[...]1 I am very glad that you have found that the army and cavalry favour you. About Dolabella, as you write, let me know if you get any news. I am pleased that I had the forethought to leave you free to form your own judgement about waging war on Dolabella.2
You write that I [...]3 to attack the Antonii,4 and you praise it. I suppose it seems that way to you. But I do not accept or agree with the distinction you make when you write that we should be more eager to prevent civil war than to vent our rage on the defeated. I wholly disagree with you on this, Brutus. I think myself as merciful as you are, but salutary severity wins out over the empty semblance of clemency. If we want to show clemency, civil war will never end.
But this will be your decision to make. For myself, I can repeat what the father says in Plautus’ Trinummus: ‘My time is almost up—it’s you this most concerns.’5 Believe me, Brutus—you will all be crushed if you do not look carefully to the future. The people and Senate and leaders of the Senate will not always be as they are now. Imagine that these words are uttered by the Oracle of Delphi. There can be nothing more true.
Written April 20th.
Latin text of Cic. ad Brut. 1.2a | Glossary | Historia Civilis video overview of 44-43 BCE
The beginning of the letter is missing.
Footnote borrowed from Shackleton Bailey: ‘In his Eleventh Philippie of mid March Cicero proposed that Cassius be formally commissioned to suppress Dolabella. The motion was rejected by the Senate in favour of one assigning this operation to the Consuls after the conclusion of the campaign against Antony. But Cicero had said in his speech that Brutus would and should be free to pursue Dolabella without waiting for senatorial approval (Phil. xi. 26C). As a statement, this was not negatived by the Senate’s adverse vote.’
The Latin text here is hopelessly corrupt.
Mark Antony and his brothers Gaius and Lucius.