regarding neither their age nor the wounds which they received in past
years while fighting for you, and you both refuse to ratify the war in
which these very men elected to serve, and show yourselves inferior to
them, who are ready to face dangers; for while you praise the soldiers
that detected the defilement of Antony and withdrew from him, though he
was consul, and attached themselves to Caesar, (that is, to you through
him), you shrink from voting for that which you say they were right in
doing. Also we are grateful to Brutus that he did not even at the
start admit Antony to Gaul, and is trying to repel him now that Antony
confronts him with a force. Why in the world do we not ourselves do the
same? Why do we not imitate the rest whom we praise for their sound
judgment? There are only two courses open to us. [-39-] One is to say
that all these men,--Caesar, I mean, and Brutus, the old soldiers, the
legions,--have decided wrongly and ought to submit to punishment, because
without our sanction or that of the people they have dared to offer armed
resistance to their consul, some having deserted his standard, and others
having been gathered against him. The other is to say that Antony by
reason of his deeds has in our judgment long since admitted that he is
our enemy and by public consent ought to be chastised by us all. No one
can be ignorant that the latter decision is not only more just but more
expedient for us. The man neither understands how to handle business
himself (how or by what means could a person that lives in drunkenness
and dicing?) nor has he any companion who is of any account. He loves
only such as are like himself and makes them the confidants of all his
open and secret undertakings. Also he is most cowardly in extreme dangers
and most treacherous even to his intimate friends, neither of which
qualities is suited for generalship or war. [-40-] Who can be unaware
that this very man caused all our internal troubles and then shared the
dangers to the slightest possible degree? He tarried long in Brundusium
through cowardice, so that Caesar was isolated and on account of him