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I.
[...that he ought to have...; or did he pay as all
the others paid?] For I defend Marcus Fonteius, O judges, on this
ground, and I assert that after the passing of the Valerian law, from
the time that Marcus Fonteius was quaestor till the time when Titus Crispinus
was quaestor, no one paid it otherwise. I say that he followed the example
of all his predecessors, and that all those who came after him, followed
his. What, then, do you accuse? what do you find fault with? For because
in these accounts, which he says were begun by Hirtuleius, he misses the
assistance of Hirtuleius, I cannot think that he either does wrong himself,
or wishes you to do wrong. For I ask you, Marcus Plaetorius, whether you
will consider our case established, if Marcus Fonteius, in the matter
respecting which he is now accused by you, has the man whom you praise
above all others, namely Hirtuleius, for his example; and if Fonteius
is found to have done exactly the same as Hirtuleius in the matters in
which you commend Hirtuleius? You find fault with the description of payment.
The public registers prove that Hirtuleius paid in the same manner. You
praise him for having established these peculiar accounts. Fonteius established
the same, with reference to the same kind of money. For, that you may
not ignorantly imagine that these accounts refer to some different description
of debt, know that they were established for one and the same reason,
and with reference to one and the same sort of money. For when...[to
the tax-farmers who had taken out contracts for Africa and the harbor-dues
of Aquileia]...
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II.
...No one--no one, I say, O judges, will be found, to say that he gave
his life Marcus Fonteius one sesterce during his praetorship, or that
he appropriated one out of that money which was paid to him on account
of the treasury. In no account-books is there any hint of such a robbery;
among all the items contained in them there will not be found one trace
of any loss or diminution of such monies. But all those men whom we ever
see accused and found fault with by this sort of inquiry, are overwhelmed
with witnesses; for it is difficult for him who has given money to a magistrate
to avoid being either induced by dislike of him, or compelled by scrupulousness,
to mention it; and in the next piece, if the witnesses are deterred from
appearing by any influence, at all events the account-books remain uncorrupted
and honest. Suppose that everyone was ever so friendly to Fonteius; that
such a number of men to whom he was perfectly unknown, and with whom he
was utterly disconnected, spared his life, and consulted his character;
still, the facts of the case himself, the consideration of the documents,
and the composition of the account-books, have this force, that from them,
when they are once given in and received, everything that is forged, or
stolen, or that has disappeared, is detected. All those men made entries
of sums of money having been received for the use of the Roman people;
if they immediately either paid or gave to others equally large sums,
so that what was received for the Roman people was paid to some one or
other, at all events nothing can have been embezzled. If any of them took
any money home [with them, from their cash in hand
and from their] ...
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III.
Oh, the good faith of gods and men! no witness is found in a case involving
a sum of three million two hundred thousand sesterces! Among how many
men? Among more than six hundred. In what countries did this transaction
take place? In this place, in this very place which you see. Was the money
given irregularly? No money at all was touched without many memoranda.
What, then, is the meaning of this accusation, which finds it easier to
ascend the Alps than a few steps of the treasury; which defends the treasury
of the Ruteni with more anxiety than that of the Roman people; which prefers
using unknown witnesses to known ones, foreign witnesses to citizens;
which thinks that it is establishing a charge more plainly by the capricious
evidence of barbarians than by documents written by our fellow citizens?
Of two magistracies, each of which is occupied in handling and dealing
with large sums of money, the triumvirate [There
were several sorts of triumviri who were concerned in the pecuniary
affairs of the state: the triumviri mensarii, who were a sort of
bankers, but who seem to have been permanently employed by the state,
in whose hands we read, that not only the aerarium, but also private individuals
deposited sums of money which they had to dispose of: (Vide Smith,
Dict. Ant. p. 613, v. Mensarii;) the triumviri monetales,
who had the whole superintendence of the mint, and of the money that was
coined in it; and the triumviri capitales, who, among their other
duties, enforced the payment of fines due to the state, and the triumviri
sacris conquirendis donisque persequendis, who seem to have had to
take care that all property given or consecrated to the gods was applied
to that purpose, and who must therefore have been responsible for its
application. Vide Smith, Dict. Ant. p. 1009, v. Triumviri]
and the quaestorship, such accurate accounts have been rendered, that
in those things which were done in the sight of men, which affected many
men's interests, and which were set forth both in public and private registers,
no hint of robbery, no suspicion of any offense can possibly arise. The
embassy to Spain followed, in a most disturbed time of the republic; when,
on the arrival of Lucius Sulla in Italy, great armies quarrelled about
the tribunals and the laws; and in this desperate state of the republic...
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IV.
[The passages in chapters I to III as well as this
one do not occur in old editions; they were found in the Vatican by Niebuhr,
and published by him in 1820. They are still in a very corrupt state.
The Loeb however mentions that the fragments that are listed here in chapter
IV are found in other authors' works. Any work written prior to Niebuhr's
discovery & publishing of the MSS. fragment will start with chapter
V as chapter I. As even the Loeb version of this text is 70 years old
as of 2001, anyone wishing to determine if any new translationary decisions
have been made regarding these and other fragments found by Niebuhr would
do well to check newer, and of course, copyrighted sources that cannot
be reprinted here.--Webmaster]
If no money was paid, of what
sum is that fiftieth a part? [from C. Iulius Victor]
Since his cause is not the same as that of Verres...
[not mentioned by Loeb]
a great quantity of corn from Gaul; infantry, and a
most numerous army from Gaul, a great number of cavalry from Gaul... [from
Aquila]
That after this the Gauls would drink their wine more
diluted, because they thought that there was poison in it... [from
Ammianus Marcellinus]
That Plaetorius's mother had kept the school so long
as she was alive, and masters after she was dead. [from
Quintilian VI. 3. 51.]
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V.
...that in the time of this praetor Gaul was overwhelmed with debt. From
whom do they say that loans of such sums were procured? From the Gauls?
By no means. From whom then? From Roman citizens who are trading in Gaul.
trading in Gaul. Why do we not hear what they have got to say? Why are
no accounts of theirs produced? I myself pursue and press the prosecutor,
O judges; I pursue him, I say, and I demand witnesses. In this cause I
am taking more pains and trouble to get them to produce their witnesses,
than other advocates for the defense usually take to refute them. I say
this boldly, O judges, but I do not assert it rashly. All Gaul is filled
with traders,--is full of Roman citizens. No Gaul does any business without
the aid of a Roman citizen; not a single sesterce in Gaul ever changes
hands without being entered in the account-books of Roman citizens. See
how I am descending, O judges, how far I seem to be departing from my
ordinary habits, from my usual caution and diligence. Let one set of accounts
be produced, in which there is any trace whatever which gives the least
hint of money having been given to Fonteius; let them produce out of the
whole body of traders, of colonists, of publicans, of agriculturists,
of graziers, but one witness, and I will allow that this accusation is
true. O ye immortal gods! what sort of a cause is this? what sort of a
defense? Marcus Fonteius was governor of the province of Gaul, which consists
of those tribes of men and of cities, some of whom (to say nothing of
old times) have in the memory of the present generation carried on bitter
and protracted wars with the Roman people; some have been lately subdued
by our generals, lately conquered in war, lately made remarkable by the
triumphs which we have celebrated over them, and the monuments which we
have erected, and lately mulcted, by the senate, of their lands and cities:
some, too, who have fought in battle against Marcus Fonteius himself,
have by his toil and labor been reduced under the power and dominion of
the Roman people. There is in the same province Narbo Martius [Narbo
Martius is the present town of Narbonne], a colony of our citizens,
set up as a watch-tower of the Roman people, and opposed as a bulwark
to the attacks of those very natives. There is also the city of Massilia,
which I have already mentioned, a city of most gallant and faithful allies,
who have made amends to the Roman people for the dangers to which they
have been exposed in the Gallic wars, by their service and assistance;
there is, besides, a large number of Roman citizens, and most honorable
men.
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VI.
Of this province, consisting of this variety of people, Marcus Fonteius,
as I have said, was governor. Those who were enemies, he subdued; those
who had lately been so, he compelled to depart from the lands of which
they had been deprived by the senate. From the rest, who had been often
conquered in great wars, on purpose that they might be rendered obedient
forever to the Roman people, he exacted large troops of cavalry to serve
in those wars which at that time were being carried on all over the world
by the Roman people, and large sums of money for their pay, and a great
quantity of corn to support our armies in the Spanish war. The man who
has done all these things is now brought before a court of law. You who
were not present at the transactions are, with the Roman people, taking
cognizance of the cause; those men are our adversaries who were compelled
to leave their lands by the command of Gnaeus Pompeius; those men are
our adversaries who having escaped from the war, and the slaughter which
was made of them, for the first time dare to stand against Marcus Fonteius,
now that he is unarmed. What of the colonists of Narbo? what do they wish?
what do they think? They wish this man's safety to be ensured by you;
they think that theirs has been ensured by him. What of the state of the
Massilians? They distinguished him while he was among them by the greatest
honors which they had to bestow; and now, though absent from this place,
they pray and entreat you that their blameless character, their panegyric,
and their authority may appear to have some weight with you in forming
your opinions. What more shall I say? What is the inclination of the Roman
citizens? There is no one of that immense body who does not consider this
man to have deserved well of the province, of the empire, of our allies,
and of the citizens.
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VII.
Since, therefore, you now know who wish Marcus Fonteius to be attacked,
and who wish him to be defended, decide now what your own regard for equity,
and what the dignity of the Roman people requires; whether you prefer
trusting your colonists, your traders, your most friendly and ancient
allies, and consulting their interests, or the interests of those men,
whom, on account of their passionate disposition, you ought not to trust;
on account of their disloyalty you ought not to honor. What, if I produce
also a still greater number of most honorable men to bear testimony to
this man's virtue and innocence? Will the unanimity of the Gauls still
be of more weight than that of men of such great authority? When Fonteius
was governor of Gaul, you know, O judges, that there were very large armies
of the Roman people in the two Spains, and very illustrious generals.
How many Roman knights were there, how many military tribunes, how many
ambassadors came to them? what eminent men they were, and how frequently
did they come! Besides that, a very large and admirably appointed army
of Gnaeus Pompeius wintered in Gaul while Marcus Fonteius was governor.
Does not Fortune herself appear to have intended that they should be a
sufficient number of sufficiently competent witnesses of those things
which were done in Gaul while Marcus Fonteius was praetor? Out of all
that number of men what witness can you produce in this cause? Who is
there of all that body of men whose authority you are willing to cite?
We will use that very man as our panegyrist and our witness. Will you
doubt any longer, O judges, that that which I stated to you at the beginning
is most true, that there is another object in this prosecution, beyond
causing others, after Marcus Fonteius has been overwhelmed by the testimonies
of these men, from whom many contributions have been exacted, greatly
against their will, for the sake of the republic, to be for the future
more lax in governing, when they see these men attacked, who are such
men that, if they are crushed, the empire of the Roman people cannot be
maintained in safety.
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VIII.
A charge has also been advanced that Marcus Fonteius has made a profit
from the making of roads; taking money either for not compelling people
to make roads, or for not disapproving of roads which had been made. If
all the cities have been compelled to make roads, and if the works of
many of them have not been passed, then certainly both charges are false,--the
charge that money has been given for exemption when no one was exempted;
and for approval, when many were disapproved of. What if we can shift
this charge on other most unimpeachable names? not so as to transfer any
blame to others, but to show that these men were appointed to superintend
that road-making, who are easily able to show that their duty was performed,
and performed well. Will you still urge all these charges against Marcus
Fonteius, relying on angry witnesses? When Marcus Fonteius was hindered
by more important affairs of the republic, and when it concerned the republic
that the Domitian road should be made, he entrusted the business to his
lieutenants, men of the highest characters, Gaius Annius, Bellienus, and
Gaius Fonteius. So they superintended it; they ordered what seemed necessary,
as became their dignity, and they sanctioned what seemed well done. And
you have at all events had opportunities of knowing these things, both
from our documents, from documents which you yourselves have written,
and from others which have been sent to you, and produced before you;
and if you have not already read them, now hear us read what Fonteius
wrote about those matters to his lieutenants, and what they wrote to him
in answer.
[The letters sent to Gaius Annius
the Lieutenant, and to Gaius Fonteius the Lieutenant; also, the letters
received from Gaius Annius the Lieutenant, and from Gaius Fonteius the
Lieutenant, are read.]
I think it is plain enough,
O judges, that this question about the road making does not concern Marcus
Fonteius, and that the business was managed by these men, with whom no
one can find fault.
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IX.
Listen now to the facts relating to the charge about wine, which they
meant to be the most odious, and the most important charge. The charge,
O judges, has been thus stated by Plaetorius: that it had not occurred
to Fonteius for the first time when he was in Gaul to establish a transit-duty
on wine [Portorium, ordinarily custom-duty
on imports or exports; in this case, according to Mommsen, a duty on imported
Italian wine not levied at the port of Narbo, but on the roads which led
thence into the province and its adjacent regions], but that he
had thought of the plan in Italy, before he departed from Rome. Accordingly,
that Titurius had exacted at Tolosa fourteen denarii for every amphora
of wine, under the name of transit duty; that Portius and Numius at Crodunum
had exacted three victoriati [A silver coin worth
half a denarius, stamped with the figure of Victory]; that Serveus
at Vulchalo had exacted two victoriati; and in those districts they believe
that transit duty was exacted by these men at Vulchalo, in case of anyone
turning aside to Cobiamachus, which is a small town between Tolosa and
Narbo, and not wishing to proceed so far as Tolosa. Elesiodulus exacted
only six denarii from those who were taking wine to the enemy. I see,
O judges, that this is a charge, important both from the sort of crime
imputed, (for a tax is said to have been imposed on our produce, and I
confess that a very large sum of money might have been amassed by that
means,) and from its unpopular nature; for our adversaries have endeavored
to make this charge as widely known as possible, by making it the subject
of their conversation. But I think that the more serious a charge is,
which is proved to be false, the greater is the wickedness of that man
who invented it; for he wishes by the magnitude of the accusation to prejudice
the minds of those who hear it, so that the truth may afterwards find
a difficult entrance into them.
[Everything relating to the charge
about the wine, to the war with the Vocontii,
and the arrangement of winter quarters, is missing.]
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X.
But the Gauls deny this. But the circumstances of the case and the force
of arguments prove it. Can then a judge refuse belief to witnesses? He
not only can, but he ought, if they are covetous men, or angry men, or
conspirators, or men utterly void of religion and conscience. In fact,
if Marcus Fonteius is to be considered guilty just because the Gauls say
so, what need have I of a wise judge? what need have I of an impartial
judge? what need is there of an intelligent advocate? For the Gauls say
so. We cannot deny it. If you think this is the duty of an able and experienced
and impartial judge, that he must without the slightest hesitation believe
a thing because the witnesses say it; then the Goddess of Safety herself
cannot protect the innocence of brave men. But if, in coming to a decision
on such matters, the wisdom of the judge has a wide field for its exercise
in considering every circumstance, and in weighing each according to its
importance, then in truth your part in considering the case is a more
important and serious one than mine is in stating it. For I have only
to question the witness as to each circumstance once, and that, too, briefly,
and often indeed I have not to question him at all; lest I should seem
to be giving an angry man an opportunity of making a speech, or to be
attributing an undue weight to a covetous man. You can revolve the same
matter over and over again in your minds, you can give a long consideration
to the evidence of one witness; and, if we have shown an unwillingness
to examine any witness, you are bound to consider what has been our reason
for keeping silence. Wherefore, if you think that to believe the witnesses
implicitly is enjoined to a judge, either by the law or by his duty, there
is no reason at all why one man should be thought a better or a wiser
judge than another. For judgment formed by the mere ears is single and
simple enough; it is a power given promiscuously to all in common, whether
they are fools or wise men. What, then, are the opportunities which wisdom
has of distinguishing itself? When can a foolish and credulous auditor
be distinguished from a scrupulous and discerning judge? When, forsooth,
the statements which are made by the witnesses are committed to his conjectures,
to his opinion, as to the authority, the impartiality of mind, the modesty,
the good faith, the scrupulousness, the regard for a fair reputation,
the care, and the fear with which they are made.
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XI.
Or will you, in the case of the testimonies of barbarians, hesitate to
do what very often within our recollection and that of our fathers, the
wisest judges have not thought that they ought to hesitate to do with
respect to the most illustrious men of our state? For they refused belief
to the evidence of Gnaeus and Quintus Caepio, and to Lucius and Quintus
Metellus, when they were witnesses against Quintus Pompeius, a new man;
for virtuous, and noble, and valiant as they were, still the suspicion
of some private object to be gained, and some private grudge to be gratified,
detracted from their credibility and authority as witnesses. Have we seen
any man, can we with truth speak of any man, as having been equal in wisdom,
in dignity, in consistency, in all other virtues, in all the distinguishing
qualities of honor, and genius, and splendid achievements, to Marcus Aemilius
Scaurus? And yet, though, when he was not on his oath, almost the whole
world was governed by his nod, yet, when he was on his oath, his evidence
was not believed against Gaius Fimbria, nor against Gaius Memmius. They,
who were the judges, were unwilling that such a road should be opened
to enmities, as for every man to be able to destroy by his evidence whoever
he hated. Who is there who does not know how great was the modesty, how
great the abilities, how great the influence of Lucius Crassus? And yet
he, whose mere conversation had the authority of evidence, could not,
by his actual evidence, establish the things which he had stated against
Marcus Marcellus with hostile feelings. There was--there was in the judges
of those times, O judges, a divinely-inspired and singular acuteness,
as they thought that they were judges, not only of the defendant, but
also of the accuser and of the witness, as to what was invented, what
was brought into the case by chance or by the opportunity, what was imported
into it through corruption, what was distorted by hope or by fear, what
appeared to proceed from any private desire, or any private enmity. And
if the judge does not embrace all these considerations in his deliberation,
if he does not survey and comprehend them all in his mind,--if he thinks
that whatever is said from that witness-box, proceeds from some oracle,
then in truth it will be sufficient, as I have said before, for any judge
to preside over this court, and to discharge this duty, who is not deaf.
There will be no reason in the world for requiring anyone, whoever he
may be, to be either able or experienced, to qualify him for judging causes.
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XII.
Had then those Roman knights, whom we ourselves have seen, who have lately
flourished in the republic, and in the courts, so much courage and so
much vigor as to refuse belief to Marcus Scaurus when a witness; and are
you afraid to disbelieve the evidence of the Volcae and of the Allobroges?
If it was not right to give credence to a hostile witness, was Crassus
more hostile to Marcellus, or Scaurus to Fimbria, on account of any political
differences, or any domestic quarrels, than the Gauls are to Fonteius?
For of the Gauls, those even who stand on the best ground have been compelled
once and again, and sorely against their will, to furnish cavalry, money,
and corn; and of the rest, some have been deprived of their land in ancient
wars, some have been overwhelmed and subdued in war by this very man.
If those men ought not to be believed who appear to say anything covetously
with a view to some private gain, I think that the Caepios and Metelli
proposed to themselves a greater gain from the condemnation of Quintus
Pompeius, as by that they would have got rid of a formidable adversary
to all their views, than all the Gauls hoped for from the disaster of
Marcus Fonteius, in which that province believed that all its safety and
liberty consisted. If it is proper to have a regard to the men themselves,
(a thing which in truth in the case of witnesses ought to be of the greatest
weight,) is anyone, the most honorable man in all Gaul to be compared,
I will not say with the most honorable men of our city, but even with
the meanest of Roman citizens? Does Induciomarus know what is the meaning
of giving evidence? Is he affected with that awe which moves every individual
among us when he is brought into that box?
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XIII.
Recollect, O judges, with how much pains you are accustomed to labor,
considering not only what you are going to state in your evidence, but
even what words you shall use, lest any word should appear to be used
too moderately, or lest on the other hand any expression should appear
to have escaped you from any private motive. You take pains even so to
mold your countenances, that no suspicion of any private motive may be
excited; that when you come forward there may be a sort of silent opinion
of your modesty and scrupulousness, and that, when you leave the box,
that reputation may appear to have been carefully preserved and retained.
I suppose Induciomarus, when he gave his evidence, had all these fears
and all these thoughts; he, who left out of his whole evidence that most
considerate word, to which we are all habituated, "I think," a word which
we use even when we are relating on our oath what we know of our own knowledge,
what we ourselves have seen; and said that he knew everything he was stating.
He feared, forsooth, lest he should lose any of his reputation in your
eyes and in those of the Roman people; lest any such report should get
abroad that Induciomarus, a man of such rank, had spoken with such partiality,
with such rashness. The truth was, he did not understand that in giving
his evidence there was anything which he was bound to display either to
his own countrymen or to our accusers, except his voice, his countenance,
and his audacity. Do you think that those nations are influenced in giving
their evidence by the sanctity of an oath, and by the fear of the immortal
gods, which are so widely different from other nations in their habits
and natural disposition? For other nations undertake wars in defense of
their religious feelings; they wage war against the religion of every
people: other nations when waging war beg for sanction and pardon from
the immortal gods; they have waged war with the immortal gods themselves.
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XIV.
These are the nations which formerly marched to such a distance from their
settlements, as far as Delphi, to attack and pillage the Pythian Apollo,
and the oracle of the whole world. By these same nations, so pious, so
scrupulous in giving their evidence, was the Capitol besieged, and that
Jupiter, under the obligations of whose name our ancestors decided that
the good faith of all witnesses should be pledged. Lastly, can anything
appear holy or solemn in the eyes of those men, who, if ever they are
so much influenced by any fear as to think it necessary to propitiate
the immortal gods, defile their altars and temples with human victims?
So that they cannot pay proper honor to religion itself without first
violating it with wickedness. For who is ignorant that, to this very day,
they retain that savage and barbarous custom of sacrificing men? What,
therefore, do you suppose is the good faith, what the piety of those men,
who think that even the immortal gods can be most easily propitiated by
the wickedness and murder of men? Will you connect your own religious
ideas with these witnesses? Will you think that anything is said holily
or moderately by these men? Will your minds, pure and upright as they
are, bring themselves into such a state that, when all our ambassadors
who for the last three years have arrived in Gaul, when all the Roman
knights who have been in that province, when all the traders of that province,
when, in short, all the allies and friends of the Roman people who are
in Gaul wish Marcus Fonteius to be safe, and extoll him on their oaths
both in public and in private, you should still prefer to give your decision
in unison with the Gauls? Appearing to comply with what? With the wishes
of men? Is then the wish of our enemies to have more authority in your
eyes than that of our countrymen? With the dignity of the witnesses? Can
you then possibly prefer strangers to people whom you know, unjust men
to just ones, foreigners to countrymen, covetous men to moderate ones,
mercenary men to disinterested ones, impious men to conscientious ones,
men who are the greatest enemies to our dominions and to our name, to
good and loyal allies and citizens?
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XV.
Are you then hesitating, O judges, when all these nations have an innate
hatred to and wage incessant war with the name of the Roman people? Do
you think that, with their military cloaks and their breeches, they come
to us in a lowly and submissive spirit, as these do, who having suffered
injuries fly to us as suppliants and inferiors to beg the aid of the judges?
Nothing is further from the truth. On the contrary, they are strolling
in high spirits and with their heads up, all over the forum, uttering
threatening expressions, and terrifying men with barbarous and ferocious
language; which, in truth, I should not believe, O judges, if I had not
repeatedly heard such things from the mouths of the accusers themselves
in your presence,--when they warned you to take care, lest, by acquitting
this man, you should excite some new Gallic war. If, O judges, everything
was wanting to Marcus Fonteius in this cause; if he appeared before the
court, having passed a disgraceful youth and an infamous life, having
been convicted by the evidence of virtuous men of having discharged his
duties as a magistrate (in which his conduct has been under your own eye)
and as a lieutenant, in a most scandalous manner, and being hated by all
his acquaintances; if in his trial he were overwhelmed with the oral and
documentary evidence of the Narbonnese colonists of the Roman people,
of our most faithful allies the Massilians, and of all the citizens of
Rome; still it would be your duty to take the greatest care, lest you
should appear to be afraid of those men, and to be influenced by their
threats and menaced terrors, who were so prostrate and subdued in the
times of your fathers and forefathers, as to be contemptible. But now,
when no good man says a word against him, but all your citizens and allies
extoll him; when those men attack him who have repeatedly attacked this
city and this empire; and when the enemies of Marcus Fonteius threaten
you and the Roman people; when his friends and relations come to you as
suppliants, will you hesitate to show not only to your own citizens, who
are mainly influenced by glory and praise, but also to foreign tribes
and nations, that you, in giving your votes, prefer sparing a citizen
to yielding to an enemy?
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XVI.
Among other reasons, this, O judges, is a very great reason for his acquittal,
to prevent any notable stain and disgrace from falling on our dominion,
by news going to Gaul, that the senate and knights of the Roman people
gave their decisions in a criminal trial just as the Gauls pleased; being
influenced not by their evidence, but by their threats. But in that case,
if they attempt to make war upon us, we must summon up Gaius Marius from
the shades below, in order that he may be equal in war to that great man,
that threatening and arrogant Induciomarus. Gnaeus Domitius and Quintus
Maximus must be raised from the dead, that they may again subdue and crush
the nation of the Allobroges and the other tribes by their arms; or, since
that indeed is impossible, we must beg my friend Marcus Plaetorius to
deter his new clients from making war, and to oppose by his entreaties
their angry feelings and formidable violence; or, if he be not able to
do so, we will ask Marcus Fabius, his junior counsel, to pacify the Allobroges,
since among their tribe the name of Fabius is held in the highest honor,
and induce them either to be willing to remain quiet, as defeated and
conquered nations usually are, or else to make them understand that they
are holding out to the Roman people not a terror of war, but a hope of
triumph. And if, even in the case of an ignoble defendant, it would not
be endurable that those men should think they had effected anything by
their threats, what do you think you ought to do in the case of Marcus
Fonteius? concerning whom, O judges, (for I think that I am entitled to
say this now, when I have almost come to the termination of two trials,)
concerning whom, I say, you have not only not heard any disgraceful charge
invented by his enemies, but you have not even heard any really serious
reproach. Was ever any defendant, especially when he had moved in such
a sphere as this man, as a candidate for honors, as an officer in command,
and as a governor, accused in such a way, that no disgraceful act, no
deed of violence, no baseness originating either in lust or insolence
or audacity, was attributed to him, if not with truth, at least with some
suspicious circumstances giving a reasonable coloring to the invention?
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XVII.
We know that Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, the most eminent man of our city,
was accused by Marcus Brutus. The orations are extant by which it can
be seen that many things are alleged against Scaurus himself; no doubt
falsely; but still they were alleged against him and urged against him
by an enemy. How many things were said against Marcus Aquillius on his
trial? How many against Lucius Cotta? and, lastly, against Publius Rutilius?
who, although he was condemned, still appears to me to deserve to be reckoned
among the most virtuous and innocent men. Yet that most upright and temperate
man had many things attributed to him on his trial, which involved suspicion
of adultery, and great licentiousness. There is an oration extant of a
man, by far (in my opinion, that is,) the ablest and most eloquent of
all our countrymen, Gaius Gracchus; in which oration Lucius Piso is accused
of many base and wicked actions. What a man to be so accused! A man who
was of such virtue and integrity, that even in those most admirable times,
when it was not possible to find a thoroughly worthless man, still he
alone was called Thrifty. And when Gracchus was ordering him to be summoned
before the assembly, and his lictor asked him which Piso, because there
were many of the name, "You are compelling me," says he, "to call my enemy,
Thrifty." That very man then, whom even his enemy could not point out
with sufficient clearness without first praising him; whose one surname
pointed not only who he was, but what sort of man he was; that very man
was, nevertheless, exposed to a false and unjust accusation of disgraceful
conduct. Marcus Fonteius has been accused in two trials, in such a way,
that nothing has been alleged against him from which the slightest taint
of lust, or caprice, or cruelty, or audacity can be inferred. They not
only have not mentioned any atrocious deed of his, but they have not even
found fault with any expression used by him.
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XVIII.
But if they had either had as much courage to tell a lie, or as much ingenuity
to invent one, as they feel eagerness to oppress Fonteius, or as they
have displayed license in abusing him; then he would have had no better
fortune, as far as relates to not having disgraceful acts alleged against
him, than those men whom I have just mentioned. You see then another Thrifty,--a
thrifty man, I say, O judges, and a man moderate and temperate in every
particular of his life; a man full of modesty, full of a sense of duty,
full of religion, depending on your good faith and power, and placed in
your power in such a way as to be committed wholly to the protection of
your good faith. Consider, therefore, whether it is more just that a most
honorable and brave man, that a most virtuous citizen, should be given
up to the most hostile and ferocious nations, or restored to his freedom,
especially when there are so many circumstances which cooperate in entreating
your favorable disposition in aid of this man's safety. First of all,
there is the antiquity of his family, which we are aware proceeds from
Tusculum, a most illustrious municipality, and whose fame is engraved
and handed down on monuments of the exploits of its members; secondly,
there have been continual praetorships in that family, which have been
distinguished by every sort of honor, and especially by the credit of
unimpeachable innocence; besides that, there is the recent memory of his
father, by whose blood, not only the troop of Asculum, by whom he was
slain, but the whole of that social war has been stained with the deep
dye of wickedness; lastly, there is the man himself, honorable and upright
in every particular of his life, and in military affairs not only endued
with the greatest wisdom, and the most brilliant courage, but also skillful
through personal experience in carrying on war, beyond almost any man
of the present age.
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XIX.
Wherefore, if you do require to be reminded at all by me, O judges, (which,
in truth, you do not,) it seems to me I may, without presuming too much
on my authority, give you this gentle hint,--that you ought to consider
that those men are carefully to be preserved by you, whose valor, and
energy, and good fortune in military affairs have been tried and ascertained.
There has been a greater abundance of such men in the republic than there
is now; and when there was, people consulted not only their safety, but
their honor also. What, then, ought you to do now, when military studies
have become obsolete among our youth, and when our best men and our greatest
generals have been taken from us, partly by age, and partly by the dissensions
of the state and the illfortune of the republic? When so many wars are
necessarily undertaken by us, when so many arise suddenly and unexpectedly,
do you not think that you ought to preserve this man for the critical
occasions of the republic, and to excite others by his example to the
pursuit of honor and virtue? Recollect what lieutenants Lucius Julius,
and Publius Rutilius, and Lucius Cato, and Gnaeus Pompeius have lately
had in war. You will see that at that time there existed also Marcus Cornutus,
Lucius Cinna, and Lucius Sulla, men of praetorian rank, and of the greatest
skill in war; and, besides them Gaius Marius, Publius Didius, Quintus
Catulus, and Publius Crassus, men not learned in the science of war through
books, but accomplished and renowned by their achievements and their victories.
Come now, cast your eyes over the senate-house, look thoroughly into every
part of the republic; do you see no possible event in which you may require
men like those? or, if any such event should arise, do you think that
the Roman people is at this moment rich in such men? And if you carefully
consider all these circumstances, you will rather, O judges, retain at
home, for yourselves and for your children, a man energetic in undertaking,
the toils of war, gallant in encountering its dangers, skillful in its
practice and its discipline, prudent in his designs, fortunate and successful
in their accomplishment, than deliver him over to nations most hostile
to the Roman people, and most cruel, by condemning him.
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XX.
But the Gauls are attacking Fonteius with hostile standards as it were;
they pursue him, and press upon him with the most extreme eagerness, with
the most extreme audacity. I see it. But we, O judges, you being our helpers,
with many and strong defenses, will resist that savage and intolerable
hand of barbarians. Our first bulwark against their attacks is Macedonia,
a province loyal and well affected to the Roman people, which says, that
itself and its cities were preserved, not only by the wisdom, but even
by the hand of Fonteius, and which now repels the attacks and dangers
of the Gauls from his head, as it was defended itself from the invasion
and desolation of the Thracians. On the opposite side stands the further
Spain, which is able in this case not only to withstand the eagerness
of the accusers by its own honest disposition, but which can even refute
the perjuries of' wicked men by its testimonies and by its panegyrics.
And even from Gaul itself most faithful and most important assistance
is derived. As an assistance to this unhappy and innocent man, the city
of the Massilians has come forward, which is laboring now, not only in
order to appear to requite with proper gratitude the exertions of the
man by whom it has been preserved, but which also believes that it has
been placed in those districts for that very object, and with that express
destiny, to prevent those nations from being able to injure our countrymen.
The colony of Narbonne fights equally on behalf of the safety of Marcus
Fonteius, which, having been lately delivered from the blockade of the
enemy by this mail, is now moved at his misery and danger. Lastly, as
is right in a Gallic war--as the principles and customs of our ancestors
enjoin--there is not one Roman citizen who thinks he requires any excuse
for being eager in this man's behalf. All the publicans of that province,
all the farmers, all the graziers, all the traders, with one heart and
one voice, defend Marcus Fonteius.
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XXI.
But if Induciomarus himself, the leader of the Allobroges, and of all
the rest of the Gauls, despise such powerful aid as this which we have,
shall he still tear and drag away this man from the embrace of his mother,
a most admirable and most miserable woman, and that, too, while you are
looking on? especially when a vestal virgin on the other side is holding
her own brother in her embraces, and imploring, O judges, your good faith,
and that of the Roman people; she who has been, on behalf of you and of
your children, occupied for so many years in propitiating the immortal
gods, in order now to be able to propitiate you when supplicating for
her own safety and that of her brother. What protection, what comfort,
will that unhappy maiden have left, if she loses this her brother? For
other women can bring forth protectors for themselves--can have in their
homes a companion and a partner in all their fortunes; but to this maiden,
what is there that can be agreeable or dear, except her brother? Do not,
O judges, allow the altars of the immortal gods, and of our mother Vesta,
to be reminded of your tribunal by the daily lamentations of a holy virgin.
Beware lest that eternal flame, which is now preserved by the nightly
toils and vigils of Fonteia, should be said to have been extinguished
by the tears of your priestess. A vestal virgin is stretching out towards
you her suppliant hands, those same hands which she is accustomed to stretch
out, on your behalf, to the immortal gods. Consider how dangerous, how
arrogant a deed it would be for you to reject her entreaties, when, if
the immortal gods were to despise her prayers, all these things which
we see around us could not be preserved. Do you not see, O judges, that
all of a sudden, Marcus Fonteius himself, brave as he is, is moved to
shed tears at the mention of his parent and his sister?--he who never
has known fear in battle, he who in arms has often thrown himself on the
ranks and numbers of the enemy, thinking, while he was facing such dangers,
that he left behind him the same consolation to his relatives that his
own father had left to him; yet now, for all that, is agitated and alarmed,
lest he should not only cease to be an ornament and an assistant to his
family, but lest he should even leave them eternal disgrace and ignominy,
together with the bitterest grief. Oh how unequal is thy fortune, Marcus
Fonteius! If you could have chosen, how much would you have preferred
perishing by the weapons of the Gauls rather than by their perjuries!
For then virtue would have been the companion of your life, glory your
comrade in death; but now, what agony is it for you to endure the sufferings
caused by their power and victory over you, at their pleasure, who have
before now been either conquered by your arms, or forced to submit against
their will to your authority. From this danger, O judges, defend a brave
and innocent citizen: take care to be seen to place more confidence in
our own witnesses than in foreigners; to have more regard for the safety
of our citizens than for the pleasure of our enemies; to think the entreaties
of her who presides over your sacrifices of more importance than the audacity
of those men who have waged war against the sacrifices and temples of
all nations. Lastly, take care, O judges, (the dignity of the Roman people
is especially concerned in this,) to show that the prayers of a vestal
virgin have more influence over you than the threats of Gaul.
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