Page:Cicero And The Fall Of The Roman Republic.djvu/459

43 B.C] was met by an appropriate acknowledgment, and an intimation that if they wished well to the State they must stand firm against Antony. When the news arrived that Dolabella had murdered Trebonius, he was declared a public enemy, and Brutus and Cassius were invested with full powers in the East. All this was not accomplished without some opposition. "We have a brave Senate," Cicero writes, "but all the courage seems to be on the lower benches." The consulars were "partly timid and partly ill-disposed." Cicero's policy was too straightforward and decided for them. "They pose as far-seeing citizens and earnest Senators. They say that I have sounded the trumpet for war. They are advocates of peace. They argue, 'It will not do to rouse Antony's displeasure; he is a dangerous man and a bold one; there are many disloyal persons, and we must be cautious of them.' Well, they say the truth here; and, if they wish to count up those persons, they may begin with themselves who utter words like these." Cicero would fain stimulate them to action worthy of their high station. "Heavens! what a task it is to support with dignity the character of a chief of the Roman commonwealth; those who bear it should shrink from offending not only the minds but the eyes of their fellow-citizens. When they receive the envoy of our enemies at their houses, admit him to their chambers, even draw him apart in