cracy, when he sees that we are publicly resigned to slavery? It must
be evident to every man that Antony will not rest contented with what
he is now doing, but that in far off and small concerns even he is
strengthening himself against us. He is warring against Decimus and
besieging Mutina for no other purpose than to provide himself, by
conquering and capturing them, with resources against us. He has not been
wronged by them that he can appear to be defending himself, nor does he
merely desire the property that they possess and with this in mind endure
toils and dangers, while ready and willing to relinquish that belonging
to us, who own their property and much beside. Shall we wait for him to
secure the prize and still more, and so become a dangerous foe? Shall we
trust his deception when he says that he is not warring against the City?
[-37-] Who is so silly as to decide whether a man is making war on us or
not by his words rather than by his deeds? I do not say that now for the
first time is he unfriendly to us, when he has abandoned the City and
made a campaign against allies and is assailing Brutus and besieging the
cities; but on the basis of his former evil and licentious behavior, not
only after Caesar's death but even in the latter's lifetime, I decide that
he has shown himself an enemy of our government and liberty and a plotter
against them. Who that loved his country or hated tyranny would have
committed a single one of the many and manifold offences laid to this
man's charge? From every point of view he is proved to have long been an
enemy of ours, and the case stands as follows. If we now take measures
against him with all speed, we shall get back all that has been lost:
but if, neglecting to do this, we wait till he himself admits that he is
plotting against us, we shall lose everything. This he will never do, not
even if he should actually march upon the City, any more than Marius or
Cinna or Sulla did. But if he gets control of affairs, he will not fail
to act precisely as they did, or still worse. Men who are anxious to
accomplish an object are wont to say one thing, and those who have
succeeded in accomplishing it are wont to do quite a different thing. To
gain their end they pretend anything, but having obtained it they deny
themselves the gratification of no desire. Furthermore, the last born
always desire to surpass what their predecessors have ventured: they
think it a small thing to behave like th