Book 5, Chapter 19

“Do you think Gaius Laelius’ single consulship was comparable to Cinna’s consulships? Even that one term came with an electoral defeat—unless, when a wise and good man such as Laelius is passed over at the polls, it is the people [deprived of a good consul], rather than he [deprived of a good citizen body], who suffer rejection. But even so, which would you prefer, if you had the choice: to be consul once, like Laelius, or four times, like Cinna?

55 “I have no doubt what you will answer, and so I see whom I am trusting with the question. I would not ask just anyone the same thing. Someone else might perhaps reply that he preferred not merely four consulships to one, but a single day of Cinna’s life to the whole lifetimes of many distinguished men. Had Laelius touched anyone with a finger, he would have paid the penalty. Cinna, however, ordered the head of his fellow consul Gnaeus Octavius to be cut off; those of Publius Crassus and Lucius Caesar, men of the highest nobility whose virtue had been recognized at home and in war; that of Marcus Antonius, the most eloquent of all the men I have heard; and that of Gaius Caesar, in whom I think there was a model of culture, wit, charm, and grace. Was the man who killed these men happy, then? To me, on the contrary, he seems unhappy not only because he did these things, but also because he behaved in such a way that he was allowed to do them. Of course no one is allowed to do wrong; we slip into an error of speech, calling something allowable

56 “when a person is permitted to do it. Which time, then, was Gaius Marius happier: when he shared the glory of his victory over the Cimbri with his colleague Catulus, almost a second Laelius—for I consider the two men very much alike—or when, victorious in civil war and full of anger, he answered Catulus’ friends and relatives as they pleaded with him, not once but repeatedly, ‘Let him die’? Here the man who obeyed that impious utterance was happier than the one who gave so criminal an order. For just as it is better to suffer wrong than to inflict it, so it is better to go a little way to meet death, already approaching of itself, as Catulus did, than, as Marius did, to bury one’s six consulships beneath the death of such a man and stain the final period of one’s life.”

“Do you think Gaius Laelius’s single term as consul was comparable—and even that after an election defeat (if, when a wise and good man such as he was loses at the polls, it isn’t the people who meet with rejection [by a good consul], rather than he [by a good electorate])—but in any case, given the choice, which would you want: to serve once as Laelius did, or four times as Cinna did?

55 “I’m sure of your answer, so I know whom I’m putting the question to. I wouldn’t put it to just anybody. Another person might prefer four terms to one, or even a single day as Cinna to the entire lifetimes of many distinguished men. Laelius would have faced punishment for laying a finger on someone. Cinna, on the other hand, had his fellow consul Gnaeus Octavius beheaded. He gave the same order for Publius Crassus and Lucius Caesar, men of the highest rank whose virtue had been proved both at home and in war; for Marcus Antonius, a speaker more eloquent than anyone else I’ve heard; and for Gaius Caesar, who seemed to me a model of culture, wit, charm, and humor. Could their killer be happy? I see him as unhappy for the opposite reason: not just for committing those acts, but for having acted so as to gain the freedom to commit them. Of course, nobody has permission to do wrong. It’s our language that goes astray: we speak of permission when we mean

56 “whatever someone is left free to do. Now consider Gaius Marius. Was he happier sharing the credit for defeating the Cimbri with his fellow consul Catulus? Catulus was almost another Laelius; I think the two were very much alike. Or was Marius happier as the furious victor of a civil war, when those close to Catulus begged him for mercy, and he kept answering, over and over, ‘He must die’? The man who obeyed that wicked command was happier than the one who gave such a criminal order. Being wronged is better than doing wrong. Likewise, when death is already on its way, it is better to step a little forward to meet it, as Catulus did, than to do what Marius did: let the killing of such a man bury six consulships and disgrace the closing years of one’s life.”