f sending him a
summons, as he ought, if Antony were guilty of any wrong, and since he
has further mentioned me in a calumnious fashion, as if he could not have
exhibited his cleverness without heedlessly insulting one or two persons,
it behooves me also to set aside the imputation against Antony and to
bring counter-charges against the speaker. I would not have his innate
impudence fail of a response nor let my silence aid him by incurring the
suspicion of a guilty conscience; nor would I have you, deceived by what
he said, come to a less worthy decision by accepting his private spleen
against Antony in exchange for the common advantage. [-2-] He wishes
to effect nothing else than that we should abandon looking out for the
safest course for the commonwealth and fall into discord again. It is not
the first time that he has done this, but from the outset, ever since he
had to do with politics, he has been continually causing disturbance one
way or the other.

"Is he not the one who embroiled Caesar with Pompey and prevented Pompey
from becoming reconciled with Caesar? The one who persuaded you to pass
that vote against Antony by which he irritated Caesar, and persuaded
Pompey to leave Italy and transfer his quarters to Macedonia? This proved
the chief cause of all the evils which befell us subsequently. Is not he
the one who killed Clodius by the hand of Milo, and slew Caesar by the
hand of Brutus? The one who made Catiline hostile to us and despatched
Lentulus without a trial? [-3-] Hence I should be very much surprised
at you, seeing that you then changed your mind about his conduct just
mentioned and made him pay the penalty for it, if you should now heed him
again, when his talk and actions are similar. Do you not see, too, that
after Caesar's death when our affairs were settled in a most tranquil way
by Antony, as not even his accuser can deny, the latter left town because
he deemed our life of harmony to be alien and dangerous to him? That when
he perceived that turmoil had again arisen, he bade a long farewell to
his son and to Athens, and returned? That he insults and abuses Antony,
whom he was wont to say he loved, and cooeperates with Caesar, whose father
he killed? And if chance so favor, he will ere long attack Caesar also.
For the fellow is naturally distrustful and turbulent and has no ballast
in his soul, and he is always stirring things up and twisting about,
turning more ways than the sea-passage to which