Scaife ATLAS

For L. Flaccus (60-64)

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0474.phi017.perseus-eng2:60-64

Refs	`{'start': {'reference': '60', 'human_reference': 'Section 60'}, 'end': {'reference': '64', 'human_reference': 'Section 64'}}`
Ancestors	`[]`
Children	`[]`

plain text • XML

And if I were to speak of these matters as they ought to be spoken of, I should, O judges, press more strongly than I have as yet done, the point of how much credit it was reasonable for you to give Asiatic witnesses. I should recall your recollections to the time of the Mithridatic war, to that miserable and inhuman massacre of all the Roman citizens, in so many cities, at one and the same moment. I should remind you of our praetors who were surrendered, of our ambassadors who were thrown into prison, of almost all memory of the Roman name and every trace of its empire effaced, not only from the habitations of the Greeks, but even from their writings. They called Mithridates a god, they called him their father and the preserver of Asia, they called him Evius, Nysius, Bacchus, Liber.

It was the same time, when all Asia shut its gates against Lucius Flaccus, the consul, and not only received that Cappadocian into their cities, but even spontaneously invited him. Let us be allowed, if not to forget these things, at least

452

to be silent respecting them. Let me be allowed rather to complain of the inconstancy of the Greeks than of their cruelty. Are these two men to have influence with a people which they wished utterly to destroy? For whomsoever they could they slew while in the garb of peace; as far as depended on them they annihilated the name of Roman citizens.

Shall they then give themselves airs in a city which they hate? among those people whom, if they had their will, they would not look upon? in that republic to the destruction of which it was their power that was unequal, and not their inclination? Let them behold this noble body of ambassadors and panegyrists of Flaccus who have come from the real honest Greece. Then let them weigh themselves in the balance, let them compare themselves with these men; then, if they dare, let them compare their dignity with that of these men.

Athenians are here, citizens of that city from which civilization, learning, religion, corn, laws, and institutions are supposed to have arisen, and to have been disseminated over the whole earth—that city, for the possession of which there is said to have been, by reason of its beauty, a contest even among the gods: a city which is of that antiquity that she is said to have produced her citizens from her own womb, so that the same land is called the parent, and nurse, and country of her people. And she is of such authority that the name of Greece, now enfeebled and almost broken, rests upon the glory of this city.

Lacedaemonians are here; men of that city, whose tried and glorious virtue is considered not only to be implanted in them by nature, but also to be fortified by discipline. The only men in the whole world who have been living for now seven hundred years and more under one system, and under laws which have never been altered.

Many deputies are here from all Achaia, Boeotia, and Thessaly, places in which Lucius Flaccus has lately been in command as lieutenant under Metellus as commander-in-chief. Nor do I pass you over, O Marseilles, you who have known Lucius Flaccus as soldier and as quaestor,—a city, the strict discipline and wisdom of which I do not know whether I might not say was superior, not only to that of Greece, but to that of any nation whatever; a city which, though so far separated from the districts of all the Greeks, and from their fashions and language, and though placed in the extremity of the world and surrounded by tribes of Gauls, and washed with the waves of barbarism, is so regulated and governed by the counsels of its chief men, that there is no nation which does not find it easier to praise its institutions than to imitate them.

Flaccus has these states as his panegyrists and as witnesses of his innocence, so that we may resist the covetousness of some Greeks by the assistance of others.

Although, who is there who is ignorant, provided he has only taken the most ordinary trouble to make himself acquainted with these matters, that there are in reality three different races of Greeks; of which the Athenians are one, being considered an Ionic nation; the Aeolians are another; the third were called Dorians. And the whole of this land of Greece, which flourished so greatly with fame, with glory, with learning, and many arts, and even with wide dominion and military renown, occupies as you know, and always has occupied, but a small part of Europe. It surrounded the seacoast of Asia with cities after it had subdued it in war; not in order to increase the prosperity of Asia by fortifying it with colonies, but in order to keep its hold upon it by placing it in a state of siege.

Tokens

And	1	w	3
if	1	w	5
I	1	w	6
were	1	w	10
to	1	w	12
speak	1	w	17
of	1	w	19
these	1	w	24
matters	1	w	31
as	1	w	33
they	1	w	37
ought	1	w	42
to	2	w	44
be	1	w	46
spoken	1	w	52
of	2	w	54
I	2	w	56
should	1	w	62
O	1	w	64
judges	1	w	70
press	1	w	76
more	1	w	80
strongly	1	w	88
than	1	w	92
I	3	w	93
have	1	w	97
as	2	w	99
yet	1	w	102
done	1	w	106
the	3	w	110
point	1	w	115
of	3	w	117
how	1	w	120
much	1	w	124
credit	1	w	130
it	2	w	132
was	1	w	135
reasonable	1	w	145
for	1	w	148
you	1	w	151
to	3	w	153
give	1	w	157
Asiatic	1	w	164
witnesses	1	w	173
I	4	w	175
should	2	w	181
recall	1	w	187
your	1	w	191
recollections	1	w	204
to	4	w	206
the	4	w	209
time	1	w	213
of	4	w	215
the	5	w	218
Mithridatic	1	w	229
war	1	w	232
to	5	w	235
that	1	w	239
miserable	1	w	248
and	1	w	251
inhuman	1	w	258
massacre	1	w	266
of	5	w	268
all	2	w	271
the	6	w	274
Roman	1	w	279
citizens	1	w	287
in	3	w	290
so	2	w	292
many	1	w	296
cities	1	w	302
at	5	w	305
one	2	w	308
and	2	w	311
the	7	w	314
same	1	w	318
moment	1	w	324
I	5	w	326
should	3	w	332
remind	1	w	338
you	3	w	341
of	6	w	343
our	2	w	346
praetors	1	w	354
who	1	w	357
were	2	w	361
surrendered	1	w	372
of	7	w	375
our	3	w	378
ambassadors	1	w	389
who	2	w	392
were	3	w	396
thrown	1	w	402
into	1	w	406
prison	1	w	412
of	8	w	415
almost	1	w	421
all	3	w	424
memory	1	w	430
of	9	w	432
the	8	w	435
Roman	2	w	440
name	1	w	444
and	3	w	447
every	1	w	452
trace	1	w	457
of	10	w	459
its	1	w	462
empire	1	w	468
effaced	1	w	475
not	1	w	479
only	1	w	483
from	1	w	487
the	9	w	490
habitations	1	w	501
of	11	w	503
the	10	w	506
Greeks	1	w	512
but	1	w	516
even	1	w	520
from	2	w	524
their	1	w	529
writings	1	w	537
They	1	w	542
called	1	w	548
Mithridates	1	w	559
a	41	w	560
god	1	w	563
they	2	w	568
called	2	w	574
him	1	w	577
their	2	w	582
father	1	w	588
and	4	w	591
the	15	w	594
preserver	1	w	603
of	12	w	605
Asia	2	w	609
they	3	w	614
called	3	w	620
him	2	w	623
Evius	1	w	628
Nysius	1	w	635
Bacchus	1	w	643
Liber	1	w	649
It	1	w	652
was	2	w	655
the	17	w	658
same	2	w	662
time	2	w	666
when	1	w	671
all	7	w	674
Asia	3	w	678
shut	1	w	682
its	2	w	685
gates	1	w	690
against	1	w	697
Lucius	1	w	703
Flaccus	1	w	710
the	18	w	714
consul	1	w	720
and	5	w	724
not	2	w	727
only	2	w	731
received	1	w	739
that	2	w	743
Cappadocian	1	w	754
into	2	w	758
their	3	w	763
cities	2	w	769
but	2	w	773
even	2	w	777
spontaneously	1	w	790
invited	1	w	797
him	3	w	800
Let	1	w	804
us	7	w	806
be	3	w	808
allowed	1	w	815
if	2	w	818
not	3	w	821
to	9	w	823
forget	1	w	829
these	2	w	834
things	1	w	840
at	11	w	843
least	1	w	848
to	10	w	850
be	4	w	852
silent	1	w	858
respecting	1	w	868
them	1	w	872
Let	2	w	876
me	8	w	878
be	5	w	880
allowed	2	w	887
rather	1	w	893
to	11	w	895
complain	1	w	903
of	13	w	905
the	23	w	908
inconstancy	1	w	919
of	14	w	921
the	24	w	924
Greeks	2	w	930
than	2	w	934
of	15	w	936
their	4	w	941
cruelty	1	w	948
Are	1	w	952
these	3	w	957
two	1	w	960
men	2	w	963
to	12	w	965
have	2	w	969
influence	1	w	978
with	1	w	982
a	71	w	983
people	1	w	989
which	1	w	994
they	4	w	998
wished	1	w	1004
utterly	1	w	1011
to	13	w	1013
destroy	1	w	1020
For	1	w	1024
whomsoever	1	w	1034
they	5	w	1038
could	1	w	1043
they	6	w	1047
slew	1	w	1051
while	1	w	1056
in	15	w	1058
the	30	w	1061
garb	1	w	1065
of	16	w	1067
peace	1	w	1072
as	9	w	1075
far	1	w	1078
as	10	w	1080
depended	1	w	1088
on	13	w	1090
them	2	w	1094
they	7	w	1098
annihilated	1	w	1109
the	33	w	1112
name	2	w	1116
of	17	w	1118
Roman	3	w	1123
citizens	2	w	1131
Shall	1	w	1137
they	8	w	1141
then	1	w	1145
give	2	w	1149
themselves	1	w	1159
airs	1	w	1163
in	16	w	1165
a	83	w	1166
city	1	w	1170
which	2	w	1175
they	9	w	1179
hate	1	w	1183
among	1	w	1189
those	1	w	1194
people	2	w	1200
whom	2	w	1204
if	3	w	1207
they	10	w	1211
had	1	w	1214
their	5	w	1219
will	1	w	1223
they	11	w	1228
would	1	w	1233
not	4	w	1236
look	1	w	1240
upon	1	w	1244
in	17	w	1247
that	3	w	1251
republic	1	w	1259
to	14	w	1261
the	41	w	1264
destruction	1	w	1275
of	18	w	1277
which	3	w	1282
it	17	w	1284
was	3	w	1287
their	6	w	1292
power	1	w	1297
that	4	w	1301
was	4	w	1304
unequal	1	w	1311
and	6	w	1315
not	5	w	1318
their	7	w	1323
inclination	1	w	1334
Let	3	w	1338
them	4	w	1342
behold	1	w	1348
this	1	w	1352
noble	1	w	1357
body	1	w	1361
of	19	w	1363
ambassadors	2	w	1374
and	7	w	1377
panegyrists	1	w	1388
of	20	w	1390
Flaccus	2	w	1397
who	5	w	1400
have	3	w	1404
come	1	w	1408
from	3	w	1412
the	45	w	1415
real	1	w	1419
honest	1	w	1425
Greece	1	w	1431
Then	1	w	1436
let	1	w	1439
them	5	w	1443
weigh	1	w	1448
themselves	2	w	1458
in	20	w	1460
the	48	w	1463
balance	1	w	1470
let	2	w	1474
them	7	w	1478
compare	1	w	1485
themselves	3	w	1495
with	2	w	1499
these	4	w	1504
men	3	w	1507
then	2	w	1512
if	4	w	1515
they	12	w	1519
dare	1	w	1523
let	3	w	1527
them	9	w	1531
compare	2	w	1538
their	8	w	1543
dignity	1	w	1550
with	3	w	1554
that	5	w	1558
of	21	w	1560
these	5	w	1565
men	4	w	1568
Athenians	1	w	1578
are	4	w	1581
here	1	w	1585
citizens	3	w	1594
of	22	w	1596
that	6	w	1600
city	2	w	1604
from	4	w	1608
which	4	w	1613
civilization	1	w	1625
learning	1	w	1634
religion	1	w	1643
corn	1	w	1648
laws	1	w	1653
and	8	w	1657
institutions	1	w	1669
are	5	w	1672
supposed	1	w	1680
to	15	w	1682
have	4	w	1686
arisen	1	w	1692
and	9	w	1696
to	16	w	1698
have	5	w	1702
been	1	w	1706
disseminated	1	w	1718
over	1	w	1722
the	58	w	1725
whole	1	w	1730
earth	1	w	1735
that	7	w	1740
city	3	w	1744
for	3	w	1748
the	59	w	1751
possession	1	w	1761
of	23	w	1763
which	5	w	1768
there	1	w	1773
is	8	w	1775
said	1	w	1779
to	17	w	1781
have	6	w	1785
been	2	w	1789
by	1	w	1792
reason	2	w	1798
of	24	w	1800
its	3	w	1803
beauty	1	w	1809
a	127	w	1811
contest	1	w	1818
even	3	w	1822
among	2	w	1827
the	61	w	1830
gods	1	w	1834
a	129	w	1836
city	4	w	1840
which	6	w	1845
is	9	w	1847
of	25	w	1849
that	8	w	1853
antiquity	1	w	1862
that	9	w	1866
she	2	w	1869
is	10	w	1871
said	2	w	1875
to	18	w	1877
have	7	w	1881
produced	1	w	1889
her	5	w	1892
citizens	4	w	1900
from	5	w	1904
her	6	w	1907
own	2	w	1910
womb	1	w	1914
so	6	w	1917
that	10	w	1921
the	62	w	1924
same	3	w	1928
land	1	w	1932
is	11	w	1934
called	4	w	1940
the	63	w	1943
parent	1	w	1949
and	11	w	1953
nurse	1	w	1958
and	12	w	1962
country	1	w	1969
of	26	w	1971
her	7	w	1974
people	3	w	1980
And	2	w	1984
she	3	w	1987
is	12	w	1989
of	27	w	1991
such	1	w	1995
authority	1	w	2004
that	11	w	2008
the	64	w	2011
name	3	w	2015
of	28	w	2017
Greece	2	w	2023
now	1	w	2027
enfeebled	1	w	2036
and	13	w	2039
almost	2	w	2045
broken	1	w	2051
rests	1	w	2057
upon	2	w	2061
the	65	w	2064
glory	1	w	2069
of	29	w	2071
this	2	w	2075
city	5	w	2079
Lacedaemonians	1	w	2094
are	7	w	2097
here	3	w	2101
men	5	w	2105
of	30	w	2107
that	12	w	2111
city	6	w	2115
whose	1	w	2121
tried	1	w	2126
and	14	w	2129
glorious	1	w	2137
virtue	1	w	2143
is	14	w	2145
considered	1	w	2155
not	6	w	2158
only	3	w	2162
to	19	w	2164
be	10	w	2166
implanted	1	w	2175
in	24	w	2177
them	10	w	2181
by	2	w	2183
nature	1	w	2189
but	3	w	2193
also	1	w	2197
to	20	w	2199
be	11	w	2201
fortified	1	w	2210
by	3	w	2212
discipline	1	w	2222
The	3	w	2226
only	4	w	2230
men	6	w	2233
in	26	w	2235
the	67	w	2238
whole	2	w	2243
world	1	w	2248
who	9	w	2251
have	8	w	2255
been	3	w	2259
living	1	w	2265
for	5	w	2268
now	2	w	2271
seven	1	w	2276
hundred	1	w	2283
years	1	w	2288
and	15	w	2291
more	2	w	2295
under	1	w	2300
one	4	w	2303
system	1	w	2309
and	16	w	2313
under	2	w	2318
laws	2	w	2322
which	7	w	2327
have	9	w	2331
never	1	w	2336
been	4	w	2340
altered	1	w	2347
Many	1	w	2352
deputies	1	w	2360
are	8	w	2363
here	4	w	2367
from	6	w	2371
all	12	w	2374
Achaia	1	w	2380
Boeotia	1	w	2388
and	17	w	2392
Thessaly	1	w	2400
places	1	w	2407
in	28	w	2409
which	8	w	2414
Lucius	2	w	2420
Flaccus	3	w	2427
has	1	w	2430
lately	1	w	2436
been	5	w	2440
in	29	w	2442
command	1	w	2449
as	16	w	2451
lieutenant	1	w	2461
under	3	w	2466
Metellus	1	w	2474
as	17	w	2476
commander-in-chief	1	w	2494
Nor	1	w	2498
do	5	w	2500
I	7	w	2501
pass	1	w	2505
you	4	w	2508
over	2	w	2512
O	2	w	2514
Marseilles	1	w	2524
you	5	w	2528
who	10	w	2531
have	10	w	2535
known	1	w	2540
Lucius	3	w	2546
Flaccus	4	w	2553
as	19	w	2555
soldier	1	w	2562
and	20	w	2565
as	20	w	2567
quaestor	1	w	2575
a	188	w	2578
city	7	w	2582
the	68	w	2586
strict	1	w	2592
discipline	2	w	2602
and	21	w	2605
wisdom	1	w	2611
of	31	w	2613
which	9	w	2618
I	8	w	2619
do	7	w	2621
not	7	w	2624
know	2	w	2628
whether	1	w	2635
I	9	w	2636
might	1	w	2641
not	8	w	2644
say	1	w	2647
was	5	w	2650
superior	1	w	2658
not	9	w	2662
only	5	w	2666
to	22	w	2668
that	13	w	2672
of	32	w	2674
Greece	3	w	2680
but	4	w	2684
to	23	w	2686
that	14	w	2690
of	33	w	2692
any	3	w	2695
nation	2	w	2701
whatever	1	w	2709
a	197	w	2711
city	8	w	2715
which	10	w	2720
though	1	w	2727
so	9	w	2729
far	2	w	2732
separated	1	w	2741
from	7	w	2745
the	70	w	2748
districts	1	w	2757
of	34	w	2759
all	13	w	2762
the	71	w	2765
Greeks	3	w	2771
and	22	w	2775
from	8	w	2779
their	9	w	2784
fashions	1	w	2792
and	23	w	2795
language	1	w	2803
and	24	w	2807
though	2	w	2813
placed	1	w	2819
in	32	w	2821
the	73	w	2824
extremity	1	w	2833
of	35	w	2835
the	74	w	2838
world	2	w	2843
and	25	w	2846
surrounded	1	w	2856
by	4	w	2858
tribes	1	w	2864
of	36	w	2866
Gauls	1	w	2871
and	26	w	2875
washed	1	w	2881
with	4	w	2885
the	75	w	2888
waves	1	w	2893
of	37	w	2895
barbarism	1	w	2904
is	20	w	2907
so	10	w	2909
regulated	1	w	2918
and	27	w	2921
governed	1	w	2929
by	5	w	2931
the	76	w	2934
counsels	1	w	2942
of	38	w	2944
its	4	w	2947
chief	2	w	2952
men	7	w	2955
that	15	w	2960
there	2	w	2965
is	21	w	2967
no	15	w	2969
nation	3	w	2975
which	11	w	2980
does	1	w	2984
not	10	w	2987
find	1	w	2991
it	37	w	2993
easier	1	w	2999
to	24	w	3001
praise	1	w	3007
its	5	w	3010
institutions	2	w	3022
than	3	w	3026
to	25	w	3028
imitate	1	w	3035
them	11	w	3039
Flaccus	5	w	3047
has	2	w	3050
these	6	w	3055
states	1	w	3061
as	26	w	3063
his	3	w	3066
panegyrists	2	w	3077
and	28	w	3080
as	27	w	3082
witnesses	2	w	3091
of	39	w	3093
his	4	w	3096
innocence	1	w	3105
so	11	w	3108
that	16	w	3112
we	8	w	3114
may	1	w	3117
resist	1	w	3123
the	80	w	3126
covetousness	1	w	3138
of	40	w	3140
some	1	w	3144
Greeks	4	w	3150
by	6	w	3152
the	81	w	3155
assistance	1	w	3165
of	41	w	3167
others	1	w	3173
Although	1	w	3182
who	11	w	3186
is	28	w	3188
there	3	w	3193
who	12	w	3196
is	29	w	3198
ignorant	1	w	3206
provided	1	w	3215
he	100	w	3217
has	3	w	3220
only	6	w	3224
taken	1	w	3229
the	84	w	3232
most	3	w	3236
ordinary	1	w	3244
trouble	1	w	3251
to	27	w	3253
make	1	w	3257
himself	1	w	3264
acquainted	1	w	3274
with	5	w	3278
these	7	w	3283
matters	2	w	3290
that	17	w	3295
there	4	w	3300
are	9	w	3303
in	38	w	3305
reality	1	w	3312
three	1	w	3317
different	1	w	3326
races	1	w	3331
of	42	w	3333
Greeks	5	w	3339
of	43	w	3342
which	12	w	3347
the	87	w	3350
Athenians	2	w	3359
are	10	w	3362
one	5	w	3365
being	1	w	3371
considered	2	w	3381
an	55	w	3383
Ionic	1	w	3388
nation	4	w	3394
the	89	w	3398
Aeolians	1	w	3406
are	11	w	3409
another	1	w	3416
the	91	w	3420
third	1	w	3425
were	4	w	3429
called	5	w	3435
Dorians	1	w	3442
And	3	w	3446
the	92	w	3449
whole	3	w	3454
of	44	w	3456
this	3	w	3460
land	2	w	3464
of	45	w	3466
Greece	4	w	3472
which	13	w	3478
flourished	1	w	3488
so	13	w	3490
greatly	1	w	3497
with	6	w	3501
fame	1	w	3505
with	7	w	3510
glory	2	w	3515
with	8	w	3520
learning	2	w	3528
and	30	w	3532
many	2	w	3536
arts	1	w	3540
and	31	w	3544
even	5	w	3548
with	9	w	3552
wide	1	w	3556
dominion	1	w	3564
and	32	w	3567
military	1	w	3575
renown	1	w	3581
occupies	1	w	3590
as	30	w	3592
you	6	w	3595
know	3	w	3599
and	33	w	3603
always	1	w	3609
has	4	w	3612
occupied	1	w	3620
but	5	w	3624
a	271	w	3625
small	1	w	3630
part	1	w	3634
of	46	w	3636
Europe	1	w	3642
It	2	w	3645
surrounded	2	w	3655
the	93	w	3658
seacoast	1	w	3666
of	47	w	3668
Asia	4	w	3672
with	10	w	3676
cities	3	w	3682
after	1	w	3687
it	51	w	3689
had	2	w	3692
subdued	1	w	3699
it	52	w	3701
in	42	w	3703
war	2	w	3706
not	12	w	3710
in	43	w	3712
order	1	w	3717
to	28	w	3719
increase	1	w	3727
the	94	w	3730
prosperity	1	w	3740
of	48	w	3742
Asia	5	w	3746
by	7	w	3748
fortifying	1	w	3758
it	54	w	3760
with	11	w	3764
colonies	1	w	3772
but	6	w	3776
in	46	w	3778
order	2	w	3783
to	29	w	3785
keep	1	w	3789
its	6	w	3792
hold	2	w	3796
upon	3	w	3800
it	57	w	3802
by	8	w	3804
placing	1	w	3811
it	58	w	3813
in	48	w	3815
a	283	w	3816
state	2	w	3821
of	49	w	3823
siege	1	w	3828