Page:Cicero And The Fall Of The Roman Republic.djvu/458

406 Roman People has liberty for its peculiar heritage."

Cicero now stands in the forefront of the battle; his old ideal of "the union of the orders" and the "consent of Italy" is at last realised. From the middle of December onwards his great speeches rapidly succeed one another; he feels that he is giving form and words to the thoughts and aspirations of all that is loyal and true in Rome, and so his eloquence burns free and splendid without reserve or misgiving. Under the Roman constitution, the duty of leading the debates and guiding the counsels of the Senate was not bound up, as it is under our own parliamentary system, with the tenure of executive office. The magistrate might, without any dereliction of duty, confine himself to naming the subject which the Senate was to discuss; it was open to the private Senator to make any motion on the subject in hand, and this motion, if approved by a majority of voices, became a binding instruction to the executive. Thus Cicero, though without any formal office, took the responsibility of the initiative and shaped the policy of the Republic. He was, in fact, prime minister of Rome.

He succeeded, though not without difficulty and delay, in carrying the Senate with him. A state of war was proclaimed, and the citizens assumed their war-cloaks as in a time of imminent danger; Antony's acts were cancelled; votes of confidence and thanks were passed in favour of his adversaries, and each promise of support from the provincial governors