Page:Plutarch's Lives (Clough, v.5, 1865).djvu/78

 70 CICERO. losopliy out of the souls of men, and in imprinting the passions of the common people, by custom and conversa- tion, in the minds of those that take a part in governing them, unless the politician be very careful so to engage in public affairs as to interest himself only in the affairs themselves, but not participate in the passions that are consequent to them. •Clodiu.s, having thus driven away Cicero, fell to burn- ing his farms and villas, and afterwards his city house, and built on the site of it a temple to Liberty. The rest of his property he exposed to sale by daily proclamation, but nobody came to buy. By these courses he became formidable to the noble citizens, and, being followed by the commonalty, whom he had filled with insolence and licentiousness, he began at last to try his strength against Pompey, some of whose an-angements in the countries he conquered, he attacked. The disgrace of this made Pom- pey begin to reproach himself for his cowardice in desert- ing Cicero, and, changing his mind, he now wholly set himself with his friends to contrive his return. And when Clodius opposed it, the senate made a vote that no public measure should be ratified or passed by them till Cicero was recalled. But when Lentulus was consul, the commotions grew so high upon this matter, that the tri- bunes were wounded in the Forum, and Quintus, Cicero's brother, was left as dead, lying unobserved amongst the slain. The people began to change in their feelings ; and Annius Milo, one of their tribimes, was the first who took pie think," and is commonly used confine his attention strictly to defi- for people's good opinion, " glory," nite objects and acts, but lets hira- or "reputation." On the otiier self be affected by the results, by hand, the philosophers employ it to people's good or bad opinion about express opinion, which may be them, his real convictions and false, as opposed to hiowledge, which knowledge will soon be overpow- must be of the truth. If a philoso- ered. phcr, engaged in politics, does not