66

Liberty had long since left her shrine in that city. When the venality of Rome was such, that Jugurtha exclaimed, "It would willingly sell itself, if it could find a purchaser wealthy enough to bid for it," there was no longer any hope. The family and the name of Brutus, he said, had been bestowed on the state, as it were by the favour and munificence of the immortal gods, to establish or restore the liberty of the Roman people. Such, conscript fathers, is the nature of things, that the man who has acquired a sense of true glory, who feels that he is esteemed as a valuable citizen, and useful to the state; by the senate, the equestrian order and the whole Roman people will judge nothing comparable to that title. But if that man should employ the army the state has placed under his command, to overawe the decisions of the senators-if the resolutions of this assembly are governed by the nod of the legions, and all our words and actions depend upon their pleasure we are no longer free-we have lost that liberty we so highly prized and boasted of-death is to be wished for-which to Roman citizens has ever been preferred to slavery. All foreigners can bear slavery, our state cannot; and, for no other reason than because they fly from labour and pain, to avoid which, they can submit to anything. We have been so educated, so trained by our ancestors, that we refer every thought, every word, every action, to glory and to virtue. And, I fear, those who, through ignorance of the true path of glory, should think it glorious for themselves alone to have more power than all others, and to be henceforward feared, as they once were loved, by their fellow-citizens. He who fixes the chief good in such a manner, that it has no connection

with virtue, and estimates it by his own private advantage, and not by what is honourable (if he is consistent with himself, and is not sometimes overcome by the goodness of his natural disposition), can never properly cultivate friendship, or justice, or generosity.

My fellow-citizens will, therefore, excuse me, or they will rather thank me that, when the state was in the power of one person, I neither concealed myself, nor deserted my duty, nor behaved myself as if I was angry with the man of the times; nor have I, besides, either flattered or admired the fortune of others, so as to grieve at my own.

66

That one day was worth an immortality_to methe day of my return to my country; when I saw the senate and the whole Roman people come forth to meet me, when Rome herself seemed torn up from her foundations to embrace her deliverer."

"Veiller aut salut de l'empire" was his occupation; on this his thoughts were fixed, this was his glory and he gloried not in the advancement of his family or connections, unless they made this their chief aim. The letter to his brother Quintus, when left a third year in the government of Asia, which might still serve for instruction to the ruler of our Indian possessions, will bear out the assertion; "If," says he, "the noble ambition which has always animated you still remains, if you neglect nothing that can add to your reputation, if you use all diligence not only to surpass others, but also to surpass yourself,-believe me, this third year of labour will not only procure you solid and durable pleasures, but will cast a lustre on your name and that of your family, that will endure to the latest posterity. The affairs which you

E

will have to manage for this period do not depend so much upon chance as upon prudence and sagacity; the province is in tranquillity and likely to remain so; you will not be exposed to the fortune of war, but must endeavour to further the prosperity of the people subject to your rule, by all the methods of good government.'

After enumerating all the subjects that deserve. consideration, he comes to that of the revenue, and speaks of the publicans or tax-gatherers, or rather farmers, of the imposts; "you have the satisfaction to possess allies of a mild disposition, and citizens with whom the government is in strict union; because they are either the publicans or private wealthy individuals who attribute the possession of their fortunes to my consulate, which has enabled them to preserve the riches they had acquired.

"If you remain incorrupt, you will have no difficulty in reproving the bad faith of the merchant, or restraining the avidity of the publican; the natives are so unaccustomed to probity amongst themselves, that they regard with admiration the governor or judge who cannot be bribed; and, if to this is added urbanity, mildness, and a manifest desire to ameliorate their condition, they will look upon you as a ruler come from heaven.

"I have no doubt that the publicans will oppose great obstacles to all your good intentions, and, all things considered, I must admit you will, in this respect, encounter some embarrassment. One of that class of officials to whom the republic confides the superintendence of the temple, the theatres, the public spectacles, openly complains that you have deprived him of two hundred thousand sesterces, in

preventing the public games from being taxed; if you are right in having done so, we act wrong in continuing to exact a payment from all those who give public spectacles in Rome.

66

Î, indeed, have found means to prevent any complaint on this head here, but I do not know whether the means I have adopted would answer in Asia. The cities, penetrated with gratitude, proposed of their own accord to raise a sum of money to build a temple and erect a monument to me; but I have declined the honour, although the law authorised my acceptance of it, because I thought it possible that unscrupulous magistrates might concoct it into a precedent, and make it a pretext for levying an impost.

66

We know how odious the publicans are to the allies and even to the citizens, and the taxes themselves are less complained of, than the vexatious manner in which they are levied; and these complaints, which I hear even from those who reside in the centre of Italy, make me understand how much more grievous they must be in the distant provinces, and the difficulty is, to satisfy those who wish to have the taxes reduced, and at the same time to provide for the wants of your government.

"As to the Greeks, it appears to me, they have no right to complain, because they used to tax themselves, before they became subject to us, nor do I see why they have any right to exclaim against the employment of publicans, as they availed themselves of their services to levy the capitation-tax, which Sylla imposed on all Asia.

66

Also, when imposts were required, the Greeks were as hard upon the inhabitants as the farmers of

the revenues of the republic. The Candians have furnished us with a convincing proof of this, seeing that, when Sylla ordered them to carry their tribute to the Rhodians, they implored the senate to allow the business to be transacted with us, and not with their coinsulars.

66

Besides, as they used to be subject to all sorts of foreign and civil wars, when they were not under the dominion of Rome, they should not murmur at a portion of their goods being so employed, that they may enjoy the remainder in peace and tranquillity.

66

You must represent both to them and the Asiatics, that with us these publicans are held in high esteem; that we consider we owe them great obligations, and endeavour to impress on all around you the favourable impression of these officials that you wish to convey, and also your extreme desire to maintain a good understanding between the members of the government and the collectors of its revenue.

"Your province exercises much influence on the money-market in Rome, and you must recollect that, at the period when a number of our citizens sustained great losses in Asia, the public credit was at a stand in Rome, from a general stoppage of payments; and there are those among us that look forward to the wealthy countries of the East as the source from whence we shall derive the surest and fairest revenues of the commonwealth; and, without considerable receipt of taxes and tribute, we can neither support peace with dignity, nor furnish the necessary expenses in preparing for war.

66

When I was walking in my Xystus and disengaged at home, Marcus Brutus came to me, as he was wont, along with Atticus; we discoursed on the