(1) Fugātus Antōnius āmissō exercitū cōnfūgit ad Lepidum, quī Caesarī magister equitum fuerat et tum mīlitum cōpiās grandēs habēbat, ā quō susceptus est. Mox Lepidō operam dante Caesar pācem cum Antōniō fēcit et, quasi vindicātūrus patris suī mortem, ā quō per testāmentum fuerat adoptātus, Rōmam cum exercitū profectus extorsit, ut sibi vīcēsimō annō cōnsulātus darētur.
(2) Senātum prōscrīpsit, cum Antōniō ac Lepidō rem pūblicam armīs tenēre coepit. Per hōs etiam Cicerō ōrātor occīsus est multīque aliī nōbilēs.
notes
The Second Triumvirate, 43 BCE
(1) ad Lepidum: Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (see Brev. 6.1). He was in Gaul at this time, being governor of Gaul and Spain. After he received Antonius, they crossed the Alps at the head of a large body of troops and met Augustus in the north of Italy. Antonius and Lepidus together with Augustus were known as the "Second Triumvirate," and they divided the Roman world amongst themselves (Hazzard).
Lepidō operam dante: ablative absolute with a present active participle (AG 419)
Caesar: Octavian. Eventually, "Caesar" will become a title for emperor.
quasi vindicātūrus patris suī mortem: "on the grounds that he intended to avenge his father's murder," i.e. by using his armies to hunt down and kill Brutus, Cassius, and the other conspirators. He did that, but also took control of the state and purged the senate, as Eutropius goes on to explain. In Livy and later writers the future participle is sometimes used to express purpose or intention (AG 499.2).
ā quō: refers to Julius Caesar.
extorsit ut: "used force to ensure that" (LS extorqueo II)
vīcēsimō annō: he was far below the legal age (Hazzard)
(2) Senātum prōscrīpsit: 300 senators and 2000 knights were included in the proscription. "Each (triumvir) marked his victims' names upon the fatal list, and each consented to give up adherents of his own to the greed or hatred of his colleagues" (Hazzard, cf Smith, sv proscriptio).
Cicerō ōrātor occīsus est: Augustus tried to save him, but Antony, whose hatred Cicero had incurred, demanded his death, and Augustus was forced to yield (Hazzard). According to Valerius Maximus,
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Cicero defended C. Popilius Laenas at the request of M. Caelius from Picenum with no less due diligence than eloquence, and sent him home safely while the case was still in deliberations. Despite Cicero never harming him in word or deed, once he was put on the proscription list this same Popilius later asked Marc Antony permission to track him down and slaughter him. He obtained permission for this hateful deed. Reveling in the task, he hurried to Caieta and ordered the man to ready his neck for the blade—this man who certainly ought to be respected not only for his impact in public office, but also for the energy and effort he had expended to help him during the case. Immediately he severed the head of Roman eloquence and peace as well as his right hand without fear or pressure. He rushed back to Rome with them, treating these body parts like the spolia opima; it never occurred to him as he carried that abominable severed head that that it had once protected his own. Words cannot insult this awful feat enough, since the only one able to adequately express the death of Cicero would be Cicero, and he no longer exists (5.3.4, Trans. K. Masters).
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
| Antōnius, ī, m. |
the name of a Roman gens, C. Antōnius, consul 63 B.C., L. Antōnius, consul 41 B.C., M. Antōnius, the friend of Caesar and member of the Second Triumvirate, consul 44 B.C. |
| cōnfugiō, ere, fūgī, —— | to flee, take refuge |
| Lepidus, ī, m. |
M. Aemilius Lepidus, a member of the Second Triumvirate, consul 46 B.C. |
| Caesar, aris, m. |
a family name in the Julian gens. (1) C. Iūlius Caesar, the famous dictator; (2) Sex. Iūlius Caesar, uncle of the dictator. Consul 91 B.C.; (3) C. Octāviānus, the emperor Augustus |
| grandis, e, adj. | large, grand |
| vindicō, āre, āvī, ātus [vīs + dīcō] |
to claim; liberate; avenge, take vengeance on |
| testāmentum, ī [testis, a witness], n. | a will, testament |
| adoptō, āre, āvī, ātus | to adopt |
| extorqueō, ēre, torsī, tortus [ex + torqueō, to twist] | to twist out, extort |
| cōnsulātus, ūs [cōnsul], m. | consulate, consulship |
| prōscrībō, ere, scrīpsī, scrīptus |
to offer for sale; proscribe, outlaw 2 |
| Cicerō, ōnis, m. |
M. Tullius Cicerō, the famous orator, consul 63 B.C. |
| ōrātor, ōris [ōrō], m. | an orator, ambassador |