request men to form an intimacy with you, you would appear to be acting absurdly; but unless you act, in this way while canvassing, and that in many instances and with eagerness, you would not be taken to be a candidate at all. But I assure you of this most positively, that there is no one, unless he is connected by some relationship with some one of your competitors, on whom, if you are inclined for it, you may not easily prevail, to wish by his service to you in this matter to gain your affections, and to lay you under an obligation. Only let him understand that you consider it one of great importance; that he should serve you with all his heart; and that he will be making a good use of his. influence, and gain your friendship, which will not be a shortlived one—lasting till he has voted, and no longer—but firm and lasting. There will be no one, believe me, possessed of any virtue at all, who will let slip the opportunity that 1s now offered to him of contracting a friendship with you; especially as chance has given you this in your favour,—-that men are standing against you whose friendship is to be despised or to be avoided, and who not only can never obtain what 1 am now urging you to, but who cannot even attempt it; for how can Antonius begin to conciliate men and invite them to friendship with him, whom he cannot address by himself in his own name? Nothing appears to be more nonsensical, than to fancy that man zealous for your interests with whom you have no acquaintance. There must be some extraordinary glory and dignity, some great amount of illustrious achievements, in that man whom strangers combine to honour, without any personal benefits having been received by them to influence their votes; so that it cannot happen, without great fauit and great carelessness, that a man who is inactive, who has done no one any service, who has no ability to plead, and no character, and who is not supported by any friends, should defeat one who is fortified by the zeal of many friends, and the good opinion of all men.
VIII. Wherefore you must labour, by many friendships of various kinds, to secure all the centuries in your interest: and first of all, as indeed is clear, you must conciliate the senators and knights of Rome, and the active and influential men of the other orders. There are many men of the city very active, many freedmen influential and energetic in the forum; and all 494 - ON STANDING FOR THE CONSULSHID.
whom you can influence yourself, or whom you can get at by any common friends, you must take care to secure in your favour. Be diligent, solicit them, assure them, point out that they will be doing you the greatest possible service. In the next place, have a regard to the whole city, all the colleges and burghs, and all the neighbouring towns. If you can win over the chief men in these bodies to your friendship, you will by their means easily gain the rest of the multitude.
After that take care to imprint on your mind and memory the whole of Italy, described and catalogued by tribes,—let there not be any municipality, or colony, or prefecture, not any single spot, in short, in all Italy, in which you have not sufficient strength and support. Moreover, seek out and discover men in every district, make acquaintance with them, Solicit them, make them promises; take care that they canvass for you in their neighbourhoods, and become, as it were, candidates themselves for your sake. They will wish to have you for a friend, if they see that your friendship is sought for by them; and you must make them understand that abundantly by such language as bears upon that point; for men who live in the municipal towns and in the country, think themselves friends of ours if they are merely known by name to us; but if, besides this, they think that they can gain any protection to themselves by our means, then they lose no opportunity of earning a title to it. With these men the rest of the nobles, and especially your competitors, have no acquaintance at all; but you have some already, and will easily be able to improve it; and without acquaintance there can be no friendship: nor yet is that sufficient, though it is of great importance, if some hope of advantage and friendship does not also follow, so that you may appear to be not a mere nomenclator only, but also an active friend. And in this way, when you have both secured the zealous service, in the centuries, of those men who are of the greatest power and influence with the men of their tribes, on account of ambitious views of their own, and when you have rendered the rest who have any weight among any portion of the men of their tribe, through any considerations connected with their municipality, or the state, or any college, eager for your success, you will have a right to entertain the best possible hopes. The centuries of the knights appear to me to be much more easily retained in your interests f ON STANDING FOR THE CONSULSHIP.; 495 ‘by diligence. In the first place, you must make acquaintance with them all, for they are but few; then you must win their affections, for they are mostly young men, and that is the age which is the most easily gained over to friendship: and — in the next place, you will have with you every one of the youth who is most virtuous, and most inclined to liberal studies and goodness; and also, as the equestrian rank is. your own rank, those men will naturally be willing to promote the authority of their order, if they are courted by you with such care that you secure the centuries, not only by the goodwill of the order, but by the personal friendship of individuals. And the zeal of the young men in your behalf, as shown in voting, in canvassing, in spreading reports, and in attending you about the city, is of wonderful importance, and very honourable.
IX. And since I have mentioned the subject of attending you through the city, I may as well say, too, that care must be - taken to avail yourself of a daily company of attendants, of every class, order, and age. For from the numbers of such a retinue a conjecture will be able to be formed as to how much power and support you are likely to have at the election itself. This may be arranged under three divisions: there is the company of saluters who come to your house; another, of those who escort you home again; a third, of those who accompany you in your walks through the city. In respect of the saluters, who are the most ordinary kind of attendants, and who, according to the fashion at present prevailing, come in considerable numbers, this must be: taken care of,—that while it shall appear to be the slightest service that they are to render you, it shall likewise seem the one which is most acceptable to you yourself. Assure those who come to your -house that you notice it, and point it out to their friends, who may tell them again, and often repeat it to themselves. And ‘in this way men very often, in the case of there being several competitors, and of their seeing that there is one man who -takes especial notice of these acts of attention, desert the others, and devote themselves to him alone, apd by degrees, from having been common friends of all the candidates, become his alone, and from having been sham supporters, turn out his very firmest voters. Now, too, take especial care of this: if you either hear or become aware that one who has made you a promise is imposing on you, conceal the fact of your having heard this, or knowing it; and if any one wishes to clear himself to you, as thinking that he is suspected by you, assure him that you have never doubted, nor had any reason to doubt his good inclination towards you,—for the man who thinks that you are dissatisfied with him cannot possibly be a friend to you. But you must know of what disposition each man is, that you may he able to settle how much confidence you can place in each man.
Then as to the attention of those who escort you home, show them and assure them, that in proportion as their service is greater than that of those who come to salute you, it is also more acceptable to you: and, as far as possible, come down into the forum at regular times. A great company escorting you home every day is a thing which will excite a great belief of your success, and which will -confer great dignity on you.
The third sort of supporters of this kind is the constant body of those who attend you in your walks. Among these men, take care that those who support you from mere inclination alone, understand that they are laying you under a perpetual obligation to them by the greatest service possible. As to those who are under obligations to you, from them you may plainly require this duty, of being constant in their attendance wpon you, as far as their age and the claims of their business will allow; and those who cannot attend you themselves, must appoint their relations to dischargethis duty. I am‘very anxious, and I think it of great importance to your success, that you should always be very numerously attended. Besides, it is a thing which brings with it great credit and dignity, if those men are in your retinue who have been defended by you, and saved and delivered from judicial prosecutions by your means. And you may expressly demand of such men, that since without any expense on their parts they have obtained, some property, others honour, and others preservation, and all their fortunes, and as there will never be any other opportunity for them to show their gratitude to you, they must now requite you by showing you this attention. | X. And since all this turns upon the zeal of one’s friends, it seems well not to pass over a subject which in this kind ON STANDING ‘FOR THE CONSULSHIP., — 497 of service seems to require to be guarded against. Everything is full of dishonesty, and treachery, and perfidy. There is no need, on the present occasion, of a long discussion on the subject of the means by which a real well-wisher and a pretender can be distinguished from one another. It is sufficient at this moment to point out the fact. Your exceeding virtue compels men at once to pretend to be friendly to you, and yet to envy you at the same time. Wherefore recollect that saying of Epicharmus, that the sinews and limbs of wisdom are the abstaining from precipitate confidence. And when you have come to a distinct certainty of the zeal of your friends, you must also acquire a knowledge of the numbers and different kinds of your detractors and adver-— saries. These are of three classes: one consisting of men whom you have injured; another of those who do not form attachments without some motive; and the third of those who are great friends of your adversaries. As to those whom you have injured by speaking against them in the cause of. your own friends, to them you must clear yourself plainly: mention the connexion which bound youto them; give them hope that if they now contract friendship with you, you will hereafter show equal zeal in their service, and be of equal use to them,—make them promises. As to those who do not form attachments without some motive, propitiate them either by kindness, or by hope, or by an intimation that you will hereafter do them service; and labour to bring them over from their erroneous sentiments. Those whose inclinations are unfavourable to you, on acconnt of their friendship for your competitors, to those you must address the same arguments that you have used to the former classes, and, if you can convince them of it, urge that you shall have kindly feelings even towards your competitors themselves. 3 XI. As we have now said enough about contracting friendships, we must proceed to speak of that other branch of a canvasser’s duty which concerns his popularity with the populace. That requires an ability to address every one by his name: a courteous and attentive manner, affability, kindness, a good character, anda hope that you will be of service to the republic. As to the first point, your diligence in acquainting yourself with men’s names, take care that it is evident, and improve it so as to be more ready day by day. There is nothing DE NAT. ETC, KK which appears to me to be so popular or so acceptable. In the next place, if there is any quality which you have not by nature, bring your mind to adopt such a pretence that you may appear to have it naturally; for you are not devoid of that bland address which is worthy of a virtuous and pleasant man. But a caressing manner is especially necessary; for though it may be faulty and discreditable on other occasions of life, it is indispensable in a canvass. For it is only bad when, by flattering a man, it makes him worse; when it renders him more friendly it is not blameable; and it is necessary for a candidate, whose face, and countenance, and language must be constantly changed according to the feelings and inclinations of every one whom he meets.
For assiduity there is‘no rule requisite; the word itself shows what the thing is. It is of great service never to be deficient, but here the fruit of assiduity is not only to be at Rome and in the forum, but to solicit assiduously, to constantly address the same persons; not to allow any one to be able to say that you have his assistance, as far as it goes, without its being solicited by you, and that repeatedly and earnestly. } Courtesy is of extensive range; and it often turns upon a man’s conduct in his family affairs: and although this cannot affect the multitude very extensively, still it is praised by the man’s own friends, and is acceptable to the people. It is shown at banquets, which you should take care to have celebrated, both by yourself and by your friends, on many occasions, and in the people’s tribes. It is shown in assisting people, in which you must be universal and ready: and take care that there is access to you night and day, and that not only by the doors of your house being open, but your face and countenance also, which is the door of your mind; and if this last shows that your inclinations are closed and shut against the people, it is of little use for your house-door to be open. For men not only like to have things promised to them, especially such things as they ask of a candidate, but. to have them promised liberally and honourably; on which account this is an easy rule, that whatever you mean to do, you must appear to do eagerly and cheerfully. This is more difficult, and more suitable to the requirements of the occasion than to your own nature, I mean either pleasantly to give ON STANDING FOR THE CONSULSHIP. 4.99 a hope of what you may not be able to perform, or to refuse it in a gentlemanlike manner; one of which actions is the conduct of a good man, the other of a good canvasser.
XII. For when a thing is asked of us which we cannot promise honourably or without i injury to ourselves; as, for instance, if any one should ask us to undertake to ‘conduct an action against a friend of our own; we must refuse that civilly, pointing out our connexion with our friend, showing how vexed we are to refuse, and persuading him that we will repair the damage some other way. I have heard some one say of some advocates whom he had sought to retain in his behalf, that the answer of the one who gave him a refusal was more agreeable than that of the one who undertook the case. In such a degree are men more influenced by manner and. civil language, than by the kindness and reality itself. But this last position is easily proved; the other it is somewhat hard to advise a follower of Plato, such as you are. However, I will say what I think suitable for your present circumstances. For they, to whom you are forced to refuse some service by reason of some relationship or connexion, may nevertheless be so treated as to quit you with kindly feelings and equanimity. But those whom you refuse, because you say that you are hindered either by the fact of your having previously undertaken the cause of your own friends, or for some graver reason, depart in a hostile spirit. And all men have a feeling, that they would rather you told them a civil.
lie than give them a point blank refusal. Caius Cotta, a man of great experience and skill as a canvasser, used to say, that whenever a request made to him was not contrary to his duty, he made promises to every one; while he really gave his services only to those on whom ‘he thought they were best bestowed; that, therefore, he refused no one, because it often happened that he to whom he had given a promise did not avail himself of it—often that he himself was more at leisure than he had expected to be. And that man’s house would never be full of friends who only promised what he was sure that he could perform; that it often happened by chance that things were being done which one did not imagine; and that those things which one believed to be just at hand, for some reason or other never took place at all. And, besides, that the end of all could only be, that the man to whom one had given a false promise was angry at it. If you make a promise, the thing is still uncertain, depends on a future day, and concerns but few people; but if you refuse you alienate people to a certainty and at once, and many people too. For there are many more people who ask for the assistance of another than who really eventually require to use it; wherefore, it is better for some of them to be at times angry with you in the forum, than for every one to be at once offended with you at home; especially as men are much more indignant with one who gives them a refusal, than with one whom they see is really hindered by some sufficient reason, as thinking that he would desire to do what he has promised, if he possibly could. And that I may not appear to have digressed from my original arrangement, by discussing that part of the canvass which relates to the dealing with the people, I adopt this argument— that all these things have reference not so much to the zeal of one’s friends, as to one’s character with the people; for although something is derived from that kind of friendship which is displayed in answering kindly, and in carefully attending to the business and warding off the perils of one’s friends, yet here I am speaking of the means by which you may be able to win over the multitude; to fill your house before daybreak, to engage numbers to rely on the hope of your protection, to make men leave you more cheerful than they were when they came to you: so that the ears of as many persons as possible may be filled with a favourable report of you.
XIIT. The next thing for us to speak of is common rumour, which we must be very particular in attending to, But what has been said in all the earlier part of this letter, will bear also on the topic of rumour: I mean credit as an orator; the zeal in one’s behalf of the publicans, and of the equestrian order; the inclination of the nobles; the attendance of the young men; the assiduity of those who have been defended by you; the multitude of men from the municipal cities ‘who it is evident have come for your sake: so that men may ‘both say and think that you are well acquainted with them, that you address them civilly, solicit them with assiduity and diligence, and that you are courteous and liberal; so that your house may be filled before dawn, that him bbrs: of every class and rank may be present, that all men may be satisfied with your address, and many with your actions and assistance; and that that result may be brought about which cannot be without art and diligence: I do not mean the result of the fame of all these things reaching the people, but that of the people themselves being concerned in these studies. You already have the multitude of the city with you, and the favour of those persons who have the ear of the assembly, and which you won by adorning Pompey, by undertaking the cause of Manilius, and defending Cornelius; these must be roused to active exertion in your cause, and no one has ever had them, without having at the same time the influence and goodwill of all classes. You must also take care that all men know that Cnzus Pompey is exceedingly eager for your success, and that it is of very great consequence to his interest that you should obtain what you desire.
Lastly, take care that your whole canvass is splendid, illustrious, and full of pomp, pleasing to the people, set off with the greatest beauty and dignity, so that if possible your competitors may derive no advantage from the infamy of their wickedness, or lust, or bribery, being suited to the manners of the mob. And moreover, in this canvass, it is necessary to take especial care that people shall entertain a good hope and honourable opinion of you, on the ground that you may be able to serve the republic. Nor is the chief post in the republic to be attained by canvassing, nor by exertions in the senate, nor in the public assembly; but you must preserve this character, that the senate may judge that you will bea defender of its authority because you have been so hitherto; that the Roman knights, virtuous and wealthy men, may, from your past life, judge that you will be a lover of peace and tranquillity; that the multitude may, from the simple fact that both in the public assembly and in the courts of justice you have been a popular speaker, judge that you will not be unfriendly to their interests.
XIV. These are the things which occurred to me with respect to those two morning warnings to yourself, which I said ought to be meditated on by you every day as you were descending to the forum.—I am anew man: I am standing for the consulship. The third topic remains. The city is Rome, a state formed of an assemblage of all nations; a state in which there are many intrigues, much deccit, many vices of every kind; in which the arrogance of many men, the 502. ON STANDING FOR THE CONSULSHIP.
contumacy of many, the malevolence of many, the pridé of ‘many, the hatred of many, and the annoying tempers of many, must be endured. I see that it is a thing requiring great prudence and great tact for one, who is living amid so many vices of men of every sort, to avoid giving offence, to avoid becoming the talk of the town, to avoid treachery; that there is but one man who can adapt himself to such a variety of manners, and conversations, and inclinations. Wherefore again and again I beg of you, continue to walk in that path in which you have set‘out; distinguish yourself in speaking. This is the means by which men are won over at Rome, by which their affections are retained, by which they are prevented from opposing or injuring you. And since this is the point in which the state is most to blame, that in consequence of the intervention of corruption, it is apt to forget virtue and worth; in this I would have you know yourself well, so as to understand that you are aman who can give your competitors the greatest amount of alarm in the case of any danger from any judicial trial. Make them know that they are observed and watched by you: as they fear your diligence, your authority, and powerful eloquence, and also the zeal of the equestrian order in your behalf. And I wish you to put this before them, not in such a manner as to seem to be now meditating an accusation against them, but in order, by alarming them thus, to gain this object at which you are aiming more easily ; and I would have you exert all your energies and faculties that we may obtain what we ask.
T see that some comitia have been polluted by corruption, in which some centuries (not without adequate inducement) have given up those who are most nearly connected with them. Wherefore if we are awake, as the dignity of the affair deserves, and if we excite our well-wishers to great zeal in our behalf, and if we assign his regular duty to each of those men who are inclined to favour and to interest themselves for us, and if we alarm our competitors. with fears of judicial proceedings, and if we terrify their agents, and by some means or other check those who are bribing in their behalf, in that case we may either prevent any bribery from taking place, or at all events from having any effect.
These are the points which I wish to urge; being not what I thought that I knew better than you, but what in conse- ON STANDING FOR THE CONSULSHIP. 6a - quence of your occupations I could more easily collect together, and write out and send to you. And although they are so set down as not to be of use to all who are candidates for honours, but peculiarly to you in this your canvass, still if you think any point requires to be changed, or altogether omitted, or if you consider that anything has been passed over, I should be glad if you were to tell me; for I wish to make this little manual for canvassers entirely perfect.
Cicero’s competitors were six in number:—Publius Sulpicius Galba, Lucius Sergius Catilina, Caius Antonius, Lucius Cassius Longinus, Quintus Cornificius, and Caius Licinius Sacerdos. Antonius and Catilina joined their interest to defeat Cicero, and practised every kind of corruption, and were the only competitors who were at all formidable to him; though Galba and Cornificius were men of great respectability. Cicero was chosen first, with Antonius for his colleague, “ probably,’ says Middleton, “ by Cicero’s management, who considered him as the less dangerous and more tractable of the two.” | INDEX.
ABDERA, people of, remarkable for their stupidity, 42 Academic school, its philosophy, 3; why Cicero inclined to it, 5.
Academics, sect of, 7; held there is no certain knowledge, 8; their views of the nature of the Gods, 22, 106.
Accius, passages cited from, 118, 163.
Ediles, their duties, 463.
4Esculapius, why deified, 66; several of the name, 125.
Air, the, typified as Juno by the Stoics, 68; its office, the preservation of ani- Air which pervades the sea, styled Neptune, 16.
Aius the Speaker, fable of, 186, 228.
Alabandus, 122; why deified, 118.
Alcibiades, 268; dream of, 259.
Alcmzon of Crotona attributes divinity to the sun, moon, and stars, 11.
Alexander, dream of, 256, 258.
Alexander, the tyrant of Phere, 166.
Alites and oscines, what, 103.
Amphiaraus, 47, Amulius, king of: Alba, 321.
Anatomy of the ancients, 94.
Anaxagoras, his doctrine of an infinite mind, 11.
Anaximander’ s opinion that the Gods are not eternal, 10; his warning to the Lacedzmonians, 190.
qe taught that the air is God, a Ancus Martius, 330.
Animals, variety of, and their diverse habits, proofs of the existence of the Gods, 90.
Antiochus, the Academic, 4; confounds the Stoics with the Peripatetics, i Antisthenes, his opinion regarding the Gods, 13 Antonius, a dt with Cicero for the consulship, 4 Apollo, 69, 120; Seed of the name, 125.
9 right of, under the Roman law, Suen to the people, from the decision of the magistrate, 463; but not from that of the general, 463. ¢ Appearances, recorded, of the Gods, 46; disputed, 109 Aratus, passages cited from, 82—87, 103, Arcadian, dream of an, 168, 256.
Arcesilaus, the Academic, 5; pronounced. all things perceived by the senses to be f Ise, 25.
Archimedes, his planetarium, 295.
Archytas of Tarentum, 312.
Areopagus, the, 72.
Aristo, his doubts, 15, 133.
Aristocracy, entails the appearance of servitude on the rest of the people, 304; defended, 365.
Aristolochia, the herb, its uses revealed’ by a dream, 148.
Aristophanes, his attack on the foreign. deities introduced to Athens, 445 Aristotle, his opinions on the Gods, 13; ’ on motion, 60; wrote on civil jurisprute or 467; lost passages from, 38, 59, Arpinum, reason of Cicero’s fondness Artificial and natural divination, 146, Assyrian soothsayers, 141.
Astrology, its false pretences, 238.
Astronomy of the ancients, 62; extracts from Aratus, 82, et seq.
Atheists, 2, 22.
Athenian funerals, 458; Solon’s laws, Athenians consulted diviners, 184.
Atomic philosophy, its author, 273.
Atoms, fortuitous concourse of, disproved, 87.
Attius, passages cited from, 76, 138.
Augurs, 25, 47, 48, 142; Cato’s remark on, 221; their science to be upheld,, 211; and their authority respected, for the sake of their influence on the people, 229; theif political power, 442; disputes among them, 442; instances of fulfilment of their predictions, 443; Cicero’s opinion, 444.
Augury and divination defended, 47, 48,.
' 141; opinions of various philosophers, 143; the Stoic argument, 179; controverted, 203; upheld for political pur- Augustin, St., his analysis of the third Book of the Commonwealth, 347.
Bacchus, 118; several, 125; also called, Dionysius, 125.
Balbus, Q. Lucilius, defends the Stoic doctrine, 7; his argument, 45—115.
Ballot, vote by, no good man a proposer or supporter of, 477; various laws, 477.
Bees cluster round the mouth of Plato, 177; on the horse of Dionysius, 175.
Boéthus the Stoic, 147.
Brennus and the Gauls, fate of, 179.
Bribes and canvassing, laws against, 481.
Brutus procures the expulsion of Tarquin, 336.
Burial, rather than burning, the most ancient rite, 454.
Burning, not practised by the Cornelian.
family before the time of Sylla, 454. Byron, passage from, 151.
Cecilia, dream of, 143.
Cecilia, daughter of Metellus, 187.
€zsar disregards auspices, 221; gies on the death of, 151.
Calamus the Indian, 164.
Calchas, the soothsayer, 47,175, 181, 225.
Carbo, a seditious and profligate citizen, prodi- Carneades, the Academic, 5; his argu- ' ment on the non-eternity of bodies, 114; on free will and voluntary motion, 273; his readiness in argument, 351.
Carthage, 139.
Castor and Pollux, 46, 176; why deified, Catiline, a competitor with Cicero for the consulship, his infamous charac- Caio’s complaint of the decline of augury, 156; his saying regarding soothsayers, 221,