Chapter 12

SECTION 40Let this law, then, be established in friendship: that we neither ask for dishonorable things nor do them when asked. For it is a shameful excuse, and one that must by no means be accepted in any wrongdoing, least of all when a man admits that for a friend’s sake he has acted against the republic. For we, Fannius and Scaevola, have been placed in such a position that we are bound to look far ahead to the future dangers of the republic. The practice of our ancestors has already swerved somewhat from its proper course and track.

SECTION 41Tiberius Gracchus attempted to seize royal power—or rather, he actually reigned for a few months. Had the Roman people ever heard or seen anything like it? What his friends and kinsmen, continuing his course even after his death, did to Publius Scipio I cannot tell without tears. As for Carbo, we tolerated him as best we could because the punishment of Tiberius Gracchus was still fresh. But what I anticipate from the tribunate of Gaius Gracchus I do not care to prophesy. The evil then creeps onward, and once it has begun, it glides down the slope toward destruction. You see how great a corruption has already been caused by the ballot tablet: first through the Gabinian law, and two years later through the Cassian. I already seem to see the people estranged from the Senate and the gravest matters conducted at the caprice of the multitude. For more men will learn how such things are done than how they may be resisted.

SECTION 42To what end do I say this? Because no one attempts any such thing without accomplices. Good men must therefore be warned that, if through ignorance or some accident they fall into friendships of that kind, they must not think themselves so bound that they cannot withdraw from friends who are committing some grave offense against the republic. The wicked, moreover, must be assigned their punishment, and those who follow another should be punished no less severely than those who themselves have been the leaders in impiety. Who in Greece was more illustrious than Themistocles, who more powerful? Yet after, as commander in the Persian War, he had freed Greece from slavery, and had then been driven into exile through envy, he did not endure the injustice of his ungrateful country, though he ought to have endured it. He did the same thing that Coriolanus had done among us twenty years before. Neither man found anyone to assist him against his country; and so each took his own life.

SECTION 43Such a conspiracy among wicked men, therefore, must not merely be denied the shelter of friendship as an excuse; rather, it must be punished with every penalty, so that no one may suppose himself permitted to follow a friend who makes war upon his country. And indeed, considering the course events have begun to take, I am not sure that this may not happen someday. For my concern about what the republic will be after my death is no less than my concern about what it is today.

SECTION 40Let this law therefore be established in friendship: we must neither ask for dishonorable things nor do them when asked. For it is a shameful and wholly unacceptable excuse in wrongdoing generally, and especially when someone admits that he acted against the republic for a friend’s sake. Fannius and Scaevola, we have been placed in such a position that we must look far ahead and anticipate the future dangers of the republic. The customs of our ancestors have already strayed somewhat from their proper course and path.

SECTION 41Tiberius Gracchus attempted to seize royal power—or rather, he actually reigned for a few months. Had the Roman people ever heard or seen anything like it? I cannot say without tears what his friends and relatives, following his example even after his death, did to Publius Scipio. As for Carbo, we endured him as best we could because the punishment of Tiberius Gracchus was still so recent. But I do not care to predict what I expect from the tribunate of Gaius Gracchus. The movement then creeps onward, and once it has begun, it slides easily downhill toward destruction. You see how much corruption has already been caused by the ballot—first by the Gabinian law, and then two years later by the Cassian law. I already seem to see the people separated from the Senate and the most important affairs conducted at the will of the multitude. For more people will learn how these things are done than how they may be resisted.

SECTION 42What is the point of all this? It is that no one attempts such a thing without associates. Honorable men must therefore be instructed that, if through ignorance or some accident they fall into friendships of this kind, they must not think themselves so tightly bound that they cannot withdraw from friends who are committing some grave offense against the republic. As for the wicked, a punishment must be fixed for them—and certainly no lighter a punishment for those who follow another than for those who themselves become leaders in treason. Who in Greece was more famous than Themistocles, or more powerful? After he had served as commander in the Persian War and freed Greece from slavery, he was driven into exile because of envy. Yet he failed to endure the injustice of his ungrateful country, as he ought to have done. He did the same thing that Coriolanus had done among us twenty years earlier. Neither man found anyone willing to help him against his country, and so each took his own life.

SECTION 43Therefore, such an alliance among wicked men must not merely be denied the shelter of friendship as an excuse; rather, it must be punished with every penalty, so that no one may think he is permitted to follow a friend who is making war on his country. And indeed, judging from the way things have begun to go, I am not sure that this may not happen someday. For my part, I am no less concerned about what the republic will be like after my death than about what it is like today.