κἀκείνοις δὲ τὴν εὐπρεπεστάτην πρόφασιν ἄκων παρεσχεν Ἀντώνιος. ἦν μὲν γὰρ ἡ τῶν Λυκαίων ἑορτὴ Ῥωμαίοις, ἣν Λουπερκάλια καλοῦσι, Καῖσαρ δὲ κεκοσμημένος ἐσθῆτι θριαμβικῇ καὶ καθήμενος ὑπὲρ βήματος ἐν ἀγορᾷ τοὺς διαθέοντας ἐθεᾶτο· διαθέουσι δὲ τῶν εὐγενῶν νέοι πολλοὶ καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων, ἀληλιμμένοι λίπα, σκύτεσι λασίοις καθικνούμενοι μετὰ παιδιᾶς τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων.
And it was Antony who also unwittingly supplied the conspirators with their most specious pretext. For at the festival of the Lycaea, which the Romans call Lupercalia, Caesar, arrayed in a triumphal robe and seated in the forum upon the rostra, was viewing the runners to and fro. Now, the runners to and fro are many noble youths and many of the magistrates, anointed with oil, and with leathern thongs they strike in sport those whom they meet.
ἐν τούτοις ὁ Ἀντώνιος διαθέων τὰ μὲν πάτρια χαίρειν εἴασε, διάδημα δὲ δάφνης στεφάνῳ περιελίξας προσέδραμε τῷ βήματι, καὶ συνεξαρθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν συνθεόντων ἐπέθηκε τῇ κεφαλῇ τοῦ Καίσαρος, ὡς δὴ βασιλεύειν αὐτῷ προσῆκον. ἐκείνου δὲ θρυπτομένου καὶ διακλίνοντος ἡσθεὶς ὁ δῆμος ἀνεκρότησε·
Antony was one of these runners, but he gave the ancient usages the go-by, and twining a wreath of laurel round a diadem, he ran with it to the rostra, where he was lifted on high by his fellow runners and put it on the head of Caesar, thus intimating that he ought to be king. When Caesar with affected modesty declined the diadem, the people were delighted and clapped their hands.
καὶ πάλιν ὁ Ἀντώνιος ἐπῆγε, καὶ πάλιν ἐκεῖνος ἀπετρίβετο. καὶ πολὺν χρόνον οὕτω διαμαχομένων Ἀντωνίῳ μὲν ὀλίγοι τῶν φίλων βιαζομένῳ, Καίσαρι δὲ ἀρνουμένῳ πᾶς ὁ δῆμος ἐπεκρότει μετὰ βοῆς· ὃ καὶ θαυμαστὸν ἦν, ὅτι τοῖς ἔργοις τὰ τῶν βασιλευομένων ὑπομένοντες τοὔνομα τοῦ βασιλέως ὡς κατάλυσιν τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἔφευγον.
Again Antony tried to put the diadem on Caesar’s head, and again Caesar pushed it away. This contest went on for some time, a few of Antony’s friends applauding his efforts to force the diadem upon Caesar, but all the people applauding with loud cries when Caesar refused it. And this was strange, too, that while the people were willing to conduct themselves like the subjects of a king, they shunned the name of king as though it meant the abolition of their freedom.
ἀνέστη μὲν οὖν ὁ Καῖσαρ ἀχθεσθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ βήματος, καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον ἀπάγων ἀπὸ τοῦ τραχήλου τῷ βουλομένῳ παρέχειν τὴν σφαγὴν ἐβόα. τὸν δὲ στέφανον ἑνὶ τῶν ἀνδριάντων αὐτοῦ περιτεθέντα δήμαρχοί τινες κατέσπασαν, οὓς ὁ δῆμος εὐφημῶν μετὰ κρότου παρείπετο, Καῖσαρ δὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀπέστησεν.
At last Caesar rose from the rostra in displeasure, and pulling back the toga from his throat cried out that anyone who pleased might smite him there. The wreath, which had been hung upon one of his statues, certain tribunes of the people tore down. These men the people greeted with favouring cries and clapping of hands; but Caesar deprived them of their office.
ταῦτα τοὺς περὶ Βροῦτον καὶ Κάσσιον ἐπέρρωσε· καὶ τῶν φίλων τοὺς πιστοὺς καταλέγοντες ἐπὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐσκέπτοντο περὶ Ἀντωνίου. τῶν δὲ ἄλλων προσιεμένων τὸν ἄνδρα Τρεβώνιος ἀντεῖπεν· ἔφη γὰρ ὑφʼ ὃν χρόνον ἀπήντων ἐξ Ἰβηρίας ἐπανιόντι Καίσαρι, τοῦ Ἀντωνίου συσκηνοῦντος αὐτῷ καὶ συνοδεύοντος, ἅψασθαι τῆς γνώμης ἀτρέμα πως καὶ μετʼ εὐλαβείας, τὸν δὲ νοῆσαι μέν, οὐ δέξασθαι δὲ τὴν πεῖραν, οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ πρὸς Καίσαρα κατειπεῖν, ἀλλὰ πιστῶς κατασιωπῆσαι τὸν λόγον.
This incident strengthened the party of Brutus and Cassius; and when they were taking count of the friends whom they could trust for their enterprise, they raised a question about Antony. The rest were for making him one of them, but Trebonius opposed it. For, he said, while people were going out to meet Caesar on his return from Spain, Antony had travelled with him and shared his tent, and he had sounded him quietly and cautiously; Antony had understood him, he said, but had not responded to his advances; Antony had not, however, reported the conversation to Caesar, but had faithfully kept silence about it.
ἐκ τούτου πάλιν ἐβουλεύοντο Καίσαρα κτείναντες ἐπισφάττειν Ἀντώνιον· ἐκώλυσε δὲ Βροῦτος, ἀξιῶν τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν νόμων καὶ τῶν δικαίων τολμωμένην πρᾶξιν εἰλικρινῆ καὶ καθαρὰν ἀδικίας εἶναι. φοβούμενοι δὲ τήν τε ῥώμην τοῦ Ἀντωνίου καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀξίωμα, τάττουσιν ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἐνίους τῶν ἐκ τῆς συνωμοσίας, ὅπως, ὅταν εἰσίῃ Καῖσαρ εἰς τὴν βουλὴν καὶ μέλλῃ δρᾶσθαι τὸ ἔργον, ἔξω διαλεγόμενοί τι καὶ σπουδάζοντες κατέχωσιν αὐτόν.
Upon this, the conspirators again took counsel to kill Antony after they had slain Caesar; but Brutus prevented this, urging that the deed adventured in behalf of law and justice must be pure and free from injustice. But the conspirators were afraid of Antony’s strength, and of the consideration which his office gave him, and therefore appointed some of their number to look out for him, in order that, when Caesar entered the senate-chamber and their deed was about to be done, they might engage Antony outside in conversation about some urgent matter and detain him there.
τούτων δὲ πραττομένων ὡς συνετέθη, καὶ πεσόντος ἐν τῇ βουλῇ τοῦ Καίσαρος, εὐθὺς μὲν ὁ Ἀντώνιος ἐσθῆτα θεράποντος μεταλαβὼν ἔκρυψεν αὑτόν. ὡς δʼ ἔγνω τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐπιχειροῦντας μὲν οὐδενί, συνηθροισμένους δὲ εἰς τὸ Καπιτώλιον, ἔπεισε καταβῆναι λαβόντας ὅμηρον παρʼ αὐτοῦ τὸν υἱόν· καὶ Κάσσιον μὲν αὐτὸς ἐδείπνισε, Βροῦτον δὲ Λέπιδος.
This was done as planned, and Caesar fell in the senate-chamber. At once, then, Antony put on the dress of a slave and hid himself. But when he learned that the conspirators were laying hands upon nobody, but were merely assembled together on the Capitol, he persuaded them to come down by giving them his son as hostage; moreover, he himself entertained Cassius, and Lepidus entertained Brutus.
συναγαγὼν δὲ βουλὴν αὐτὸς μὲν ὑπὲρ ἀμνηστίας εἶπε καὶ διανομῆς ἐπαρχιῶν τοῖς περὶ Κάσσιον καὶ Βροῦτον, ἡ δὲ σύγκλητος ἐκύρωσε ταῦτα καὶ τῶν ὑπὸ Καίσαρος γεγονότων ἐψηφίσαντο μηδὲν ἀλλάττειν. ἐξῄει δὲ τῆς βουλῆς λαμπρότατος ἀνθρώπων ὁ Ἀντώνιος, ἀνῃρηκέναι δοκῶν ἐμφύλιον πόλεμον καὶ πράγμασι δυσκολίας ἔχουσι καὶ ταραχὰς οὐ τὰς τυχούσας ἐμφρονέστατα κεχρῆσθαι καὶ πολιτικώτατα.
Besides, he called the senate together and spoke in favour of amnesty and a distribution of provinces among Brutus and Cassius and their partisans, and the senate ratified this proposal, and voted that no change should be made in what Caesar had done. So Antony went out of the senate the most illustrious of men; for he was thought to have put an end to civil war, and to have handled matters involving great difficulty and extraordinary confusion in a most prudent and statesmanlike manner.
τούτων μέντοι ταχὺ τῶν λογισμῶν ἐξέσεισεν αὐτὸν ἡ παρὰ τῶν ὄχλων δόξα, πρῶτον ἐλπίσαντα βεβαίως ἔσεσθαι Βρούτου καταλυθέντος. ἔτυχε μὲν οὖν ἐκκομιζομένου Καίσαρος, ὥσπερ ἔθος ἦν, ἐν ἀγορᾷ διεξιὼν ἐγκώμιον· ὁρῶν δὲ τὸν δῆμον ὑπερφυῶς ἀγόμενον καὶ κηλούμενον ἐνέμιξε τοῖς ἐπαίνοις οἶκτον ἅμα καὶ δείνωσιν ἐπὶ τῷ πάθει, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ τελευτῶντι τούς τε χιτωνίσκους τοῦ τεθνηκοτος ᾑμαγμένους καὶ διακεκομμένους τοῖς ξίφεσιν ἀνασείων,
From such considerations as these, however, he was soon shaken by the repute in which he stood with the multitude, and he had hopes that he would surely be first in the state if Brutus were overthrown. Now, it happened that when Caesar’s body was carried forth for burial, Antony pronounced the customary eulogy over it in the forum. And when he saw that the people were mightily swayed and charmed by his words, he mingled with his praises sorrow and indignation over the dreadful deed, and at the close of his speech shook on high the garments of the dead, all bloody and tattered by the swords as they were,
καὶ τοὺς εἰργασμένους ταῦτα καλῶν παλαμναίους καὶ ἀνδροφόνους, τοσοῦτον ὀργῆς ἐνέβαλε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὥστε τὸ μὲν σῶμα τοῦ Καίσαρος ἐν ἀγορᾷ καθαγίσαι, συνενεγκαμένους τὰ βάθρα καὶ τὰς τραπέζας, ἁρπάζοντας δὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς πυρᾶς δαλοὺς ἐπὶ τὰς οἰκίας θεῖν τῶν ἀπεκτονότων καὶ προσμάχεσθαι.
called those who had wrought such work villains and murderers, and inspired his hearers with such rage that they heaped together benches and tables and burned Caesar’s body in the forum, and then, snatching the blazing faggots from the pyre, ran to the houses of the assassins and assaulted them.
διὰ ταῦτα τῶν περὶ Βροῦτον ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἀπελθόντων οἵ τε φίλοι τοῦ Καίσαρος συνίσταντο πρὸς τὸν Ἀντώνιον, ἥ τε γυνὴ Καλπουρνία πιστεύσασα τῶν χρημάτων τὰ πλεῖστα κατέθετο πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς οἰκίας, εἰς λόγον τὰ σύμπαντα τετρακισχιλίων ταλάντων.
On account of these things Brutus and his associates left the city, the friends of Caesar united in support of Antony, and Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia, putting confidence in Antony, took most of the treasure from Caesar’s house and put it in his charge; it amounted in all to four thousand talents.
ἔλαβε δὲ καὶ τὰ βιβλία τοῦ Καίσαρος, ἐν οἷς ὑπομνήματα τῶν κεκριμένων καὶ δεδογμένων ἦν ἀναγεγραμμένα· καὶ τούτοις παρεγγράφων οὓς ἐβούλετο, πολλοὺς μὲν ἄρχοντας ἀπεδείκνυε, πολλοὺς δὲ βουλευτάς, ἐνίους δὲ καὶ κατῆγε πεφυγαδευμένους καὶ καθειργμένους ἔλυεν, ὡς δὴ ταῦτα τῷ Καίσαρι δόξαντα.
Antony received also the papers of Caesar, in which there were written memoranda of his decisions and decrees; and making insertions in these, he appointed many magistrates and many senators according to his own wishes. He also brought some men back from exile, and released others from prison, as though Caesar had decided upon all this.
διὸ τούτους ἅπαντας ἐπισκώπτοντες οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι Χαρωνίτας ἐκάλουν· ἐλεγχόμενοι γὰρ εἰς τοὺς τοῦ νεκροῦ κατέφευγον ὑπομνηματισμούς. καὶ τἆλλα δὲ ἔπραττεν αὐτοκρατορικῶς ὁ Ἀντώνιος, αὐτὸς μὲν ὑπατεύων, τοὺς δὲ ἀδελφοὺς ἔχων συνάρχοντας, Γάϊον μὲν στρατηγόν, Λεύκιον δὲ δήμαρχον.
Wherefore the Romans in mockery called all such men Charonitae; for when put to the test they appealed to the memoranda of the dead. And Antony managed everything else in autocratic fashion, being consul himself, and having his brothers in office at the same time, Caius as praetor, and Lucius as tribune of the people.
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