him.

He was near Vibo at the house of his friend Sicca, when he first received a copy of the rogatio de pernicie sua and heard of the mitigation of his sentence which did not permit him to remain in either of these islands. So, the weather not allowing of a voyage, he hastened overland by way of Thurii and Tarentum to Brundisium7, intending to cross thence into Greece. He did not, however, enter the town, which was well affected to him, out of regard to its welfare, but spent 13 days on the estate of his friend M. Laenius Flaccus, who, at the peril of his life, granted a refuge to the exile. This noblehearted man then placed him, when he no longer felt it safe to remain in Italy, aboard a vessel in which he crossed to Dyrrhachium, where also he met with a favourable reception. His friend Atticus offered him his estate at Epirus as a place of residence; but Cicero was afraid on account of Antonius and other Catilinarians of residing either there or at Athens. He sent his slave Phaethon to Athens to meet his brother Quintus, who was expected there on his return from his province, and to desire him to come to Thessalonica, while he himself hastened by the most northerly route to Macedonia, where his dear and highminded friend Cn. Plancius was the quaestor9. Plancius, on hearing of his landing at Dyrrhachium, hastened to meet him and carried him to his own dwelling at Thessalonica10, where he arrived about the 22nd of May. Here he experienced the love and devotion of his true and faithful protector until the middle of November.

But Cicero was no Stoic by nature and, however tranquillized for a time, remained still very unsettled and so much depressed and crushed in spirit, that he actually declined a visit from his brother, who had arrived at Athens and whom just before he longed to see11, and was even on the point of self-destruction. He gave way to unmanly complaints and bitter self

reproaches that he had not opposed force to force, even though it should have cost him his life, and deplored the fatal step he took in leaving Rome before he was directly impeached. His letter addressed to Atticus (III 19) on the 16th of September is a living testimony of the impatience and deep despondency which had laid hold on him. When his enemy Piso entered on his province of Macedonia, Thessalonica was no longer a safe abiding-place for Cicero. He accordingly abandoned this asylum and arrived at Dyrrhachium, which was a free town, on the 16th of November.

§ 2. In the meantime Cicero's friends at Rome were bestirring themselves with more energy and determination. On the first of June his friend the tribune L. Ninnius proposed his recall, and a full senate resolved unanimously to recommend the measure to the people's acceptance, but their vote was nullified by the opposition of the tribune Aelius Ligus. With the view of obtaining Caesar's consent to his recall, P. Sestius, the tribune designate for the next year, travelled to Gaul, but he failed to obtain from him effectual assistance 12. The consuls elected for the next year were P. Cornelius Lentulus a friend of both Pompeius and Cicero, and Q. Metellus Nepos who was no longer hostile to him. Eight of the tribunes now espoused the cause of Cicero 13, and on Oct. the 29th published a bill (rogatio) for his recall 14, which was supported by the consul elect P. Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, but opposed by the consuls Piso and Gabinius and by the tribune Ligus. On the first of January in B. C. 57 Lentulus now consul proposed Cicero's restoration; a great fight ensued in the forum, in which the tribune P. Sestius nearly lost his life, and was obliged to collect a force for his defence. Milo attempted to bring Clodius to trial on the charge of riot (de vi), but in vain. The senate passed a resolution of thanks to Cn. Plancius for his care of Cicero 15, at the same time to recommend Cicero to the protection of governors of provinces, and to summon the

people from all parts of Italy to defend the interests of the exile. The popular feeling was strongly displayed in Cicero's favour, Pompeius exerted himself in earnest for him 16, and a crowded senate confirmed by their vote his declaration that the preservation of the state was due to Cicero alone. Finally the lex Cornelia de restituendo Cicerone passed the comitia centuriata1 on the fourth of August, the Italian voters being especially enthusiastic in the cause. On the fifth Cicero reached Brundisium where he was met by his daughter, and on the eighth, while he was still there, he was informed of the enactment of the bill for his return. After a triumphant progress amid general demonstrations of respect he arrived at Rome on the fourth of September, in the eighteenth month of his exile. On the fifth he thanked the senate for what they had done in a written speech 18, which he read on the occasion.

His next care was the recovery of his villas and his house on the Palatine, which Clodius had demolished and dedicated on its site a Temple to Liberty, thus hoping permanently to alienate the whole area from Cicero. The validity of this dedication and the restoration of the property became a question to be decided by the Pontifical College, before whom Cicero pleaded on the thirtieth of September 19. They decided

16

or. in Pis. c. 32.

17 ep. ad Att. IV I § 4, or. in Pison. § 35, or. p. Sest. c. 63.

18 ep. ad Att. IV 1, 5, or. p. Planc. c. 30. There is a speech extant entitled cum senatui gratias egit, in which Cic. thanked the senate in general, the consuls, Cn. Pompeius, P. Servilius, L. Gellius, L. Ninnius, Milo, and Sestius with the other tribunes who had been friendly to him, Cn. Plancius and his brother Quintus and spoke gratefully of the services of his deceased son-in-law Piso. There is extant also a speech entitled cum populo gratias egit, not mentioned in the letter

to Atticus, which is a kind of abridgment of the other in the matter. Opinions are still divided about the genuineness of these two orations. See Long Decl. R. R. Vol. IV p. 93, Teuffel Hist. of Rom. Liter. I p. 273.

19 ep. ad Att. IV. 2, 3 post illas datas litteras secuta est summa contentio de domo: diximus apud pontifices pridie K. Octobris. Acta res est accurate a nobis, et si umquam in dicendo fuimus aliquid aut etiam si umquam alias fuimus, tum profecto dolor et magnitudo vim quamdam nobis dicendi dedit, Dio Cass. XXXIX II. There is the same difference of opinion

that the consecration was illegal and that the area might without prejudice to religion be restored to Cicero. This judgment reeeived the support of nearly all the members of the senate, and a resolution was carried, notwithstanding the vehement opposition of Clodius, for the restoration of Cicero's house and for the payment of two million sesterces to rebuild it.

Rome was meanwhile disturbed by the riots of Clodius, who looked forward to obtaining the aedileship and thus escaping the punishment due to his lawless acts. In spite of the attempts of Milo, as tribune, to hinder the comitia for the election of aediles and of the proposal of L. Racilius 20 for a legal inquiry into his conduct, Clodius was chosen curule aedile next year on the 22nd of January. The first thing he did was to commence a prosecution against Milo which, however, he was forced to drop. He then instigated M. Tullius Albinovanus to charge P. Sestius, the late tribune, with a breach of the peace. One of Cicero's most important orations was in defence of his friend and supporter, who was acquitted by the votes of all the jurymen 21 on the 13th of March. Before this, on the 11th of February, in a speech no longer extant he had defended L. Bestia on a charge of bribery in his suit for the Praetorship. He was more fortunate in his defence of M. Caelius, charged with an intention to assassinate the Alexandrian envoy Dio and to poison 22 Clodia. Lastly, he delivered his great speech de provinciis consularibus, in which he urged the recall of the ex-consuls Piso and Gabinius from their respective provinces Syria and Macedonia on account of their bad administration 23, but spoke against the proposal to recall Caesar at the end of the first five years of his Gallic command, thus publicly ratifying his submission to the triumvirs.

After this oration Cicero at the request of Cn. Pompeius defended L. Cornelius Balbus, a native of Gades, on a charge of exercising the Roman franchise illegally.

§ 3. The year 55 B.C. (=699 A. U. C.) opened with great disturbance. The elections still continued to be interrupted, so that it became necessary to appoint an Interrex, and it was only at the conclusion of the first quarter that Cn. Pompeius Magnus and M. Licinius Crassus, consuls each for the second time, were able to enter upon the duties of their office. While the tribune of the plebs Gaius Trebonius proposed his bill to the popular assembly (lex Trebonia) that the consular provinces, Syria and the two Spains, should be held for five years, and also that Caesar's administration of his province should be prolonged for another five years, Cicero, yielding passively to the stream of events, had retired to his Puteolan villa 24, where he commenced his three books de Oratore 25, and came back to Rome only to reply to the insulting speech which Piso addressed to the senate in answer to the charges Cicero had made against him. Crassus carried his lex de sodaliciis 20 through and quitted Rome for his province Syria before the expiration of his office and without providing for the elections of the next year. An election of aediles for the year B. C. 54, which should have taken place under his presidency, had not been held 27, and no other magistrates for that year were chosen except the consuls L. Domitius Ahenobarbus and Appius Claudius Pulcher, and even their election was deferred till the close of the year B. C. 55. The aediles for the year B. C. 54 must therefore have been elected in that same year and perhaps in the beginning of the second half of it, because Plancius was accused before he entered on his office, certainly after P. Vatinius, whose trial did not take place until July. We may conclude then that Plancius and Plotius were chosen in the

24 ep. ad Att. IV. 9.

25 ep. ad Att. IV. 13.

26

or. p. Planc. § 36, § 39, § 41, § 44, § 45, § 49, Dio Cass. xxxix.

c. 37 p. 523 ed. Sturz, Orelli Onom. Tull. III. p. 201.

27 or. p. Pl. § 49, § 53, § 54, § 50 prolata comitia.