« Sal. Cat. 48 | Sal. Cat. 49 | Sal. Cat. 50 | About This Work »
49But at that very time Quintus Catulus and Gaius Piso tried in vain by entreaties, influence, and bribes to induce Cicero to have a false accusation brought against Gaius Caesar, either through the Allobroges or some other witness. 2For both these men were bitter personal enemies of Caesar, Piso because when he was on trial for extortion Caesar had charged him with unjustly executing a native of Transpadine Gaul, while the hatred of Catulus arose from his candidacy for the pontificate, because after he had attained to a ripe old age and had held the highest offices, he had been defeated by Caesar, who was by comparison a mere youth. 3Moreover, the opportunity for an attack upon Caesar seemed favourable, because he was heavily in debt on account of his eminent generosity in private life and lavish entertainments when in office. 4But when they could not persuade the consul to such an outrageous step, they took the matter into their own hands, and by circulating falsehoods which they pretended to have heard from Volturcius or the Allobroges, stirred up such hostility to Caesar that some Roman knights, who were stationed as an armed guard about the temple of Concord, carried away either by the greatness of the danger or by their own excitability, drew their swords upon Caesar as he was leaving the senate, in order to make their loyalty to their country more conspicuous.
« Sal. Cat. 48 | Sal. Cat. 49 | Sal. Cat. 50 | About This Work »