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19“This being the case, although a large measure of safety was afforded even by Caesar both to you and to me for the discussion of pressing questions, yet since you have further voted to assemble under guard, we must frame all our words and acts this day in such a fashion as to settle the present difficulties and to provide for the future, that we may not again be compelled to decide in a similar way about them. 2Now that our situation is difficult and dangerous and requires much care and thought, you yourselves have made evident, if in no other way, at least by this measure; for you would not have voted to keep the senate-house under guard, if it had been possible for you to deliberate without fear in accordance with your accustomed good order and in quiet. 3We must also accomplish something of importance by very reason of the soldiers who are here, so that we may not incur the disgrace that would certainly follow from asking for them as if we feared somebody, and then neglecting affairs as if we were liable to no danger. We should then appear to have acquired them only nominally on behalf of the city against Antony, 4but in reality to have given them to him to be used against ourselves, and it would look as if in addition to the other legions which he is gathering against his country he needed to acquire these very men also, in order that you might not pass any vote against him even to -day.
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