Steven Saylor - Catilina's riddle

He saw the look on my face, then looked at Meto, whose guilty expression was even more pronounced. Catilina pursed his lips and a shadow of doubt crossed his face. 'It was Caelius, then. It must have been. But you didn't betray me to the men pursuing me; you guessed that I was here, but you didn't tell. Did you?' He looked uneasily towards the mouth of the mine.

'No, Catilina. We came here in secret.'

He sighed and studied the flames that danced beneath his spitted apple. 'Forgive me. These last few days have dealt me quite a blow. Men whom I thought my friends have turned their backs on me. Men whom I never thought to fear have wished me dead to my face. Cicero! May his eyes rot!'

'May his tongue turn black!' said Tongilius, with a vehemence I had never seen in him before. He picked up one of the apples and hurled it against a nearby wall, where it exploded against the stone.

'His tongue is already black,' said Catilina, 'as we know from having heard the offal that flowed from his mouth today.'

'Then let it be eaten by worms!' shouted Tongilius, who clenched his fists and began to pace. There was not room enough for his anger; after a moment he went to the wall and pulled himself over with a single bound.

'The rain will cool him off,' said Catilina, whose eyes had never left the fire.

'My son Eco was here a few days ago,' I said. 'He told me that you were under voluntary house arrest, pending charges under the Plautian Law. Why have you left Rome? What has happened?'

Catilina raised his eyes from the fire. By some trick of the flames his face appeared to be both amused and grim. 'The world has come apart at its seams and is quickly unravelling.'

'Another riddle?'

'No. For you, Gordianus, I shall bite my tongue and speak without devices. Your son Eco told you that I was under house arrest. What else did he tell you?'

"That Cicero persuaded the Senate to pass something called the Extreme Decree in Defence of the State.'

'Yes, the same tool their grandfathers used to get rid of Gaius Gracchus. I suppose I should be flattered. Of course, every bit of evidence that Cicero put forward was fabricated.'

'How?'

'He told them that I planned to massacre half the Senate on the twenty-eighth day of October. For proof he brought forth anonymous letters that had been received by certain parties warning them to flee the city. What sort of proof is that? Do you know who I think wrote those letters? Cicero's oh-so-clever secretary, Tiro, taking dictation from his master. The vile little toad.'

'Speak no ill of Tiro to me, Catilina. I have fond memories of him, from the days when he helped me investigate the case of Sextus Roscius.'

'That was years ago! Since then he's grown as corrupt as his master. Slaves follow the course of the man who owns them, you know that'

'Never mind; you say the letters originated with Cicero himself' 'Do you think I wrote them? Or some hand-wringer among my supporters, wanting to secretly alert a few friends before I set loose a bloodbath? Nonsense! The whole concoction was devised by Cicero for two purposes: to create hysteria and fear among the senators, who are always ready to believe someone is out to murder them — as they should rightly fear — and to test those who received the anonymous letters. Crassus was among them. I had thought I could count on him — if not on his overt support, then at least on his discretion — but when presented with the opportunity to turn his back on me he took it. To keep himself out of trouble, to separate his fortunes from mine, he went directly to Cicero to report the warning in the letter. Surely he must have known it came from the consul himself! What a farce, the two of them playacting for the benefit of the Senate! How could a man as proud as Crassus allow Cicero to manipulate him in such a manner? Don't worry, he'll take his revenge on the New Man from Arpinum in his own way, sooner or later.

'To keep the senators in a state of hysteria, Cicero made more shocking revelations, all based on his supposedly infallible network of spies and informers. First he claimed that on a particular day — the twenty-seventh day of October — my colleague Manlius would take up arms in Faesulae. What of it? Manlius has been training the Sullan veterans for months, and there's nothing illegal in that. But sure enough, on the very day that Cicero had predicted, one of the senators reads aloud a letter that he's received, saying that Manlius and his soldiers have taken up arms and begun to fight To fight whom, where? It's all nonsense, but Cicero nods sagely and the senators swallow hard. He predicted it, and it came true. The letter proves it. A letter, do you see? Another piece of Tiro's handiwork, taking dictation straight from Cicero's lips.

'And then came Cicero's outrageous accusation that I was planning a surprise attack on the town ofPraeneste on the Kalends of November. To fend it off Cicero called out the garrison ofRome — how convenient that Praeneste is so close to the south. No attack materialized; not surprising, since none was planned, and even if one had been planned, announcing knowledge of a secret attack ahead of time by definition prevents the possibility. Puffing himself up like a frog, the consul declares himself the saviour of Praeneste — when the whole affair was a fantasy! What a mighty general, able to foresee and forestall attacks that were never to take place!

'No tactic is too low. He issued orders to break up the gladiator farms across Italy — as if I were the instigator of a slave uprising! He offered huge rewards to anyone who would come forward and betray the so-called conspiracy — for slaves, freedom and a hundred thousand sesterces; for free men, two hundred thousand sesterces and a full pardon! So far, no one has come forward to claim these glittering prizes. Such silence is merely proof of the fear these monsters inspire in their minions, says Cicero — ignoring the obvious point that there is no plot to betray!'

Catilina shook his head. 'When one of his lackeys brought charges against me, using the Plautian Law, I thought it best to simply submit, to make a show of cooperation. My enemies have subjected me to so many spurious trials that one more hardly casts fear in my heart. Not that I didn't manage to have a bit of fun at Cicero's expense.' Lit by the flames, I thought I saw a mischievous smile on his lips.

'What do you mean?'

'Why, I went straight to Cicero and offered to put myself into his custody! If I must be under house arrest, I said, let it be in the house of the consul himself — where else might I be more closely watched and kept from my nefarious plotting? What a quandary that posed for Cicero! If I was such an immediate menace, it would seem to be his duty to take me into custody; on the other hand, how could he continue to rant about my mad schemes if he had me safely under his own roof? It didn't suit his purpose, so he turned down my offer. Even so, he managed to twist matters to his own advantage. Not being safe in the same city with me, he said, how could he be safe having me in his house? I would murder him and his whole family if I had the chance, with my bare hands if I had to. Others turned down my offer as well, either because they were afraid to associate with me or were afraid for their lives. When I finally put myself into the charge of Marcus Metellus, as impartial a man as I could imagine, Cicero said I was merely taking refuge with one of my supporters. Poor Metellus! Now I've given him the slip, and everyone will think the worst of him.'

'Why did you flee the city?' said Meto.

'Because today, before the Senate, Cicero said that he would see me dead — as bluntly as that! I have no reason to doubt him I fled for my life.'

"The men Cicero sent after you tell another story,' I said. 'They say you sent men to murder Cicero, yesterday morning.'