens. He likewife adds the confifcation of their goods, that want and beggary may attend every torment of mind and body. If therefore you decree according to this opinion, you will give me a partner and companion to the affembly, who is dear and agreeable to the Roman people. Or, if you prefer that of Silanus, it will be eafy ftill to defend both you and myself from any imputation of cruelty; nay, and to make appear, that it is much the gentler punishment of the two. And yet, confcript fathers, what cruelty can be committed in the punishment of fo enormous a crime? I fpeak according to my real fenfe of the matter. For may I never enjoy, in conjunction with you, the benefit of my country's fafety, if the eagerness which I fhew in this caufe proceeds from any feverity of temper, (for no man has lefs of it) but from pure humanity and clemency. For 1 feem to behold this city, the light of the univerfe, and the citadel of all nations, fuddenly involved in flames. I figure to myself my country in ruins, and the miferable bodies of flaughtered citizens, lying in heaps without burial. The image of Cethegus, furiously revelling in your blood, is now before my eyes. But when I reprefent to my imagination Lentulus on the throne, as he owns the fates encouraged him to hope; Gabinius cloathed in purple; and Cataline approaching with an army; then am I ftruck with horror at the fhrieks of mothers, the fight of children, and the violation of the veftal virgins. And because thefe calamities appear to me in the highest degree deplorable and dreadful, therefore am 1 fevere and unrelenting towards those who endeavoured to bring them upon us. For let me afk, fhould a mafter of a family, finding his children butchered, his wife murdered, and his house burnt by a flave, inflict upon the offender a punishment that fell fhort of the highest degree of vigour; would he be accounted mild and merciful, or inhuman and cruel? For my own part, I fhould look upon him as hard-hearted and infenfible, if he did not endeavour to allay his own anguish and torment, by the torment and anguish of the guilty caufe. It is the fame with us in respect of those men who intended to murder us with our wives and children; who endeavoured to deftroy our feveral dwellings, and this city, the general feat of the commonwealth: who confpired to fettle the Allobrogians upon the ruins of this state, and raise them from the afhes of our empire. If we punish them with the utmost feverity, we shall be accounted compaflionate; but if we are remifs in the execution of justice, we may defervedly be charged with the greatest cruelty, in expofing the republic and cur fellow citizens to ruin. Unless any one will pretend to fay, that L. Cæfar, a brave man, and zealous for the intereft of his country, acted a cruel part the other day, when he declared, that the hufband of his fifter, a lady of diftinguifned merit, and that too in his own prefence and hearing, deferved to fuffer death; alledging the example of his grandfather, flain by order of the conful; who likewife commanded his fon, a mere youth, to be executed in prifon, for bringing him a mefiage from his father. And yet, what was their crime compared with that now before us? had they formed any confpiracy to deftroy their country? A partition of lands was then indeed propofed, and a spirit of faction began to prevail in the ftate at which time the grandfather of this very Lentulus, an illuftrious patriot, attacked Gracchus in arms; and in defence of the honour and dignity of the commonwealth, received a cruel wound. This his unworthy defcendant, to overthrow the very foundations of the ftate, fends for the Gauls, ftirs up the flaves, invites Cataline, affigns the murdering of the fenators to Cethegus, the mafiacre of the reft of the citizens to Gabinius, the care of fetting the city on fire to Caffius, and the devaltation and plunder of Italy to Catline. Is it poffible you should be afraid of being thought too levere in the punishment of fo unnatural and monftrous à treaton? when a in reality you have much more caufe to dread the charge of cruelty to your country for your too great lenity, than the imputation of feverity for proceeding in an exemplary manner againft fuch implacable enemies. But I cannot, confcript fathers, conceal what I hear. Reports are fpread through the city, and have reached my ears, tending to infinuate, that we have not a fufficient force to fupport and execute what you shall this day decree. But be affured, confcript fathers, that every thing is concerted, regulated, and fettled, partly through my extreme care and diligence; but ftill more by the indefatigable zeal of the Roman people, to fupport therafelves in the poffeffion of empire, and preferve their common fortunes. The whole body of the people is affembled for your defence: the forum, the temples round the forum, and all the avenues of the fenate are poffeffed by your friends. This, indeed, is the only caufe fince the building of Rome, in which all men have been unanimous, thofe only excepted, who, finding their own ruin unavoidable, chofe rather to perish in the general wreck of their country, than fall by themselves. These I willingly except, and feparate from the reft; for I confider them not fo much in the light of bad citizens, as of implacable enemies. But then as to the reft, immortal gods! in what crowds, with what zeal, and with what courage do they all unite in defence of the public welfare and dignity? What occafion is there to fpeak here of the Roman knights? who without difpating your precedency in rank, and the administration of affairs, vie with you in their zeal for the republic; whom, after a diffenfion of many years, this day's caufe has entirely reconciled and united with you. And if this union, which my confalihip has confirmed, be preferved and perpetuated, I am confident, that no civil or domestic evil can ever again difturb this ftate. The like zeal for the common caufe appears among the tribunes of the exchequer, and the whole body of the fcribes: who happening to affemble this day at the treasury, have dropt all confideration of their private affairs, and turned their whole attention upon the public fafety. The whole body of free-born citizens, even the meaneft, offer us their affiftance. For where is the man, to whom thefe temples, the face of the city, the poffeffion of liberty; in fhort, this very light, and this parent foil, are not both dear and delightful. And here, confcript fathers, let me recommend to your notice the zeal of thole freedmen, who, having by their merit obtained the privilege of citizens, confider this as their real country: whereas fome born within the city, and born too of an illuftrious race, treat it not as a motherfoil, but as a hoftile city. But why do I fpeak of men, whom private intereft, whom the good of the public, whom, in fine, the love of liberty, that dearest of all human bleflings, have rouzed to the defence of their country? There is not a flave in any tolerable condition of life, who does not look with horror on this daring attempt of profligate citizens, who is not anxious for the prefervation of the flate; in fine, who does not contribute all in his power to promote the common fafety. If any of you, therefore, are fhocked by the report of Lentulus's agents running up and down the ftreets, and foliciting the needy and thoughtless to make fome effort for his refcue; the fact indeed is true, and the thing has been attempted: but not a man was found fo defperate in his fortune, fo abandoned in his inclinations, who did not prefer the fhed in which he worked and earned his daily bread, his little hut and bed in which he flept, and the eafy peaceful courfe of life he enjoyed, to all the propofals made by thefe enemies of the flate. For the greatest part of those who live in fhops, or to fpeak indeed more truly all of them, are of nothing fo fond as peace: for their whole ftock, their whole industry and fubfiftence, depends upon the peace and fulnefs of the city; and if their gain would be interrupted by fhutting up their fhops, how much more would it be fo, by burning them? Since then, confcript fathers, the Roman people are not wanting in their zeal and duty towards you, it is your part not to be wanting to the Roman people. You have a conful fnatched from various fnares and dangers, and the jaws of death, not for the prefervation of his own life, but for your fecurity. All orders unite in opinion, inclination, zeal, courage, and a profefied concern to fecure the common wealth. Your common country, befet with the brands and weapons of an impious confpiracy, ftretches out her fuppliant hands to you for relief, recommends herself to your care, and befeeches you to take un. der your protection the lives of the citi Uu zens, zens the citadel, the capitol, the altars of domeftic worthip, the everlafting fire of Veita, the fhrines and temples of the gods, the walls of the city, and the houfes of the citizens. Confider likewife, that you are this day to pass judgment on your own lives, on thofe of your wives and children, on the fortunes of all the citizens, on your houfes and properties. You have a leader, fuch as you will not always have, watchful for you, regardless of himself. You have likewife, what was never known before in a cafe of this kind, all orders, all ranks of men, the whole body of the Roman people, of one and the fame mind. Reflect how this mighty empire, reared with fo much toil, this liberty eftablished with fo much bravery, and this profufion of wealth improved and heightened by fuch favour and kindness of the gods, were like in one night to have been for ever deftroyed. You are this day to provide, that the fame thing not only fhall never be attempted, but not fo much as thought of again by any citizen. All this I have faid, not with a view to animate your zeal, in which you almost furpals me; but that my voice, which ought to lead in what relates to the commonwealth, may not fall fhort of my duty as conful. But before I declare my fentiments farther, confeript fathers, fuffer me to drop a word with regard to myfelf. I am fenfible I have drawn upon myfelf as many enemies, as there are perfons concerned in the confpiracy, whofe number you fee to be very great: but, I look upon them as a base, abject, impotent, contemptible faction. But if, through the madness of any, it fhall ife again, fo as to prevail against the fenate and the republic; yet never, confcript fathers, fhall I repent of my prefent conduct and counfels. For death, with which perhaps they will threaten me, is prepared for all men; but none ever acquired that glory of life, which you have conferred upon me by your decrees. For to others you have decreed thanks for ferving the republic fuccefsfully; to me alone, for having faved it. Let Scipio be celebrated, by whofe conduct and valour Hannibal was forced to abandon Italy, and return into Africa: let the other Africanus be crowned with the highest praife, who deftroyed Carthage and Numantia, two cities at irreconcilable enmity with Rome: for ever renowned be L. Paulus, whofe chariot was graced by the captivity of Perfes, a once powerful and illuftrious monarch: im mortal honour be the lot of Marius, who Therefore, confcript fathers, inftead of the command of armies and provinces, which I have declined; inftead of a triumph, and other distinctions of honour, which, for your prefervation, and that of this city, I have rejected; instead of attachments and dependencies in the provinces, which, by means of my authority and credit in the city, I labour no lefs to fupport than acquire; for all these fervices, I fay, joined to my fingular zeal for your intereft, and that unwearied diligence you see me exert to preferve the ftate; require nothing more of you than the perpetual remembrance of this juncture, and of my whole confulfhip. While that continues fixed in your minds, I fhall think myself furrounded with an impregnable wall. But fhould the violence of the factious ever difappoint and get the better of my hopes, I recommend to you my infant fon, and trult that it will be a fufficient guard, I guard, not only of his fafety, but of his dignity, to have it remembered, that he is the fon of one who, at the hazard of his own life, preferved you all. Therefore, confcript fathers, let me exhort you to proceed with vigour and refolution in an affair that regards your very being, and that of the people of Rome; your wives and children; your religion, and properties; your altars, and temples; the houses, and dwellings of this city; your empire; your liberty; the fafety of Italy; and the whole fyftem of the commonwealth. For you have a conful, who will not only obey your decrees without hesitation, but while he lives, will fapport and execute in perfon whatever you shall order. Whitworth's Cicero. A. Licinius Archias was a native of Antioch, and a very celebrated poet. He came to Rome when Cicero was about five years old, and was courted by men of the greatest eminence in it, on account of his learning, genius, and politeness. Among others, Lucullus was very fond of him, took him into his family, aad gave him the liberty of opening a fchool in it, to which many of the young nobility and gentry of Rome were fent for their education. In the confulthip of M. Pupius Pifo and M. Valerius Meffala, one Gracchus, a perfon of obfcure birth, accufed Archias upon the law, by which thofe who were made free of any of the confederated cities, and at the time of paffing the law dwelt in Italy, were obliged to claim their privilege before the prætor within fixty days. Cicero, in his oration, endeavours to prove, that Archias was a Roman citizen in the fense of that law; but dwells chiefly on the praifes of poetry in general, and the talents and genius of the defendant, which he displays with great beauty, elegance, and fpirit. The oration was made in the forty-fixth year of Cicero's age, and the fix hundred and ninety-fecond of Rome. IF, my lords, I have any abilities, and I am fenfible they are but fmall; if, by fpeaking often, I have acquired any merit as a fpeaker; if I have derived any knowledge from the ftudy of the liberal arts, which have ever been my delight, A. Licinius may juftly claim the fruit of all. For looking back upon paft fcenes, and calling to remembrance the earliest part of my life, I find it was he who prompted me firít to engage in a courfe of ftudy, and directed me in it. If my tongue, then formed and animated by him, has ever been the means of faving any, I am certainly bound by all the ties of gratitude to employ it in the defence of him, who has taught it to aflift and defend others. And though his genius and course of study are very different from mine, let no one be surprised at what I advance: for I have not bestowed the whole of my time on the ftudy of eloquence, and befides, all the liberal arts are nearly allied to each other, and have, as it were, one common bond of union. But left it should appear ftrange, that, before an excellent prætor, the most imin a legal proceeding, and a public caufe, partial judges, and fo crowded an affembly, I lay afide the usual stile of trials, and introduce one very different from that of the bar; I muft beg to be indulged in this liberty,which, I hope, will not be difagreeable to you, and which feems indeed to be due to the defendant: that whilst I am pleading for an excellent poet, and a man of great erudition, before fo learned an audience, fuch diftinguifhed patrons of the liberal arts, and fo eminent a prætor, you would allow me to enlarge with fome freedom on learning and liberal ftudies; and to employ an almost unprecedented language for one, who, by reafon of a studious and unactive life, has been little converfant in dangers and public trials. If this, my lords, is granted me, I shall not only prove that A. Licinius ought not, as he is a citizen, to be deprived of his privileges, but that, if he were not, he ought to be admitted. the years of childhood, and applied himFor no fooner had Archias got beyond felf to poetry, after finishing thofe ftudies by which the minds of youth are usually formed to a tafte for polite learning, than his genius fhewed itself fuperior to any at Antioch, the place where he was born, of a noble family; once indeed a rich and renowned city, but still famous for liberal arts, and fertile in learned men. He was afterwards received with fuch applaufe in the other cities of Afia, and all over Greece, that though they expected more than fame U u 2 had had promifed concerning him, even thefe expectations were exceeded, and their admiration of him greatly increafed. Italy was, at that time, full of the arts and fciences of Greece, which were then cultivated with more care among the Latins than now they are, and were not even neglected at Rome, the public tranquillity being favourable to them. Accordingly, the inhabitants of Tarentum, Rhegium and Naples, made him free of their respective cities, and conferred other honours upon him; and all thofe who had any tale, reckoned him worthy of their acquaintance and friendship. Being thus known by fame to thofe who were ftrangers to his perfon, he came to Rome in the confulfhip of Marius and Catulus; the firf of whom had, by his glorious deeds, furnifhed out a noble fubject for a poet; and the other, befides his memorable actions, was both a judge and a lover of poetry. Though he had not yet reached his feventeenth year, yet no fooner was he arrived than the Luculi took him into their family; which, as it was the firft that received him in his youth, fo it afforded him freedom of accets even in old age; nor was this owing to his great genius and learning alone, but likewife to his amiable temper and virtuous difpofition. At that time too, Q. Metellus Numidicus, and his fon Pius, were delighted with his converfation; M. Anilius was one of his hearers; Q. Catulus, both the elder and younger, honoured him with their intimacy; L. Craffus courted him; and being united by the greatest familiarity to the Luculli, Drufus, the Octavii, Cato, and the whole Hortenfian family; it was no finall honour to him to receive marks of the highet regard, not only from thofe who were really defirous of hearing him, and of being in fructed by him, but even from thofe who affected to be fo. A confiderable time after, he went with L. Lucullus into Sicily, and leaving that province in company with the fame Lucullus, came to Heraclea, which being joined with Rome by the clofeft bonds of alliance, he was defirous of being made free of it; and obtained his request, both on account of his own merit, and the interelt and authority of Lucullus. Strangers were admitted to the freedom of Rome, according to the law of Silvanus and Carbo, upon the following conditions: If they were enrolled by free cities; if they ad a dwelling in Italy, when the law paf fed; and if they declared their enrolment before the præter within the space of fixty days Agreeable to this law, Archias, who had refided at Rome for many years, made his declaration before the prætor Q. Metellus, who was his intimate friend. If the right of citizenship and the law is all I have to prove, I have done; the caufe is ended. For which of thete things, Gracchus, can you deny? Will you fay that he was not made a citizen of Heraclea at that time? Why, here is Lucullus, a man of the greateft credit, honour, and integrity, who affirms it; and that not as a thing he believes, but as what he knows; not as what he heard of, but as what he faw; not as what he was prefent at, but as what he tranfacted. Here are likewife deputies from Heraclea, who affirm the fame; men of the greatest quality, come hither on purpofe to give public teftimony in this caufe. But here you'll defire to fee the public regifter of Heraclea, which we all know was burnt in the Italian war, together with the office wherein it was kept. Now, is it not ridiculous to fay nothing to the evidences which we have, and to defire those which we cannot have; to be filent as to the teftimony of men, and to demand the teftimony of regifers; to pay no regard to what is affirmed by a perfon of great dignity, nor to the oath and integrity of a free city of the fricteft honour, evidences which are incapable of being corrupted, and to require thofe of regiflers which you allow to be frequently vitiated. But he did not refide at kome: what he, who for fo many years before Silvanus's law made Rome the feat of all his hopes and fortune. But he did not declare; fo far is this from being true, that his declaration is to be feen in that regifter, which, by that very act, and its being in the custody of the college of practers, is the only authen tic one. For the negligence of Appius, the corruption of Gabinius before his condemnation, and his difgrace after, having defroyed the credit of public records; Metellus, a man of the greatest honour and modefty, was fo very exact, that he came before Lentulus the prætor and the other judges, and declared that he was unealy at the erazure of a fingle name. The name of A. Licinius therefore is fill to be feen; and as this is the cafe, why should you doubt of his being a citizen of Rome, efpecially as he was enrolled likewife in other free cities? For when Gre ce be flowed |