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was honored. But Quintus Cicero, the brother of Marcus, his slave stole away, and though tortured for this, he did not speak out. But his father, learning what was happening and pitying the slave, voluntarily gave himself up to the executioners. And many, hiding, were running away and went to 2.388 Brutus and Cassius. But the greater part went over to Sextus. For having previously been chosen to command the fleet, and having for some time been powerful at sea, he was gathering a force of his own, although later deprived of his command by Caesar, and he took possession of Sicily. Then, when he too was proscribed and the other massacres occurred, he gave the greatest assistance to those in a similar situation, by welcoming those who came to him and helping them in every way; whence also many came to him. Such things were happening concerning the massacres, and many outrageous things also occurred concerning the property of others, and the houses of the wealthy were being plundered, and they exacted a year's rent from all the houses in the city and in the rest of Italy—the entire amount for rented properties, and half for those which the owners occupied, according to the value of the lodging; and they took away from the owners of lands half of their revenues, and they gave the estates of the slain to the soldiers, some as a gift, and others selling them at a very low price; for it was forbidden for any of the others to come to the market to buy, having set death as the penalty for anyone who did so. And they were giving out offices and honors and priesthoods, and they annulled some laws and wrote others in their place, and did everything according to their own pleasure, so that the monarchy of the slain Caesar was considered a good one. So they did these things that year; but when Marcus Lepidus and Lucius Plancus were consuls in the following year, taxes that had 2.389 lapsed were renewed and other new ones were established, and many things were exacted from the land, and many from the slaves. But what annoyed everyone more than all the other things was the tithing of the property of every man, and likewise woman, who was at all well-to-do. For in word a tenth of their property was collected from each of them, but in deed not even a tenth was left to anyone. And something else had also been devised. For it was granted to anyone who wished to give up all his property to claim a third of it back afterwards, which is to say, to receive nothing and to have trouble. For how could those who were obviously plundering the two parts by force have given back the third? And very many other things were inflicted on the people at that time, driving them to poverty, and only those who had weapons became exceedingly rich. Thus did those three men act, and at the same time they deified that former Caesar, and voted many and varied honors for him. And having done these things, Lepidus remained in Rome to manage the city and the rest of Italy, while Caesar and Antony marched against Brutus and Cassius. For they, learning that Caesar Octavius was taking control of affairs and winning over the populace, despaired of the republic and, fearing him, went to Athens. And the Athenians received them splendidly, and voted bronze statues for them, as men who had emulated their own tyrannicides, I mean Harmodius and Aristogeiton. Then, learning that Caesar was growing more powerful, Cassius hastened to the Syrians, who were familiar to him, while Brutus organized Greece and Macedonia. And 2.390 they paid attention to him both because of the glory of his deeds and because he had acquired and kept numerous soldiers—some wandering about there since the battle at Pharsalus, and others left behind from those who had marched out with Dolabella—and also money had been sent to him from Asia by Trebonius. So he won over the Greek element without trouble, and after this, having also gained all of Macedonia and Epirus, he sent a letter to the senate, reporting what had been done. And they, for they happened at that time to be suspicious of Caesar, both praised him and to rule over all the
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ἐτιμήθη. Κύιντον δὲ Κικέρωνα τὸν τοῦ Μάρκου ἀδελφὸν ὁ παῖς ἐξέκλεψε, καὶ στρεβλωθεὶς ἐπὶ τούτῳ οὐκ ἐξελάλησεν. ὁ δὲ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ μαθὼν τὸ γινόμενον καὶ ἐλεήσας τὸν παῖδα ἐθελοντὴς αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν τοῖς σφαγεῦσι παρέδωκε. πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ λανθάνοντες ἀπεδίδρασκον καὶ πρὸς 2.388 τὸν Βροῦτον ἀπῄεσαν καὶ τὸν Κάσσιον. οἱ δέ γε πλείους τῷ Σέξτῳ προσεχώρουν. ναυαρχεῖν γὰρ πρότερον αἱρεθείς, καὶ χρόνον τινὰ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ δυνηθείς, ἰσχὺν οἰκείαν, καίτοι τῆς ἀρχῆς υστερον ὑπὸ τοῦ Καίσαρος στερηθείς, περιεβάλλετο, καὶ τὴν Σικελίαν κατέσχεν. ειτα, ὡς καὶ ἐκείνῳ ἐπεκηρύχθη αι τε αλλαι σφαγαὶ ἐγένοντο, πλεῖστον τοῖς ὁμοίοις συνήρατο, ὑποδεχόμενος τοὺς ἐς αὐτὸν ἰόντας καὶ παντοίως ἐπικουρῶν· οθεν καὶ συχνοὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ηλθον. Τοιαῦτα μὲν περὶ τὰς σφαγὰς ἐγίνετο, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ατοπα καὶ περὶ τὰς τῶν αλλων οὐσίας συνέβαινε, καὶ αἱ τῶν εὐπόρων οἰκίαι ἐπορθοῦντο, καὶ ἐνοίκιον ἐνιαύσιον πασῶν τῶν ἐν τῷ αστει οἰκιῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ λοιπῇ ̓Ιταλίᾳ ἐπράξαντο, τῶν μὲν μισθωθεισῶν καθ' ὁλόκληρον, ων δ' οἱ δεσπόται ῳκουν, ἐξ ἡμισείας, πρὸς τὴν τῆς καταγωγῆς ἀξίαν· καὶ τοὺς τῶν χωρίων κτήτορας τὸ ημισυ τῶν προσόδων ἀφείλοντο, καὶ τὰ κτήματα τῶν κτεινομένων τοῖς στρατιώταις παρεῖχον, τὰ μὲν δῶρον, τὰ δὲ ἐπευωνίζοντες· ἀπείρητο γὰρ μηδένα τῶν αλλων ἀπαντᾶν εἰς τὸ πρατήριον ὠνησόμενον· θάνατον τάξαντες τῷ ἀπαντήσαντι ἐπιτίμιον. καὶ ἀρχὰς καὶ τιμὰς καὶ ἀρχιερωσύνας ἐδίδοσαν, καὶ νόμους τοὺς μὲν ἀπήλειψαν, τοὺς δὲ ἀντενέγραψαν, καὶ πᾶν κατὰ τὸ δοκοῦν αὐτοῖς επρασσον, ωστε χρηστὴν τὴν τοῦ ἀνῃρημένου Καίσαρος μοναρχίαν νομίζεσθαι. Τὸν μὲν ουν ἐνιαυτὸν ἐκεῖνον ταῦτα ἐποίησαν· τοῦ δὲ Λεπίδου τοῦ Μάρκου τοῦ τε Πλάγκου τοῦ Λουκίου τῷ ἐπιόντι ετει ὑπατευσάντων τέλη τε ηδη 2.389 ἐσχολακότα ἀνενεώθησαν καὶ ἐκ καινῆς προσκατέστησαν ετερα, καὶ πολλὰ μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ γῇ, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς οἰκέταις ἐπράττοντο. ο δὲ πλέον τῶν αλλων πάντας ἠνίασεν, ην τὸ παντὸς οὐσίαν δεκατευθῆναι ὁποσονοῦν εὐποροῦντος ἀνδρὸς ὁμοίως καὶ γυναικός. λόγῳ μὲν γὰρ τὸ δέκατον τῆς οὐσίας παρ' ἑκάστου σφῶν εἰσεπράχθη, εργῳ μέντοι οὐδὲ τὸ δέκατον κατελείφθη τινί. καὶ ετερον δέ τι ἐπινενόητο. τῷ γὰρ βουλομένῳ ἐνεδόθη πάσης τῆς οὐσίας ἐκστάντι τὸ τρίτον μετὰ ταῦτα αὐτῆς ἀπαιτῆσαι, τουτέστι μήτε τι λαβεῖν καὶ πράγματα σχεῖν. οἱ γὰρ βίᾳ τὰ δύο μέρη συλώμενοι προφανῶς, πῶς αν τὸ τρίτον ἀπέλαβον; καὶ αλλα δὲ πλεῖστα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τότε πρὸς πενίαν αὐτοὺς συνελαύνοντα ἐπενήνεκτο, μόνοι δὲ οἱ τὰ οπλα εχοντες ὑπερεπλούτησαν. Ουτως οἱ ανδρες οἱ τρεῖς ἐκεῖνοι ἐποίουν, καὶ αμα τὸν Καίσαρα ἐκεῖνον τὸν πρότερον ἀπεσέμνυνον, καὶ τιμὰς ποικίλας τε καὶ πολλὰς αὐτῷ ἐψηφίσαντο. πράξαντες δὲ ταῦτα, Λέπιδος μὲν ἐν ̔Ρώμῃ τήν τε πόλιν καὶ τὴν αλλην ̓Ιταλίαν διάξων ὑπέμεινε, Καῖσαρ δὲ καὶ ̓Αντώνιος κατὰ τοῦ Βρούτου καὶ τοῦ Κασσίου ἐστράτευσαν. ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ τὸν Καίσαρα τὸν ̓Οκτάβιον μαθόντες τῶν πραγμάτων ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι καὶ τὸν ομιλον σφετερίζεσθαι, τήν τε δημοκρατίαν ἀπέγνων καὶ ἐκεῖνον φοβηθέντες ἐν ̓Αθήναις ἐγένοντο. καὶ οἱ ̓Αθηναῖοι σφᾶς λαμπρῶς ὑπεδέξαντο, καὶ εἰκόνας χαλκᾶς αὐτοῖς ἐψηφίσαντο, ὡς ζηλώσασι τοὺς παρ' αὐτοῖς τυραννοκτόνους, τὸν ̔Αρμόδιον λέγω καὶ τὸν ̓Αριστογείτονα. ειτα πυθόμενοι ἐπὶ μεῖζον τὸν Καίσαρα αιρεσθαι, ὁ μὲν Κάσσιος πρὸς τοὺς Σύρους ωρμησε συνήθεις οντας αὐτῷ, Βροῦτος δὲ τήν τε ̔Ελλάδα καὶ τὴν Μακεδονίαν συνίστη. καὶ 2.390 προσεῖχον αὐτῷ εκ τε τῆς δόξης τῶν πεπραγμένων καὶ οτι καὶ στρατιώτας συχνούς, τοὺς μὲν ἐκ τῆς πρὸς Φαρσάλῳ μάχης ἐκεῖ που περιπλανωμένους, τοὺς δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν τῷ ∆ολοβέλλᾳ συνεξελθόντων ὑπολειφθέντας, προσλαβὼν ειχε, καὶ χρήματα δέ οἱ ἐκ τῆς ̓Ασίας παρὰ τοῦ Τρεβωνίου ἀπέσταλτο. τὸ μὲν ουν ̔Ελληνικὸν ἀπόνως προσεποιήσατο, καὶ τὴν Μακεδονίαν δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο πᾶσαν καὶ τὴν Ηπειρον προσλαβὼν τῇ γερουσίᾳ ἐπέστειλε τὰ πεπραγμένα δηλῶν. οἱ δέ, ετυχον γὰρ τότε ὑπόπτως πρὸς τὸν Καίσαρα εχοντες, καὶ ἐπῄνεσαν αὐτὸν καὶ πάντων αρχειν τῶν