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17“That these and all his other acts, then, were correct and most thoroughly in accord with Caesar’s intention, the facts themselves show. For the rebellion went no farther, and Antony, far from suffering punishment for his course, was subsequently appointed consul. 2Notice also, now, I beg of you, how he administered this office of his; for you will find, if you examine the matter carefully, that his tenure of it proved of great value to the city. His traducer, of course, knows this, but not being able to control his jealousy, has dared to slander him for those deeds which he would have longed to do himself. 3That is why he introduced the matter of his stripping and anointing and those ancient fables, not because any of them was called for on the present occasion, but in order to drown out by irrelevant noise Antony’s consummate skill and success. 4Yet this same Antony, witness earth and gods! (I shall call louder than you and invoke them with greater justice), when he saw that the city was already in reality under a tyranny, inasmuch as all the legions obeyed Caesar and all the people together with the senate submitted to him 5to such an extent that they voted, among other measures, that he should be dictator for life and use the trappings of the kings—this Antony, I say, convinced Caesar of his error most cleverly and restrained him most prudently, until Caesar, abashed and afraid, would not accept either the name of king or the diadem, which he had in mind to bestow upon himself even against our will. 6Any other man, now, would have declared that he had been ordered by his superior to do all this, and putting forward the compulsion as an excuse, would have obtained pardon for it—and why not, considering that we had passed such votes at that time and that the soldiers had gained such power? 7Antony, however, because he was thoroughly acquainted with Caesar’s intentions and perfectly aware of all he was preparing to do, by great good judgment succeeded in turning him aside from his course and dissuaded him. 8The proof is that Caesar afterwards no longer behaved in any way like a monarch, but mingled publicly and unprotected with us all; and for this reason more than for any other it became possible that he should meet the fate he did.
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