Dear Cicero,
My apologies,
dear friend, for the lateness of this letter. I have been busy with
a dance festival, and if it interests you, you may read my account of
the opening concert, and the part I played...
The first letter
I ever wrote to you, I asked you a question, do you remember? (Insert
link to first letter) I asked you to tell me what Caesar was really
like, and Pompey. Well, now you have begun to tell me. I have been
reading your letters again, and every night I have held your book in
my hand and felt the anxiety, uncertainty and wild sense of chaos as
Caesar marches closer to Rome, and every day his army gets stronger
while Pompey shrinks and runs towards his own shadow. Fleeing Italy,
abandoning the Republic. Every night I fall asleep with your
troubles on my mind.
I've become so
wrapped up in your story Cicero, that sometimes I don't even know
what is going on in my own time. I was asked today if I knew what
the weather was going to be like tomorrow, I just pulled at my hair
and laughed, joking: Caesar is in Rome with his legions and you
ask me about the weather!?
I've
said it many times before, but the sense of your living spirit is so
strong in your writing, and never more so as in your letters. I have
just finished reading volume two (of four volumes), translated by
Evelyn Shuckburgh in 1899. Letters spanning April 51 – June 49
BCE, two hundred and twenty one letters in all, to family, friends,
allies, enemies and servants. The collected letters paint a more
vibrant picture of real life in ancient Rome than anything else I
have read, (with the possible exception of The social life of Rome
in the time of Cicero by W.Warde Fowler, 1908). The frequent
reference to the unreliable system by which letters were delivered by
servants, the polite double-speak of political alliances, the gentle
touches of friendship amidst the torment of impending civil war...it
is all in full colour in my mind. Every night I read more, and, as
only a true friend can, I feel the weight of your burden, and I
suffer with you. I now more fully understand Petrarch when he said:
As
regards Cicero, I have known him as the best of consuls, vigilantly
providing for the welfare of the State, and as a citizen who always
evinced the highest love of country. But what more? I cannot bestow
praise upon the instability of his friendships, nor upon the serious
disagreements arising from slight causes and bringing destruction
upon him and benefit to none, nor upon a judgement which, when
brought to bear upon questions of private and public affairs, did not
well accord with his remarkable acumen in other directions. Above
all, I cannot praise, in a philosopher weighed down with years, an
inclination for wrangling which is proper to youths and utterly of no
avail. Of all this, however, remember that neither you nor anyone
else can be in a fit position to judge, until you will have read, and
carefully, all the letters of Cicero; for it is these which gave rise
to the whole discussion.
I
am on my way Cicero. There is a long road ahead of me, and I will
walk it.
However,
mid-journey as I am, I will try to understand this present part of
your story, and I feel that I should begin with something you said of
Rome itself, not the empire, but the City. This I quote from a
letter to your friend and political ally, Rufus.
CCLXI
To
M. Caelius Rufus
June
50BCE
“...The
City, the City my dear Rufus – stick to that and live in its full
light! Residence elsewhere – as I made up my mind early in life –
is mere eclipse and obscurity to those whose energy is capable of
shining at Rome...”
This
part of your story, Cicero, has a lot to do with Caesar, and to
understand your feelings about him, it seems important to understand
the patriotism that moved you, and to what degree you were
emotionally attached to both Rome, and to the old order of
government. I can think of no other way to describe those feelings,
than to use the word LOVE. Your duty of service to the state was an
act of love. It was an act of disciplined virtue, it was the pursuit
of the highest good for your nation, through the application of your
skills and virtues.
Your
passion for speaking in the courts seems born out of love for the
majesty of your country, your people, your city. You were proud of
your nation's history. You were very proud of your own
achievements, proud to have stood as Consul and to have saved the
republic from the Catiline conspiracy. You were proud to have served
in Cilicia as governor, even though you quite plainly never wanted to
serve in such a capacity, yet I seem to recall Plato remarking in The
Republic that the best leaders, are often the ones most reluctant
to take up the task. You were proud to have led your soldiers to
fight the rebellious tribes of the Taurus Mountains and to have
received from your soldiers the title Imperator for your
success, (though the real weight and value of such a title is of some
doubt). It is not in doubt that you loved your country Cicero, you
loved your people, you hated corruption and greed and you fought
every day, using your considerable skills with language, both spoken
and written, to make the name of Rome shine brighter still in the
minds of her subjects, and upon the pages of written history. You
were honest when all around you seem duplicitous. You were generous
when all others seem greedy. You were a voice crying for peace when
all around you clamoured for war.
CCLXXII
To
M Caelius Rufus
August
50BCE
“...Politics
makes me very anxious. I am fond of Curio : I wish Caesar to shew
himself an honest man : I could die for Pompey : but after all
nothing is dearer in my sight than the Republic itself...”
So,
with all this in mind, the story of Rome's violation by civil war
seems bound up in the story of the first Triumvirate; the power
sharing and political alliance between Caesar, Pompey and Crassus.
In every love triangle, there are always external forces exerting an
influence on the spinning centre. I will deal with Crassus in
another letter...for the moment I will focus on Pompey and Caesar...
Pompey
Caesar
Julia
Cornelia
Cornelia
Image: Published by Guillaume Rouille (1518?-1589) - "Promptuarii
Iconum Insigniorum"
Pompey married Caesar's daughter, Julia, whose mother Cornelia, is also very interesting...
Unlike
many political marriages, and certainly differing from his prior
disastrous relationships, Pompey absolutely loved Julia. This was
considered rather uncommon in an age where men of high rank often had
wives in order to produce children, but kept mistresses for the
expressions of their love and affection. Pompey loved Julia so much
people made fun of him for it, as Plutarch explains in his Life of
Pompey
[47]
For on a sudden, contrary to all expectation, he married Julia, the
daughter of Cæsar, who had been affianced before and was to be
married within a few days to Cæpio. And to appease Cæpio’s wrath,
he gave him his own daughter in marriage, who had been espoused
before to Faustus, the son of Sylla. Cæsar himself married
Calpurnia, the daughter of Piso.
[53.2]
Certainly the young wife's fondness for her husband was notorious,
and Pompey, at his age, scarcely seemed to be a fit object for such
passionate devotion. The reason for it seems to have lain in his
constancy as a husband (since he remained entirely faithful to his
own wife), and also in his ability to unbend from his dignity and to
become really charming in personal relationships [...].
This
politically arranged marriage was a binding force between Pompey and
Caesar, it held them together when their policy differences may have
driven them apart. Julia was the person of their common love, and
that love held them together.
But
when Julia died...that alliance died with it.
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