VIII. But the ruin wrought by these
consuls you, O consuls, have prevented from spreading further by your virtue,
being assisted as you have been by the admirable loyalty and diligence of the
tribunes of the people and the praetors. 19 What shall I say of that most illustrious man, Titus Annius? 4 or, who can ever speak of such a citizen in an adequate
or worthy manner? For when he saw that a wicked citizen, or, it would be more
correct to say, a domestic enemy, required (if it were only possible to employ
the laws) to be crushed by judicial proceedings, or that if violence hindered
and put an end to the courts of justice, in that case audacity must be put down
by virtue, madness by courage, rashness by wisdom, hand by hand, violence by
violence, he first of all prosecuted him for violence; when he saw that the
very man whom he was prosecuting had destroyed the courts of justice, he took
care that he should not be able to carry everything by violence. He taught us
that neither private houses, nor temples, nor the forum, nor the senate-house
could be defended from the bands of domestic robbers without the greatest
gallantry, and large resources and numerous forces. He was the first man after
my departure who relieved the virtuous from fear, and
deprived the audacious of hope; who delivered this august body from alarm, and
the city from slavery. 20 And Publius Sextius following the
same line of conduct with equal virtue, courage, and loyalty, thought that
there were no enmities, no efforts of violence, no attacks, no dangers even to
his life, which it became him to shun, in defence of my safety, of your
authority, and of the constitution of the state. He, by his diligence, so
recommended the cause of the senate, thrown into disorder as it was by the
harangues of wicked men, to the multitude, that your name soon became the most
popular of all names, your authority the object of the greatest affection to
all men. He defended me by every means that a tribune of the people could
employ; and supported me by every sort of kind attention, just as if he had
been my own brother; by his clients, and freedmen, and household, and
resources, and letters, I was so much supported, that he seemed to be not only
my assistant under, but my partner in calamity. 21 Now you have seen the kindness and zeal of the others; how devoted to
me was Caius Cestilius, how attached to you, how uniformly faithful to our
cause. What did Marcus Cispius do? I know how much I owe to him and to his
father and brother; and they, though they had some personal grudge against me
on their own private account, still disregarded their private dislike out of
recollection of my services to the state. Also, Titus Fadius, who was my
quaestor, and Marcus Curtius, to whose father I was quaestor, cherished the
memory of our connection with all zeal, and affection, and courage. Caius
Messius made many speeches in my behalf, for the sake both of our friendship
and of the republic. And he at the beginning proposed a special law respecting
my safety. 22 If Quintus Fabricius could only
have effected, in spite of violence and arms, what he endeavoured to do in my
behalf, we should have recovered our position in the month of January. His own
inclination prompted him to labour for my safety, violence checked him, your authority recalled him.
|