Colleen McCullough - 4. Caesar's Women

Brutus has just rushed in to tell me that my low life half brother Cato has accused you of treason in the House, even admitting he has absolutely no proof! My most precious and darling man, take no notice. It's spite because you stole Atilia and put horns upon his head not to mention that I know she told him he was pipinna compared to you. A fact that I am well able to vouch for myself. The rest of Rome is pipinna compared to you. Remember that Cato is not so much as the dirt beneath a patrician's feet, that he is no more than the descendant of a slave and a cantankerous old peasant who sucked up to patricians enough to get himself made censor whereupon he deliberately ruined as many patricians as he could. This Cato would love to do the same. He loathes all patricians, but you in particular. And did he know what lies between us, Caesar, he would loathe you more. Keep up your courage, ignore the pernicious weed and all his minions. Rome is better served by one Caesar than half a hundred Catos and Bibuluses. As their wives could all testify!

Silanus looked at Caesar with grey dignity and no other emotion. Caesar's face was sad, but not contrite. Then Silanus rose and passed to Cicero's right; he would not vote for Caesar. Nor did many vote for Caesar, though not everyone passed to the right. Metellus Celer, Metellus Nepos, Lucius Caesar, several of the tribunes of the plebs including Labienus, Philippus, Gaius Octavius, both Luculli, Tiberius Claudius Nero, Lucius Cotta, and Torquatus stood to Cicero's left, together with some thirty of the pedarii from the back bench. And Mamercus Princeps Senatus. "I note that Publius Cethegus is among those voting for his brother's execution," said Cicero, "and that Gaius Cassius is among those voting for his cousin's execution. The vote is near enough to unanimous." "The bastard! He always exaggerates!" growled Labienus. "Why not?" asked Caesar, shrugging. "Memories are short and verbatim reports prone to reflect statements like that, as Gaius Cosconius and his scribes are not likely to want to record names." "Where's the note?" asked Labienus, avid to see it. "Cicero's got it now." "Not for long!" said Labienus, turned, walked up to the senior consul pugnaciously, and wrested it from him. "Here, it belongs to you," he said, holding it out to Caesar. "Oh, do read it first, Labienus!" said Caesar, laughing. "I fail to see why you shouldn't know what everyone else knows, even the lady's husband." Men were returning to their seats, but Caesar stood until Cicero recognized him. "Conscript Fathers, you have indicated that nine men must die," said Caesar without emotion. "That is, according to the argument put forward by Marcus Porcius Cato, infinitely the worst punishment the State can decree. In which case, it should be enough. I would like to move that nothing more is done. That no property should be confiscated. The wives and children of the condemned men will never again set eyes on their faces. Therefore that too is punishment enough for harboring a traitor in their bosoms. They should at least continue to have the wherewithal to live." "Well, we all know why you're advocating mercy!" howled Cato. "You don't want to have to support gutter dirt like the three Antonii and their trollop of a mother!" Lucius Caesar, brother of the trollop and uncle of the gutter dirt, launched himself at Cato from one side, and Mamercus Princeps Senatus from the other. Which brought Bibulus, Catulus, Gaius Piso and Ahenobarbus to Cato's defense, fists swinging. Metellus Celer and Metellus Nepos joined the fray, while Caesar stood grinning. "I think," he said to Labienus, "that I ought to ask for tribunician protection!" "As a patrician, Caesar, you're not entitled to tribunician protection," Labienus said solemnly. Finding the fight impossible to break up, Cicero decided to break the meeting up instead; he grabbed Caesar by the arm and hustled him out of the temple of Concord. "For Jupiter's sake, Caesar, go home!" he begged. "What a problem you can be!" "That cuts both ways," said Caesar, glance contemptuous, and made a move to re enter the temple. "Go home, please!" "Not unless you give me your word that there will be no confiscation of property." "I give you my word gladly! Just go!" "I'm going. But don't think I won't hold you to your word."

He had won, but that speech of Caesar's swirled remorselessly through Cicero's mind as he plodded with his lictors and a good party of militia to the house of Lucius Caesar, where Lentulus Sura still lodged. He had sent four of his praetors to fetch Gaius Cethegus, Statilius, Gabinius Capito and Caeparius, but felt he must collect Lentulus Sura himself; the man had been consul. Was the price too high? No! The moment these traitors were dead Rome would quieten magically; any thought of insurrection would vanish from all men's imaginations. Nothing deterred like execution. If Rome executed more often, crime would diminish. As for the trial process, Cato was right on both counts. They were guilty out of their own mouths, so to try them was a waste of State money. And the trouble with the trial process was that it could so easily and deftly be tampered with, provided someone was prepared to put up enough cash to meet the jury's price. Tarquinius had accused Crassus, and though logic said Crassus could not be involved in any way it had been he, after all, who gave Cicero the first concrete evidence the seed was sown in Cicero's mind. What if Crassus had been involved, then thought better of it, and craftily engineered those letters? Catulus and Gaius Piso had accused Caesar. So had Cato. None of them with one iota of proof, and all of them Caesar's implacable enemies. But the seed was sown. What about that item Cato produced about Caesar's conspiring to assassinate Lucius Cotta and Torquatus nearly three years before? There had been a wild rumor about an assassination plot at the time, though the culprit at the time had been said to be Catilina. Then Lucius Manlius Torquatus had shown his disbelief of the rumor by defending Catilina at his extortion trial. No hint of Caesar's name then. And Lucius Cotta was Caesar's uncle. Yet... Other Roman patricians had conspired to kill close relatives, including Catilina, who had murdered his own son. Yes, patricians were different. Patricians obeyed no laws save those they respected. Look at Sulla, Rome's first true dictator and a patrician. Better than the rest. Certainly better than a Cicero, a lodger from Arpinum, a mere resident alien, a despised New Man. He would have to watch Crassus, decided Cicero. But he would have to watch Caesar even more closely. Look at Caesar's debts who stood to gain more than Caesar by a general cancellation of debt? Wasn't that reason enough to back Catilina? How else could he hope to extricate himself from an otherwise inevitable ruin? He would need to conquer vast tracts as yet untouched by Rome, and Cicero for one deemed that impossible. Caesar was no Pompey; he had never commanded armies. Nor would Rome be tempted to endow him with special commissions! In fact, the more Cicero thought about Caesar, the more convinced he became that Caesar had been a part of the Catilinarian conspiracy, if only because victory for Catilina meant that his burden of debt would be removed. Then as he was returning to the Forum with Lentulus Sura (whom again he led by the hand like a child), another Caesar intruded. Neither as gifted nor as dangerous as Gaius, Lucius Caesar was still a formidable man: consul the year before, an augur, and likely to be elected censor at some time in the future. He and Gaius were close cousins, and they liked each other. But Lucius Caesar had stopped in his tracks, incredulity written on his face as his eyes took in the sight of Cicero leading Lentulus Sura by the hand. "Now?" he asked Cicero. "Now," said Cicero firmly. "Without preparation? Without mercy? Without a bath, clean clothes, the right frame of mind? Are we barbarians?" "It has to be now," Cicero said miserably, "before the sun sets. Don't try to obstruct me, please." Lucius Caesar stepped out of the way ostentatiously. "Oh, the Gods preserve me from obstructing Roman justice!" he said, sneering. "Have you broken the news to my sister that her husband is to die without a bath, without clean clothes?" "I haven't the time!" cried Cicero for something to say. Oh, this was awful! He was only doing his duty! But he couldn't say that to Lucius Caesar, could he? What could he say? "Then I had better go to her house while it's still in Sura's name!" Lucius Caesar snapped. "No doubt you'll be convening the Senate tomorrow to dispose of all the property." "No, no!" Cicero said, almost weeping. "I've given your cousin Gaius my solemn word that there will be no confiscation of property." "Big of you," said Lucius Caesar. He looked at his brother in law Lentulus Sura, lips parted as if to say something; then he shut them firmly, shook his head, and turned away. Nothing could help, nor did he think Lentulus Sura capable of hearing. Shock had parted him from his wits.