In my former I described the sort of return I had, my position and the state of all my affairs:
“For happy though but ill, for ill not worst.”
After I sent that letter, there followed a great fight about my house. I delivered a speech[[112]] before the pontifices on the 29th of September. I bestowed great pains on the matter, and, if ever I had any oratorical ability, or even if I never had before, on that occasion at any rate, my great indignation lent some vigour to my style. So its publication is a debt which I must not leave unpaid to the rising generation: and to you I will send it very soon, whether you want it or not. The pontifices decreed that “if the party alleging that he had dedicated had not been appointed by name either by order of the people or vote of the plebs, and if he had not been commanded to do so, either by order of the people or by vote of the plebs then it appeared that that part of the site might be restored to me without sacrilege,” I was congratulated at once, everybody thinking that the house had been adjudged to me. But all of a sudden up gets a man to speak, at Appius’ invitation, and announces that the pontifices have decided in his favour and I am trying to take possession by force: he exhorts them to follow him and Appius and defend their shrine of Liberty. Thereupon, though even those pliable persons were partly lost in wonder and partly laughing at the man’s folly, I determined
[112]. De domo sua ad pontifices.
cum consules ex senatus consulto porticum Catuli restituendam locassent. Kal. Octobr. habetur senatus frequens. Adhibentur omnes pontifices, qui erant senatores. A quibus Marcellinus, qui erat cupidissimus mei, sententiam primus rogatus quaesivit, quid essent in decernendo secuti. Tum M. Lucullus de omnium collegarum sententia respondit religionis iudices pontifices fuisse, legis esse senatum; se et collegas suos de religione statuisse, in senatu de lege statuturos cum senatu. Itaque suo quisque horum loco sententiam rogatus multa secundum causam nostram disputavit. Cum ad Clodium ventum est, cupiit diem consumere, neque ei finis est factus, sed tamen, cum horas tres fere dixisset, odio et strepitu senatus coactus est aliquando perorare. Cum fieret senatus consultum in sententiam Marcellini omnibus praeter unum adsentientibus, Serranus intercessit. De intercessione statim ambo consules referre coeperunt. Cum sententiae gravissimae dicerentur, senatui placere mihi domum restitui, porticum Catuli locari, auctoritatem ordinis ab omnibus magistratibus defendi, si quae vis esset facta, senatum existimaturum eius opera factum esse, qui senatus consulto intercessisset, Serranus pertimuit, et Cornicinus ad suam veterem fabulam rediit; abiecta toga se ad generi pedes abiecit. Ille noctem sibi postulavit. Non concedebant, reminiscebantur enim Kal. Ianuar. Vix
not to go near the place until the consuls by decree of the Senate had given out the contract for restoring the porch of Catulus. On the first of October there was a full meeting of the Senate. All the pontifices who were senators were summoned: and Marcellinus, a strong partisan of mine, being called upon first for his opinion, asked them what was the purport of their decree. Then M. Lucullus speaking for all his colleagues answered, that the pontifices had to decide points of religion and the Senate points of law: he and his colleagues had settled the religious point and now in the Senate they would join the other senators in settling the legal point. Accordingly as each of them was called upon in his turn, he delivered a long speech in my favour. When it came to Clodius, he wanted to waste the whole day and spoke on endlessly, but at last, after speaking for nearly three hours, he was forced by the indignant outcry of the Senate to wind up his speech. A decree was passed in accordance with Marcellinus’ proposal with only one dissentient voice: and then Serranus put his veto on it. Both consuls at once referred the veto to the Senate, and many resolute speeches were delivered: “that the Senate approved of the restitution of my house,” “that a contract should be drawn up for the portico of Catulus,” “that the Senate’s resolution should be supported by all the magistrates,” “that if any violence occurred, the Senate would hold him responsible who had vetoed its decree.” Serranus showed the white feather and Cornicinus played the same old farce: he threw off his toga and flung himself at his son-in-law’s feet. Serranus demanded a night to think it over. They would not grant it, remembering the first of January. At last with my
tamen tibi de mea voluntate concessum est. Postridie senatus consultum factum est id, quod ad te misi. Deinde consules porticum Catuli restituendam locarunt; illam porticum redemptores statim sunt demoliti libentissimis omnibus. Nobis superficiem aedium consules de consilii sententia aestimarunt sestertio viciens, cetera valde inliberaliter, Tusculanam villam quingentis milibus, Formianum HS ducentis quinquaginta milibus. Quae aestimatio non modo vehementer ab optimo quoque, sed etiam a plebe reprenditur. Dices: ‘Quid igitur causae fuit?’ Dicunt illi quidem pudorem meum, quod neque negarim neque vehementius postularim; sed non est id: nam hoc quidem etiam profuisset. Verum iidem, mi T. Pomponi, iidem, inquam, illi, quos ne tu quidem ignoras, qui mihi pinnas inciderant, nolunt easdem renasci. Sed, ut spero, iam renascuntur. Tu modo ad nos veni; quod vereor ne tardius interventu Varronis tui nostrique facias.
Quoniam, acta quae sint, habes, de reliqua nostra cogitatione cognosce. Ego me a Pompeio legari ita sum passus, ut nulla re impedirer. Quod nisi vellem mihi esset integrum, ut, si comitia censorum proximi consules haberent, petere possem, votivam legationem sumpsissem prope omnium fanorum, lucorum; sic enim nostrae rationes utilitatis meae postulabant. Sed volui meam potestatem esse vel petendi vel ineunte
consent the concession was unwillingly made. On the next day the decree which I send was passed. Then the consuls gave out the contract for the restoration of the portico of Catulus; and the contractors immediately pulled down that portico of his to everybody’s satisfaction. The consuls valued my house at nearly £18,000[[113]] at their assessor’s advice: and the other things very stingily—my Tusculan villa at £4,400 and my Formian at £2,200.[[114]] This estimate was violently decried not only by all the conservative party, but by the people too. If you ask me the reason, they say it was my bashfulness, as I did not refuse or make pressing demands. But that is not the reason; for that in itself would have counted for me. But the fact is, my dear Pomponius, those very same men—you know quite well who I mean—who cut my wings, do not wish them to grow again. But I hope they are growing. Do you only come to me. But I fear you may be delayed by the visit of your and my friend Varro.
There you have all that has happened. Now you shall dip into my thoughts. I have let myself be appointed legate to Pompey with a reservation that it should not hamper me at all. If I did not want to have a free hand to stand for the censorship, if the next consuls hold a censorial election, I would have taken a votive commission[[115]] to nearly any shrines or groves. For that was what suited my idea of my interests best. But I wanted to be free either to stand for election or to quit the city at the beginning of summer and meanwhile I thought it good policy