Chapter 5
Original Latin
10 verum tamen quid erat quod me rogares, si erat is de quo rogabas Caesaris lege reductus? sed videlicet meam gratiam voluit esse, in quo ne ipsius quidem ulla esse poterat lege lata.
sed cum mihi, patres conscripti, et pro me aliquid et in M. Antonium multa dicenda sint, alterum peto a vobis ut me pro me dicentem benigne, alterum ipse efficiam ut, contra illum cum dicam, attente audiatis. simul illud oro: si meam cum in omni vita tum in dicendo moderationem modestiamque cognostis, ne me hodie, cum isti, ut provocavit, respondero, oblitum esse putetis mei. non tractabo ut consulem: ne ille quidem me ut consularem. etsi ille nullo modo consul, vel quod ita vivit vel quod ita rem publicam gerit vel quod ita factus est; ego sine ulla controversia consularis.
11 Vt igitur intellegeretis qualem ipse se consulem profiteretur, obiecit mihi consulatum meum. qui consulatus verbo meus, patres conscripti, re vester fuit. quid enim ego constitui, quid gessi, quid egi nisi ex huius ordinis consilio, auctoritate, sententia? haec tu homo sapiens, non solum eloquens, apud eos quorum consilio sapientiaque gesta sunt ausus es vituperare? quis autem meum consulatum praeter te et P. Clodium qui vituperaret inventus est? cuius quidem tibi fatum, sicuti C. Curioni, manet, quoniam id domi tuae est quod fuit illorum utrique fatale.
12 non placet M. Antonio consulatus meus. at placuit P. Servilio, ut eum primum nominem ex illius temporis consularibus qui proxime est mortuus; placuit Q. Catulo, cuius semper in hac re publica vivet auctoritas; placuit duobus Lucullis, M. Crasso, Q. Hortensio, C. Curioni, C. Pisoni, M’. Glabrioni, M’. Lepido, L. Volcatio, C. Figulo, D. Silano, L. Murenae, qui tum erant consules designati; placuit idem quod consularibus M. Catoni, qui cum multa vita excedens providit, tum quod te consulem non vidit. maxime vero consulatum meum Cn. Pompeius probavit qui, ut me primum decedens ex Syria vidit, complexus et gratulans meo beneficio patriam se visurum esse dixit. sed quid singulos commemoro? frequentissimo senatui sic placuit ut esset nemo qui mihi non ut parenti gratias ageret, qui mihi non vitam suam, fortunas, liberos, rem publicam referret acceptam.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted Musean translation made directly from the Latin in separate source-only tasks; all 46 chapters and 119 sections retained. Source-language model review is recorded with the raw witness. Latin transcription: Perseus Project, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0; this adaptation uses the same license.
10 Still, why did you need to ask me, if the man you asked about had already been recalled under Caesar’s law? Apparently he wished to make it my favor, though, once the law was passed, it could not even be his own.
But since, senators, I must say something in my defense and much against Marcus Antony, I ask one thing of you: listen kindly when I speak for myself. The other I shall secure for myself: when I speak against him, you will listen closely. I also beg this: if you have known my restraint and moderation both throughout my life and in my speech, do not think that today, in answering the challenge he has thrown down, I have forgotten who I am. I shall not treat him as a consul: neither did he treat me as a former consul. Indeed, he is no consul at all, whether you consider how he lives, how he governs, or how he was elected. That I am a former consul is beyond dispute.
11 To show you what sort of consul he professed himself to be, he attacked my consulship. That consulship was mine in name, senators, but yours in reality. What did I resolve, accomplish or undertake except by this body’s counsel, authority and judgment? And you, wise man as well as eloquent, dared to criticize these deeds before the very men whose counsel and wisdom directed them? Who besides you and Publius Clodius has ever been found to condemn my consulship? His fate awaits you, as it awaited Gaius Curio: you have in your own home what proved fatal to them both.
12 Marcus Antony disapproves of my consulship. But Publius Servilius approved it—to name first the most recently deceased of the former consuls of that time. Quintus Catulus approved it, whose authority will always live in this republic; so did both Luculluses, Marcus Crassus, Quintus Hortensius, Gaius Curio, Gaius Piso, Manius Glabrio, Manius Lepidus, Lucius Volcatius, Gaius Figulus, Decimus Silanus and Lucius Murena, who were then consuls-elect. Marcus Cato shared their approval; among the many things he foresaw as he left this life was the advantage of never seeing you consul. Above all, Gnaeus Pompey approved my consulship. When he first met me on his return from Syria, he embraced and congratulated me, saying that it was thanks to me that he would see his country again. But why name individuals? The senate, in its fullest attendance, approved it so completely that no one failed to thank me as a father, or to acknowledge that he owed me his life, his fortune, his children and the republic.
Plain English translation
Complete machine-assisted Plain English translation made independently and directly from the Latin in separate source-only tasks, not from the Musean edition or a historical English translation; all 46 chapters and 119 sections retained. Latin transcription: Perseus Project, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0; this adaptation uses the same license.
10 But really, why ask me at all? Hadn’t Caesar’s law already recalled the man you were asking about? Apparently, he wanted it treated as a favor from me. Yet once the law passed, it couldn’t even be a favor from him.
Senators, I have some things to say for myself, and much against Marcus Antony. I ask one thing of you. Please give me a friendly hearing when I defend myself. I’ll take care of the other thing myself: you’ll listen closely when I attack him. I also ask you this. You know the restraint and moderation I’ve shown throughout my life, including in my speeches. Today I’ll answer the challenge he gave me. Don’t think I’ve forgotten who I am. I won’t treat him as a consul. He didn’t treat me as a former consul. Anyway, he isn’t a consul in any real sense. His way of life rules that out. So does his handling of the republic. So does the way he got the office. There’s no dispute that I’m a former consul.
11 He wanted you to understand what kind of consul he claimed to be. So he attacked my consulship. Senators, it was mine in name, but yours in practice. What did I decide, carry out, or accomplish without this body’s advice, authority, and judgment? You’re supposedly wise as well as eloquent. Did you dare criticize those actions before the very men whose advice and wisdom guided them? Who besides you and Publius Clodius has ever attacked my consulship? His fate is waiting for you, just as it did for Gaius Curio. You have the same thing at home that doomed them both.
12 Marcus Antony doesn’t approve of my consulship. But Publius Servilius did. I’ll name him first among that period’s former consuls, since he died most recently. Quintus Catulus approved. His authority will always live on in this republic. Both Luculluses approved, as did Marcus Crassus, Quintus Hortensius, Gaius Curio, Gaius Piso, Manius Glabrio, Manius Lepidus, Lucius Volcatius, and Gaius Figulus. So did Decimus Silanus and Lucius Murena, the consuls-elect then. Marcus Cato agreed with those former consuls. He showed foresight in many ways as he left life. Above all, he never saw you as consul. Gnaeus Pompey approved of my consulship most strongly of all. When he first saw me on his return from Syria, he hugged and congratulated me. He said he’d see his country thanks to me. But why name people one by one? A packed Senate approved so strongly that every member thanked me like a father. Every member credited me with saving his life, property, children, and the republic.
About this section
Chapter 5 is part of Second Philippic by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This page sets the Latin original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 5 of 46 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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