[13]
Unless, indeed, Lucius 1 Caesar, a
thoroughly brave man and of the best disposition towards the republic, seemed to any one to
be too cruel three, days ago, when he said that the husband of his own sister, a most
excellent woman, (in his presence and in his hearing,) ought to be deprived of
life,— when he said that his grandfather had been put to death by command of the
consul and his youthful son, sent as an ambassador by his father, had been put to death in
prison. And what deed had they done like these men? had they formed any plan for destroying
the republic? At that time great corruption was rife in the republic, and there was the
greatest strife between parties. And, at that time, the grandfather of this Lentulus, a most
illustrious man, put on his armour and pursued Gracchus; he even received a severe wound that
there might be no diminution of the great dignity of the republic. But this man, his
grandson, invited the Gauls to overthrow the foundations of the republic; he stirred up the
slaves, he summoned Catiline, he distributed us to Cethegus to be massacred, and the rest of
the citizens to Gabinius to be assassinated, the city he allotted to Cassius to burn, and the
plundering and devastating of all Italy he assigned to Catiline. You fear, I think, lest in
the case of such unheard of and abominable wickedness you should seem to decide anything with
too great severity; when we ought much more to fear lest by being remiss in punishing we
should appear cruel to our country, rather than appear by the severity of our irritation too
rigorous to its most bitter enemies.
1 The brother-in-law of Lucius Caesar was Marcus Fulvius, whose death, at the command of Opimius the consul, is referred to at Cat. 2. chap1. He sent his son to the consul to treat for his surrender, whom Opimius sent back the first time, and forbade to return to him; when he did return, he put him to death.
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