Ad Familiares 12.14
Ad Familiares 12.14
Headnote
P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther (the younger) to Cicero, from Perga in Pamphylia on 29 May 43 BC — Perseus dateline Scr. Pergae iiii K. Iun. a. 711 (43). Lentulus is proquaestor of Asia, left in charge of the province after the murder of Trebonius at Smyrna by Dolabella in January, and writing as one of the new men of the cause: son of the consul of 57 BC who had championed Cicero’s recall, intimate of Dolabella in peacetime, kin to the Antonii by marriage, holding his commission through their favor — and now, by his own telling, the first man to break with all of them on the state’s behalf. The dispatch is a long act of self-presentation cast as a field report: the chase after Dolabella’s hundred-ship transport fleet in Lycia (broken up when the Rhodians delayed him); the Rhodians themselves, who shut their gates against his father in the civil war and now shut them again; a request that Cicero secure him a continuation of his command in Asia from Pansa and Hirtius; an accounting of what he has done for Cassius in Syria; and the central claim, sealed with a fragment of Homer, that he loved his country more than his own.
The political moment is that brief window in the spring of 43 when the Liberators’ eastern coalition still looked like a state in waiting. Cassius has Dolabella penned in at Laodicea on the Syrian coast; M.~Brutus is consolidating Macedonia and Greece; Lentulus, holding Asia in the absence of the consuls, has redirected the province’s revenues and cavalry to Cassius. His confidence here that “Dolabella has already been finished off and broken” is about to be confirmed: Dolabella will take his own life at Laodicea within weeks. The confidence about Pansa and Hirtius is already, at the moment of writing, retrospective and tragic — both consuls were dead at Mutina before this letter left Perga, though the news had not yet reached Asia. The note about Cicero’s young son with M.~Brutus, in winter quarters with the cavalry, is the personal seal at the end of an otherwise official dispatch: Lentulus is asking the father of one of the cause’s officers to look after the career of another. The conventional Perseus heading dates the letter 1 June; the dateline itself reads iiii K. Iun. = 29 May, which is followed here.
When I had met up with our Brutus and noticed that he would be coming into Asia rather slowly, I returned to Asia myself, in order to gather up the remaining work I had begun there and to send the money on to Rome as soon as possible. In the meantime I learned that Dolabella’s fleet was in Lycia, with more than a hundred transport vessels into which his army could be loaded, and that Dolabella had arranged this with the design that, if his hope of Syria failed him, he could board ship and make for Italy, joining himself with the Antonii and the rest of the brigands. I was in such alarm at this that I dropped everything and tried to go after his fleet with smaller ships and fewer of them.
Cum Brutum nostrum convenissem eumque tardius in Asiam venturum animadverterem, in Asiam redii ut reliquias mei laboris conligerem et pecuniam quam primum Romam mitterem. interim cognovi in Lycia esse classem Dolabellae ampliusque centum navis onerarias in quas exercitus eius imponi posset, idque Dolabellam ea mente comparasse ut, si Syriae spes eum frustrata esset, conscenderet in navis et Italiam peteret seque cum Antoniis et reliquis latronibus coniungeret. cuius rei tanto in timore fui, ut omnibus rebus relictis cum paucioribus et minoribus navibus ad illas ire conatus sim.
If I had not been held up by the Rhodians, the whole business might perhaps have been wiped out; even so, it has been largely broken up, since their fleet was scattered by fear at our approach, the soldiers and commanders escaped, and every one of the transports was captured by us. At any rate, what I most feared I appear to have brought about: Dolabella cannot now get through to Italy, nor put his own confederates on a firmer footing and so make your work harder.
quae res, si a Rhodiis non essem interpellatus, fortasse tota sublata esset; tamen magna ex parte profligata est, quoniam quidem classis dissipata est adventus nostri timore, milites ducesque effugerunt onerariae omnes ad unam a nobis sunt exceptae. certe quod maxime timui videor esse consecutus, ut non possit Dolabella in Italiam pervenire nec suis sociis firmatis durius vobis efficere negotium.
How thoroughly the Rhodians despaired of us and of the state, you will gather from the official dispatch I have sent. And I have written much more sparingly than I in fact found them to be raving. As for the fact that I have written something about them, do not be surprised: their madness is extraordinary. No private wrongs of my own — not ever — but their malice toward our cause, their appetite for the other side, their persistence in contempt for every man of standing — this I could not bear. I do not, however, think them all corrupt: the same men who once refused entry to my father in his flight, to L. Lentulus, to Pompeius, to the other most illustrious figures, those same men, as if by some destiny, now either hold magistracies or have those who hold them in their power; and so they exercise the same arrogance in their depravity. To curb their wickedness at last, and not allow it to grow by going unpunished, is not only useful for our state but necessary.
Rhodii nos et rem p. quam valde desperaverint ex litteris quas publice ruisi cognosces. et quidem multo parcius scripsi quam re vera furere eos inveni. quod vero aliquid de iis scripsi, mirari noli; mira est eorum amentia. † nec me meae ullae privatim iniuriae umquam malus animus eorum in nostra salute, cupiditas partium aliarum, perseverantia in contemptione optimi cuiusque ferenda mihi non fuit. nec tamen omnis perditos esse puto; sed idem illi qui tum fugientem patrem meum, qui L. Lentulum, qui Pompeium, qui ceteros viros clarissimos non receperunt, idem tamquam aliquo fato et nunc aut magistratum gerunt aut eos qui sunt in magistratu in sua habent potestate; itaque eadem superbia in pravitate utuntur; quorum improbitatem aliquando retundi et non pati impunitate augeri non solum utile est rei p. nostrae sed etiam necessarium.
As to my own standing, I should like you to keep it always in mind and, at whatever moment you have the opportunity, to lend your vote to my credit both in the Senate and in everything else. Since Asia has been decreed to the consuls and they have been permitted, until they come in person, to entrust the holding of Asia to someone, I ask you to request of them that they confer this distinction on me above all, and give me the commission to hold Asia until one or the other of them arrives. They have no reason to hasten out in their magistracy, or to send an army. For Dolabella is in Syria, and, as you with your divine insight foresaw and foretold, while they are on their way Cassius will crush him. Driven back from Antioch, and badly mauled in the siege, Dolabella, trusting in no other city, has withdrawn to Laodicea — the one in Syria — on the coast. There I expect he will soon pay the penalty: he has nowhere to flee to, and he will not be able to hold out long there against so large an army as Cassius’s. Indeed, I expect Dolabella has already been finished off and broken.
de nostra dignitate velim tibi ut semper curae sit et,quocumque tempore occasionem habueris, et in senatu et ceteris rebus laudi nostrae suffragere. quoniam consulibus decreta est Asia et permissum est iis ut, dum ipsi venirent, darent negotium qui Asiam optineant, rogo te petas ab iis ut hanc dignitatem potissimum nobis tribuant et mihi dent negotium ut Asiam obtineam, dum ipsorum alter uter venit; nam quod hoc properent in magistratu venire aut exercitum mittere causam non habent. Dolabella enim in Syria est et, ut tu divina tua mente prospexisti et praedicasti, dum isti veniunt, Cassius eum opprimet; exclusus enim ab Antiochia Dolabella et in oppugnando male acceptus nulla alia confisus urbe Laudiceam, quae est in Syria, ad mare se contulit. ibi spero celeriter eum poenas daturum; nam neque quo refugiat habet neque diutius ibi poterit tantum exercitum Cassi sustinere. spero etiam confectum esse iam et oppressum Dolabellam.
Accordingly, I do not think that Pansa and Hirtius will hurry out of Rome into the provinces during their consulship, but will conduct their consulship at Rome. So if you will request of them that they give us the procuratorship of Asia in the meantime, I expect you can prevail. Besides, Pansa and Hirtius both promised me in person, and wrote to me in my absence, and Pansa assured our Verrius too, that they would see to it that no successor be sent to me during their consulship. As for me, by my faith, I have no wish for my term to be prolonged out of any appetite for the province: this province has been for me one of toil, danger, and loss, and what I am very anxious about is that I shall not have undergone all this in vain, nor be forced to leave before I have brought home the fruits of my labor. For if I had been able to send on the whole sum I had collected, I would myself be asking for a successor; as it is, what I gave to Cassius, what we lost by Trebonius’s death, and what I now want to recoup — through Dolabella’s cruelty or the bad faith of those who failed me and the state — I cannot recover unless I have the time. That I may obtain this through you, please, as is your custom, make it your care.
qua re non puto Pansam et Hirtium in consulatu properaturos in provincias exire sed Romae acturos consulatum. itaque si ab iis petieris ut interea nobis procurationem Asiae dent, spero te posse impetrare. praeterea mihi promiserunt Pansa et Hirtius coram et absenti mihi scripserunt Verrioque nostro Pansa adfirmavit se daturum operam ne in suo consulatu mihi succedatur. ego porro non medius fidius cupiditate provinciae produci longius spatium mihi volo; nam mihi fuit ista provincia plena laboris, periculi, detrimenti; quae ego ne frustra subierim nive, prius quam reliquias meae diligentiae consequar, decedere cogar valde laboro. nam si potuissem quam exegeram pecuniam universam mittere, postularem ut mihi succederetur; nunc, quod Cassio dedi, quod Treboni morte amisimus, quod etiam crudelitate Dolabellae aut perfidia eorum, qui fidem mihi reique publicae non praestiterunt, id consequi et reficere volo; quod aliter non potest fieri, nisi spatium habuero. id ut per te consequar velim, ut solet, tibi curae sit.
For my part, I think I have deserved well enough of the state that I ought not to be looking for the favor of this province alone, but for as much as Cassius and the Bruti — not only by their share in that famous deed and its danger, but also by the zeal and courage they have shown in this present crisis. For I was the first to break the Antonian laws, the first to bring over Dolabella’s cavalry to the state and hand it to Cassius, the first to hold a levy for the safety of all against the most criminal conspiracy, the only one to join Syria and the armies that were there to Cassius and to the state. If I had not given Cassius so much money, such substantial reinforcements, and so quickly, he would not even have dared to enter Syria, and at this moment the state would face from Dolabella no smaller perils than it does from Antonius.
ego me de re p. puto esse meritum, ut non provinciae istius beneficium exspectare debeam sed tantum quantum Cassius et Bruti non solum illius facti periculique societate sed etiam huius temporis studio et virtute. primus enim ego leges Antonias fregi, primus equitatum Dolabellae ad rem p. traduxi Cassioque tradidi, primus dilectus habui pro salute omnium contra coniurationem sceleratissimam, solus Cassio et rei p. Syriam exercitusque qui ibi erant coniunxi; nam nisi ego tantam pecuniam tantaque praesidia et tam celeriter Cassio dedissem, ne ausus quidem esset ire in Syriam et nunc non minora pericula rei p. a Dolabella instarent quam ab Antonio.
And all this I did — I, who was Dolabella’s intimate companion and closest friend, bound to the Antonii by blood, and held my province too by their good offices — but, loving my country more than my own (patrida emēn mallon philōn), I was the first to declare war on all that was my own. Though I see that so far this has not borne me any great reward, still I do not despair, nor will I weary of holding fast not only in my zeal for liberty but in toil and dangers too. Yet if, in addition, I am summoned forward by some honor that is just and earned — by the offices of the Senate and of every man of standing — I shall stand with greater authority in the eyes of others, and so be able to do that much more good for the state.
atque haec omnia is feci qui sodalis et familiarissimus Dolabellae eram, coniunctissimus sanguine Antoniis, provinciam quoque illorum beneficio habebam, sed patri/da e)mh ma=llon filw=n omnibus meis bellum primus indixi. haec etsi adhuc non magno opere mihi tulisse fructum animadverto, tamen non despero nec defetigabor permanere non solum in studio libertatis sed etiam in labore et periculis. at tamen, si etiam aliqua gloria iusta et merita provocabimur senatus et optimi cuiusque officiis, maiore cum auctoritate apud ceteros erimus et eo plus prodesse rei p. poterimus.
As for your son: when I came to Brutus I was not able to see him, since he had already gone off into winter quarters with the cavalry; but, by my faith, I am glad to hear that he is in such repute, for your sake and his and not least for my own — for he is to me as a brother, this man who is your son and worthy of you. Farewell. Pergē, 29 May.
filium tuum, ad Brutum cum veni, videre non potui, ideo is quod iam in hiberna cum equitibus erat profectus, sed medius fidius ea esse eum opinione et tua et ipsius et in primis mea causa gaudeo; fratris enim loco mihi est qui ex te natus teque dignus est. vale. D. iiii K. Iun. Pergae.