Y.R. B. C. 702 whether he was still alive, or already dead, is not known, 52 — for, although he claimed that he had neither advised nor ordered the killing, he was not willing to leave the deed unfinished because he knew that he would be accused in any event. When the news of this affair was circulated in Rome, the people were thunderstruck, and they passed the night in the forum. When daylight came, the corpse of Clodius was displayed on the rostra. Some of the tribunes and the friends of Clodius and a great crowd with them seized it and carried it to the senate-house, either to confer honor upon it, as he was of senatorial birth, or as an act of contumely to the Senate for conniving at such deeds. There the more reckless ones collected the benches and chairs of the senators and made a funeral pile for him, which they lighted and from which the senate-house and many buildings in the neighborhood caught fire and were consumed with the corpse of Clodius. 22. Such was the hardihood of Milo that he was moved less by fear of punishment for the murder than by indignation at the honor bestowed upon Clodius at his funeral. He collected a crowd of slaves and rustics, and, after sending some money to be distributed among the people and buying Marcus Cælius, one of the tribunes, he came back to the city with the greatest boldness. Directly he entered, Cælius dragged him to the forum to be tried by those whom he had bribed, as though by an assembly of the people, pretending to be very indignant and not willing to grant any delay, but hoping that if those present should acquit him he would escape a more regular trial. Milo said that the deed was not premeditated, since one would not set out with such intentions encumbered with his luggage and his wife. The remainder of his speech was directed against Clodius as a desperado and a friend of desperadoes, who had set fire to the senate-house and burned it to ashes with his body. While he was still speaking the other tribunes, with the unbribed portion of the people, burst into the forum armed. Cælius and Milo escaped disguised as slaves, but there was a heavy slaughter of the others. Search was not made for the friends of Milo, but all who were met with, whether citizens or strangers, were killed, and especially those who wore fine clothes and gold rings. As Y.R. B. C. 702 the government was without order these ruffians, who were 52 for the most part slaves and were armed men against unarmed, indulged their rage and, making an excuse of the tumult that had broken out, they turned to pillage. They abstained from no crime, but broke into houses, looking for any kind of portable property, but pretending to be searching for the friends of Milo. For several days Milo was their excuse for burning, stoning, and every sort of outrage. 23. The Senate assembled in consternation and looked to Pompey, intending to make him dictator at once, for they considered this necessary as a cure for the present evils; but at the suggestion of Cato they appointed him consul without a colleague, so that by ruling alone he might have the power of a dictator with the responsibility of a consul. He was the first of consuls who had two of the greatest provinces, and an army, and the public money, and the one-man power in the city, by virtue of being sole consul. In order that Cato might not cause obstruction by his presence, it was decreed that he should go to Cyprus and take the island away from King Ptolemy-a law to that effect having been enacted by Clodius because once, when he was captured by pirates, the avaricious Ptolemy contributed only two talents for his ransom. When Ptolemy' heard of the decree he threw his money into the sea and killed himself, and Cato settled the government of Cyprus. Pompey proposed the prosecution of offenders and especially of those guilty of bribery and corruption. He thought that the seat of the public disorder was there, and that by beginning there he should effect a speedy cure. He brought forward a law, that any citizen who chose to do so might call for an accounting from anybody who had held office from the time of his own first consulship to the present. This embraced a period of a little less than twenty years, during which Cæsar also had been consul; wherefore Cæsar's friends suspected that he included so long a time in order to cast reproach and contumely on Cæsar, and urged him to straighten out the present crookedness rather than stir up the past to the annoyance of so many distinguished men, among whom they named Cæsar. Pompey pretended to be indignant at the mention of Ca Y.R. B.C. 702 sar's name, as though he were above suspicion, and said 52 that his own second consulship was embraced in the period, and that he had reached back a considerable time in order to effect a complete cure of the evils from which the republic had been so long wasting away. CHAPTER IV Prosecutions for Bribery - Cæsar authorized to stand for the Consulship while absent-Enmity of Marcellus- Attempts to deprive Cæsar of his Command — Curio insists that Pompey shall lay down his Command also - Increasing Hostility to Cæsar in the Senate Pompey's Neglect of Preparations for War-The Consuls invest Pompey with the Defence of Italy 24. After making this answer he passed his law, and straightway there ensued a great number and variety of prosecutions. In order that the jurors might act without fear Pompey stationed soldiers around them and superintended them in person. The first ones convicted were absentees: Milo for the murder of Clodius; Gabinius .both for violation of law and for impiety, because he had invaded Egypt without a decree of the Senate and contrary to the Sibylline books; Hypsæus, Memmius, Sextius, and many others for bribery and for corrupting the populace. The people interceded for Scaurus, but Pompey made proclamation that they should wait for the decision of the court. When the crowd again interrupted the accusers, Pompey's soldiers made a charge and killed several. Then the people held their tongues and Scaurus was convicted. All of them were banished. Gabinius was fined in addition. The Senate praised Pompey highly for these proceedings, voted him two more legions, and extended the term of his provincial government. As Pompey's law offered impunity to any one who should turn state's evidence, Memmius, who had been convicted of bribery, called Lucius Scipio, the father-in-law of Pompey himself, to trial for like participation in bribery. Thereupon Pompey put on mourning and many of the jurors did the same. Memmius took pity on the republic and withdrew the accusation. Y.R. 702 B. C. 25. Pompey, as though he had completed the reforms 52 that made the one-man power necessary, now made Scipio his colleague in the consulship for the remainder of the year. At the expiration of his term, however, although others were invested with the consulship, he was none the less the supervisor, and ruler, and all-in-all in Rome. He enjoyed the good-will of the Senate, particularly because they were jealous of Cæsar, who did not consult the Senate during his consulship, and because Pompey had so speedily restored the sick commonwealth, and had not made himself troublesome or offensive to any of them during his term of office. The banished ones went to Cæsar in crowds and advised him to beware of Pompey, saying that his law about bribery was especially directed against himself. Cæsar cheered them up and spoke well of Pompey. He also induced the tribunes to bring in a law to enable himself to stand for the consulship a second time while absent, and this was enacted while Pompey was still consul and without opposition from him. Cæsar suspected that the Senate would resist this project and feared lest he should be reduced to the condition of a private citizen and ex703 posed to his enemies. So he tried to retain his power 51 until he should be elected consul, and asked the Senate to grant him a little more time in his present command of Gaul, or of a part of it. Marcellus, who succeeded Pompey as consul, forbade it. They say that when this was announced to Cæsar, he clapped his hand on his sword-hilt and exclaimed, "This shall give it to me."1 26. Cæsar built the town of Novum Comum 2 at the 1 This is a highly improbable tale. Cæsar was not in the least given to theatrical display. Plutarch (Life of Cæsar, 29) says: "It is said that one of Cæsar's centurions, who had been sent by him to Rome, standing before the senate-house one day, and being told that the Senate would not give a longer time in his government, clapped his hand on the hilt of his sword and said, 'But this shall give it.'" 2 The modern Como. Strabo (v. 1. 6) says that Pompeius Strabo, the father of Pompey the Great, restored Como, which was then a town of moderate size oppressed by the neighboring Rhetians; that Gaius Scipio added about 3000 to its population, and that Cæsar added 5000 more, the most distinguished of whom were 500 Greeks. "To the latter," he continues, "Cæsar gave the right of citizenship and inscribed them among the colonists, but they did not live there permanently, Y.R. B.C. 703 foot of the Alps and gave it the Latin rights, which included 51 a provision that those who had exercised the yearly chief magistracy should be Roman citizens. One of these men, who had held this office and was consequently considered a Roman citizen, was beaten with rods for some reason by order of Marcellus in defiance of Cæsar-a punishment that was never inflicted on Roman citizens. Marcellus in his passion revealed his real intention that the blows should be the marks of the foreigner, and he told the man to carry his scars and show them to Cæsar. So insulting was Marcellus. Moreover, he proposed to send successors to take command of Cæsar's provinces before his time had expired, but Pompey interfered, making a pretence of fairness and good-will, saying that they ought not to put an indignity. on a distinguished man who had been so extremely useful to his country, merely on account of a short interval of time; but he made it plain that Cæsar's command must come to an end immediately on its expiration. For this 704 reason the bitterest enemies of Cæsar were chosen consuls 50 for the ensuing year: Æmilius Paulus and Claudius Marcellus, cousin of the Marcellus before mentioned. Curio, who was also a bitter enemy of Cæsar, but extremely popular with the masses and a most accomplished speaker, was chosen tribune. Cæsar was not able to influence Claudius with money, but he bought the neutrality of Paulus for 1500 talents and the assistance of Curio with a still larger sum, because he knew that the latter was heavily burdened with debt. With the money thus obtained Paulus built and dedicated to the Roman people the Basilica that bears his name, a very beautiful structure. 27. Curio, in order that he might not be detected changing sides too suddenly, brought forward vast plans for repairing and building roads, of which he was to be superintendent for five years. He knew that he could not carry any such measure, but he hoped that Pompey's friends would oppose him so that he might have that as an excuse for opposing Pompey. Things turned out as he had anticialthough they gave the name to the settlement. All the inhabitants are called Neocomite which, by interpretation, means the people of Novum Comum." So it appears that the place was recruited by Cæsar, not originally founded by him. |