πραττομένων δὲ τούτων ὁ Κικέρων ἦν μὲν ἐν ἀγροῖς ἰδίοις περὶ Τοῦσκλον, ἔχων τὸν ἀδελφὸν μεθʼ αὑτοῦ· πυθόμενοι δὲ τὰς προγραφὰς ἔγνωσαν εἷς Ἄστυρα μεταβῆναι, χωρίον παράλιον τοῦ Κικέρωνος, ἐκεῖθεν δὲ πλεῖν εἷς Μακεδονίαν πρὸς Βροῦτον· ἤδη γὰρ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ λόγος ἐφοίτα κρατοῦντος, ἐκομίζοντο δʼ ἐν φορείοις ἀπειρηκότες ὑπὸ λύπης· καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἐφιστάμενοι καὶ τὰ φορεῖα παραβάλλοντες ἀλλήλοις προσωλοφύροντο.
While this was going on, Cicero was at his own country-seat in Tusculum, having his brother with him; but when they learned of the proscriptions they determined to remove to Astura, a place of Cicero’s on the sea-coast, and from there to sail to Brutus in Macedonia; for already a report was current that he was in force there. So they were carried along in litters, being worn out with grief; and on the way they would halt, and with their litters placed side by side would lament to one another.
μᾶλλον δʼ ὁ Κόιντος ἠθύμει, καὶ λογισμὸς αὐτὸν εἰσῄει τῆς ἀπορίας· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔφη λαβεῖν οἴκοθεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ Κικέρωνι γλίσχρον ἦν ἐφόδιον ἄμεινον οὖν εἶναι τὸν μὲν Κικέρωνα προλαμβάνειν τῇ φυγῇ, αὐτὸν δὲ μεταθεῖν οἴκοθεν συσκευασάμενον. ταῦτʼ ἔδοξε· καὶ περιλαβόντες ἀλλήλους καὶ ἀνακλαυσάμενοι διελύθησαν.
But Quintus was the more dejected and began to reflect upon his destitute condition; for he said that he had taken nothing from home, nay, Cicero too had scanty provision for the journey; it was better, then, he said, that Cicero should press on in his flight, but that he himself should get what he wanted from home and then hasten after him. This they decided to do, and after embracing one another and weeping aloud, they parted.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Κόιντος οὐ πολλαῖς ὕστερον ἡμέραις ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκετῶν προδοθεὶς τοῖς ζητοῦσιν ἀνῃρέθη μετὰ τοῦ παιδός. ὁ δὲ Κικέρων εἷς Ἄστυρα κομισθεὶς καὶ πλοῖον εὑρών εὐθὺς ἐνέβη καὶ παρέπλευσεν ἄχρι Κιρκαίου, πνεύματι χρώμενος. ἐκεῖθεν δὲ βουλομένων εὐθὺς αἴρειν τῶν κυβερνητῶν, εἴτε δείσας τὴν θάλασσαν εἴτʼ οὔπω παντάπασι τὴν Καίσαρος ἀπεγνωκὼς πίστιν, ἀπέβη καὶ παρῆλθε πεζῇ σταδίους ἑκατὸν ὡς εἷς Ῥώμην πορευόμενος.
So then Quintus, not many days afterwards, was betrayed by his servants to those who were in search of him, and put to death, together with his son. But Cicero was brought to Astura, and finding a vessel there he embarked at once and coasted along as far as Circaeum, with the wind in his favour. From there his pilots wished to set sail at once, but Cicero, whether it was that he feared the sea, or had not yet altogether given up his trust in Caesar, went ashore and travelled along on foot a hundred furlongs in the direction of Rome.
αὖθις δʼ ἀλύων καὶ μεταβαλλόμενος κατῄει πρὸς θάλασσαν εἷς Ἄστυρα. κἀκεῖ διενυκτέρευσεν ἐπὶ δεινῶν καὶ ἀπόρων λογισμῶν, ὥστε καὶ παρελθεῖν εἷς τὴν Καίσαρος οἰκίαν διενοήθη κρύφα καὶ σφάξας ἑαυτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς ἑστίας ἀλάστορα προσβαλεῖν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτης αὐτὸν ἀπέκρουσε τῆς ὁδοῦ δέος βασάνων καὶ πολλὰ ταραχώδη καὶ παλίντροπα βουλεύματα τῆς γνώμης μεταλαμβάνων παρέδωκε τοῖς οἰκέταις ἑαυτὸν εἷς Καιήτην κατὰ πλοῦν κομίζειν, ἔχων ἐκεῖ χωρία καὶ καταφυγὴν ὥρᾳ θέρους φιλάνθρωπον, ὅταν ἥδιστον οἱ ἐτησίαι καταπνέωσιν.
But again losing resolution and changing his mind, he went down to the sea at Astura. And there he spent the night in dreadful and desperate calculations; he actually made up his mind to enter Caesar’s house by stealth, to slay himself upon the hearth, and so to fasten upon Caesar an avenging daemon. But a fear of tortures drove him from this course also; then, revolving in his mind many confused and contradictory purposes, he put himself in the hands of his servants to be taken by sea to Caieta, where he had lands and an agreeable retreat in summer time, when the breath of the Etesian winds is most pleasant.
ἔχει δʼ ὁ τόπος καὶ ναὸν Ἀπόλλωνος μικρὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς θαλάττης. ἐντεῦθεν ἀρθέντες ἀθρόοι κόρακες ὑπὸ κλαγγῆς προσεφέροντο τῷ πλοίῳ τοῦ Κικέρωνος ἐπὶ γῆν ἐρεσσομένῳ· καὶ καθίσαντες ἐπὶ τὴν κεραίαν ἑκατέρωθεν οἱ μὲν ἐβόων, οἱ δʼ ἔκοπτον τὰς τῶν μηρυμάτων ἀρχάς, καὶ πᾶσιν ἐδόκει τὸ σημεῖον εἶναι πονηρόν. ἀπέβη δʼ οὖν ὁ Κικέρων, καὶ παρελθὼν εἷς τὴν ἔπαυλιν ὡς ἀναπαυσόμενος κατεκλίθη.
The place has also a temple of Apollo, a little above the sea. From thence a flock of crows flew with loud clamour towards the vessel of Cicero as it was rowed towards land; and alighting on either end of the sail-yard, some cawed, and others pecked at the ends of the ropes, and everybody thought that the omen was bad. Nevertheless Cicero landed, and going to his villa lay down to rest.
τῶν δὲ κοράκων οἱ πολλοὶ μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς θυρίδος διεκάθηντο φθεγγόμενοι θορυβῶδες, εἷς δὲ καταβὰς ἐπὶ τὸ κλινίδιον ἐγκεκαλυμμένου τοῦ Κικέρωνος ἀπῆγε τῷ στόματι κατὰ μικρὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου τὸ ἱμάτιον. οἱ δʼ οἰκέται ταῦθʼ ὁρῶντες, καὶ κακίσαντες ἑαυτοὺς εἰ περιμένουσι τοῦ δεσπότου φονευομένου θεαταὶ γενέσθαι, θηρία δʼ αὐτῷ βοηθεῖ καὶ προκήδεται παρʼ ἀξίαν πράττοντος, αὐτοὶ δʼ οὐκ ἀμύνουσι, τὰ μὲν δεόμενοι, τὰ δὲ βίᾳ λαβόντες ἐκόμιζον ἐν τῷ φορείῳ πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν.
Then most of the crows perched themselves about the window, cawing tumultuously, but one of them flew down upon the couch where Cicero lay with muffled head, and with its beak, little by little, tried to remove the garment from his face. The servants, on seeing this, rebuked themselves for waiting to be spectators of their master’s murder, while wild beasts came to his help and cared for him in his undeserved misfortune, but they themselves did nothing in his defence. So partly by entreaty, and partly by force, they took him and carried him in his litter towards the sea.
ἐν τούτῳ δʼ οἱ σφαγεῖς ἐπῆλθον, ἑκατοντάρχης Ἑρέννιος καὶ Ποπίλλιος χιλίαρχος, ᾧ πατροκτονίας ποτὲ δίκην φεύγοντι συνεῖπεν ὁ Κικέρων, ἔχοντες ὑπηρέτας. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰς θύρας κεκλεισμένας εὑρόντες ἐξέκοψαν, οὐ φαινομένου τοῦ Κικέρωνος οὐδὲ τῶν ἔνδον εἰδέναι φασκόντων,
But meantime his assassins came to the villa, Herennius a centurion, and Popillius a tribune, who had once been prosecuted for parricide and defended by Cicero; and they had helpers. After they had broken in the door, which they found closed, Cicero was not to be seen, and the inmates said they knew not where he was.
λέγεται νεανίσκον τινά τεθραμμένον μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κικέρωνος ἐν γράμμασιν ἐλευθερίοις καὶ μαθήμασιν, ἀπελεύθερον δὲ Κοΐντου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, Φιλόλογον τοὔνομα, φράσαι τῷ χιλιάρχῳ τὸ φορεῖον κομιζόμενον διὰ τῶν καταφύτων καὶ συσκίων περιπάτων ἐπὶ τὴν θάλατταν. ὁ μὲν οὖν χιλίαρχος ὀλίγους ἀναλαβὼν μεθʼ ἑαυτοῦ περιέθει πρὸς τὴν ἔξοδον, τοῦ δʼ Ἑρεννίου δρόμῳ φερομένου διὰ τῶν περιπάτων ὁ Κικέρων ᾔσθετο, καὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας ἐκέλευσεν ἐνταῦθα καταθέσθαι τὸ φορεῖον.
Then, we are told, a youth who had been liberally educated by Cicero, and who was a freedman of Cicero’s brother Quintus, Philologus by name, told the tribune that the litter was being carried through the wooded and shady walks towards the sea. The tribune, accordingly, taking a few helpers with him, ran round towards the exit, but Herennius hastened on the run through the walks, and Cicero, perceiving him, ordered the servants to set the litter down where they were.
αὐτός δʼ, ὥσπερ εἰώθει, τῇ ἀριστερᾷ χειρὶ τῶν γενείων ἁπτόμενος ἀτενὲς ἐνεώρα τοῖς σφαγεῦσιν, αὐχμοῦ καὶ κόμης ἀνάπλεως καὶ συντετηκὼς ὑπὸ φροντίδων τὸ πρόσωπον, ὥστε τοὺς πλείστους ἐγκαλύψασθαι τοῦ Ἑρεννίου σφάζοντος αὐτόν.
Then he himself, clasping his chin with his left hand, as was his wont, looked steadfastly at his slayers, his head all squalid and unkempt, and his face wasted with anxiety, so that most of those that stood by covered their faces while Herennius was slaying him.
ἐσφάγη δὲ τὸν τράχηλον ἐκ τοῦ φορείου προτείνας, ἔτος ἐκεῖνο γεγονὼς ἑξηκοστὸν καί τέταρτον, τὴν δὲ κεφαλὴν ἀπέκοψεν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς χεῖρας, Ἀντωνίου κελεύσαντος, αἷς τοὺς Φιλιππικοὺς ἔγραψεν. αὐτός τε γὰρ ὁ Κικέρων τοὺς κατʼ Ἀντωνίου λόγους Φιλιππικοὺς ἐπέγραψε καὶ μέχρι νῦν τὰ βιβλία Φιλιππικοὶ καλοῦνται.
For he stretched his neck forth from the litter and was slain, being then in his sixty-fourth year. Herennius cut off his head, by Antony’s command, and his hands—the hands with which he wrote the Philippics. For Cicero himself entitled his speeches against Antony Philippics, and to this day the documents are called Philippics.
τῶν δʼ ἀκρωτηρίων εἰς Ῥώμην κομισθέντων ἔτυχε μὲν ἀρχαιρεσίας τελῶν ὁ Ἀντώνιος, ἀκούσας δὲ καὶ ἰδὼν ἀνεβόησεν ὡς νῦν αἱ προγραφαὶ τέλος ἔχοιεν. τὴν δὲ κεφαλὴν καὶ τάς χεῖρας ἐκέλευσεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐμβόλων ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος θεῖναι, θέαμα Ῥωμαίοις φρικτόν, οὐ τὸ Κικέρωνος ὁρᾶν πρόσωπον οἰομένοις, ἀλλὰ τῆς Ἀντωνίου ψυχῆς εἰκόνα.
When Cicero’s extremities were brought to Rome, it chanced that Antony was conducting an election, but when he heard of their arrival and saw them, he cried out, Now let our proscriptions have an end. Then he ordered the head and hands to be placed over the ships’ beaks on the rostra, a sight that made the Romans shudder; for they thought they saw there, not the face of Cicero, but an image of the soul of Antony.
πλὴν ἕν γέ τι φρονήσας μέτριον ἐν τούτοις Πομπωνίᾳ τῇ Κοΐντου γυναικὶ τὸν Φιλόλογον παρέδωκεν. ἡ δὲ κυρία γενομένη τοῦ σώματος ἄλλαις τε δειναῖς ἐχρήσατο τιμωρίαις, καὶ τάς σάρκας ἀποτέμνοντα τάς αὐτοῦ κατὰ μικρὸν ὀπτᾶν, εἶτʼ ἐσθίειν ἠνάγκασεν. οὕτω γὰρ ἔνιοι τῶν συγγραφέων ἱστορήκασιν ὁ δʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κικέρωνος ἀπελεύθερος Τίρων τὸ παράπαν οὐδὲ μέμνηται τῆς τοῦ Φιλολόγου προδοσίας.
However, he showed at least one sentiment of fair dealing in the case when he handed over Philologus to Pomponia, the wife of Quintus. And she, having got the man into her power, besides other dreadful punishments which she inflicted upon him, forced him to cut off his own flesh bit by bit and roast it, and then to eat it. This, indeed, is what some of the historians say; but Cicero’s own freedman, Tiro, makes no mention at all of the treachery of Philologus.
πυνθάνομαι δὲ Καίσαρα χρόνοις πολλοῖς ὕστερον εἰσελθεῖν πρὸς ἕνα τῶν θυγατριδῶν· τὸν δὲ βιβλίον ἔχοντα Κικέρωνος ἐν ταῖς χερσίν ἐκπλαγέντα τῷ ἱματίῳ περικαλύπτειν ἰδόντα δὲ Καίσαρα λαβεῖν καὶ διελθεῖν ἑστῶτα μέρος πολὺ τοῦ βιβλίου, πάλιν δʼ ἀποδιδόντα τῷ μειρακίῳ φάναι λόγιος ἁνὴρ, ὦ παῖ, λόγιος καὶ φιλόπατρις.
I learn that Caesar, a long time after this, paid a visit to one of his daughter’s sons; and the boy, since he had in his hands a book of Cicero’s, was terrified and sought to hide it in his gown; but Caesar saw it, and took the book, and read a great part of it as he stood, and then gave it back to the youth, saying: A learned man, my child, a learned man and a lover of his country.
ἐπεὶ μέντοι τάχιστα κατεπολέμησεν Ἀντώνιον ὑπατεύων αὐτὸς εἵλετο συνάρχοντα τοῦ Κικέρωνος τὸν υἱόν, ἐφʼ οὗ τάς τʼ εἰκόνας ἡ βουλὴ καθεῖλεν Ἀντωνίου καὶ τάς ἄλλας ἠκύρωσε τιμάς καὶ προσεψηφίσατο μηδενὶ τῶν Ἀντωνίων ὄνομα Μᾶρκον εἶναι, οὕτω τὸ δαιμόνιον εἰς τὸν Κικέρωνος οἶκον ἐπανήνεγκε τὸ τέλος τῆς Ἀντωνίου κολάσεως.
Moreover, as soon as he had finally defeated Antony, and when he was himself consul, he chose Cicero’s son as his colleague in the office, and it was in his consulship that the senate took down the statues of Antony, made void the other honours that had been paid him, and decreed besides that no Antony should have the name of Marcus. Thus the heavenly powers devolved upon the family of Cicero the final steps in the punishment of Antony.
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