June 43 BCE: To Brutus (at Dyrrachium) from Cicero (at Rome)
Cicero begs Brutus to return to Italy with his army
From Cicero to Brutus, greetings.
I have had no letter from you yet, and not even a rumour, to make it clear that you are aware of the decree of the Senate and are bringing your army to Italy. The Republic expects you to do this, and to hurry up with this important task. The evil in our guts worsens by the day, and we are just as anxious about the enemy abroad as the one at home.
To be sure, they existed from the beginning of the war, but they were more easily subdued then. The Senate was more resolute, awoken not only by my proposals, but by my exhortations too. Pansa was forceful and severe enough in the Senate against others of that sort, and his father-in-law especially.1 As consul he had spirit from the beginning and loyalty to the end.
In the war fought at Mutina, you can find no fault with Caesar,2 and some with Hirtius. The fortune of this war is ‘in flux when things go well; alright when things are bad.’3 The Republic was victorious, Antony’s forces were slaughtered, he himself was driven out. Then Decimus Brutus did so many things wrong that somehow victory slipped from our hands. Our generals did not pursue the terrified, unarmed, wounded men, and Lepidus was given time to let us experience his changeable nature—that we had seen so often—in a more serious situation.
Decimus Brutus and Plancus’ armies are good but raw; they have large and loyal Gallic auxiliary forces. But certain people, through very shameful letters and deceitful go-betweens and messengers, have urged Caesar—who has so far been governed by my advice, and is himself a bright character with admirable constancy—to have a very confident expectation of a consulship.4
As soon as I realised that, I did not stop advising him through letters in his absence, and accused his friends who seemed to support his ambition in person, and in the Senate I did not hesitate to disclose the sources of these most criminal plans.
I cannot recall any situation in which the Senate and magistrates behaved better. For in the case of an extraordinary office for a powerful man—or rather a very powerful man, since power now depends on force and armed men—it has never come about that no Tribune of the Plebs, no other magistrate, no private citizen should appear to support it.
But amidst this constancy and virtue, the State is anxious. Brutus, we are being ridiculed by the pretension of the soldiers and the arrogance of the generals. Each man demands as much power in the Republic as he has military might. No reason, no moderation, no law, no custom, no duty has any strength, and neither do judgement, popular opinion, or respect for the views of posterity.
I foresaw this far in advance, and was fleeing Italy when the rumour of your and Cassius’ edicts summoned me back.5 But it was you, Brutus, who urged me on at Velia.6 For although it upset me to return to the same city that you who had liberated it were fleeing—and this had also happened to me in a similarly dangerous period, with a sadder outcome7—still, I went on. I arrived at Rome, and without any defences shook Antony’s position, and strengthened the defences offered by Caesar’s planning and influence against Antony’s nefarious forces.
If Caesar remains loyal and obeys me, I feel we shall have enough protection; but if evil men’s advice has greater weight than mine, or the weakness of his youth cannot endure the gravity of the situation, then all hope lies in you.
And so I beg you, please hurry here and conclusively free the Republic, which you freed with your virtue and courageous spirits, if not in the actual event. Everyone, all sorts of people, will rush to join you. Write to Cassius and encourage him to do the same. There is no hope of freedom except for in your camps’ generals’ quarters. Of course, we do have strong generals and armies in the west.
For my part, I trust that this young man will remain loyal and defend us; but there are so many people weakening his resolve that I sometimes fear he will be influenced.
There you have it: the whole state of the Republic, at least at the time of me sending this letter. I hope that things improve soon, but if it turns out otherwise (gods forbid!), I shall grieve for the Republic, which ought to be immortal. For myself—how little time I have left!8
Latin text of Cic. ad Brut. 1.10 | Glossary | Historia Civilis video overview of 44-43 BCE
Pansa’s father-in-law was Quintus Fufius Calenus, who was one of Antony’s strongest supporters in the Senate.
i.e. Octavian.
A line from an unknown Latin play. Cicero also quotes it at Cic. Att. 4.1 and 4.2.
Octavian was 19, when the legal minimum age for holding the consulship was 42. He technically held praetorian rank, but had not actually been elected to or held any of the earlier offices in the Cursus Honorum.
Cicero tried to escape Italy (ostensibly to visit his son in Athens) late in the Summer of 44 BCE, but was turned back by unfavourable winds.
Cicero describes this meeting in a letter to Atticus.
Cicero was exiled in 58 BCE for saving the Republic—by executing the alleged Catilinarian conspirators without a trial.
Just over six months :’(
Aargh, the tension! Cicero's worst fears unfolding in a very slo-mo chariot crash. Essential reading, thanks.