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27“Well, then, when he was tribune, he first of all prevented you from accomplishing satisfactorily the business you then had in hand, by shouting and bawling and alone of all the people opposing the public peace of the state, 2until you became vexed and because of his conduct passed the vote that you did. Then, though, as tribune, he was not permitted by law to absent himself for a single night, he ran away from the city, abandoning the duties of his office, and going as a deserter to Caesar’s camp, brought Caesar back against his country, drove you out of Rome and from all the rest of Italy, and, in short, became the prime cause of all the civil disorders that have since taken place among you. 3Had he not at that time acted contrary to your wishes, Caesar would never have found an excuse for the wars and could not, in spite of all his shamelessness, have gathered a sufficient force in defiance of your resolutions; but he would either have voluntarily laid down his arms or have been brought to his senses unwillingly. 4As it is, this fellow is the man who furnished Caesar with his excuses, who destroyed the prestige of the senate, who increased the audacity of the soldiers. He it is who planted the seeds of the evils which sprang up afterward; he it is who has proved the common bane, not only of us, but also of practically the whole world, as, indeed, Heaven clearly indicated. 5For when he proposed those astonishing laws, the whole city was filled with thunder and lightning. Yet this accursed fellow paid no attention to all this, though he claims to be an augur, but filled not only the city but also the whole world with evils and with wars, as I have said.
“Now after this is there any need of mentioning that he served as master of the horse a whole year, something which had never before occurred?
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