as the latter, who thought
himself extremely wise, deceived on that occasion by Clodius,--if we
ought to say Clodius and not Caesar and his party. For the law that
Clodius proposed after this trick was not on its face enacted against
Cicero (i.e. it did not contain his name), but against all those simply
who put to death or had put to death any citizen without the
condemnation of the populace; yet in fact it was drawn up as strongly as
possible against that one man.

It brought within its scope, indeed, all the senate, because they had
charged the consuls with the protection of the city, by which act it was
permitted the latter to take such steps, and subsequently had voted to
condemn Lentulus and the rest who at that time suffered the death
penalty. Cicero, however, incurred the responsibility alone or most of
all, because he had laid information against them and had each time made
the proposition and put the vote and had finally seen to their execution
by the agents entrusted with such business. For this reason he took
vigorous retaliatory measures, and discarding senatorial dress went
about in the garb of the knights, paying court meanwhile, as he went
back and forth, day and night alike to all who had any influence, not
only of his friends but also of his opponents, and especially to Pompey
and Caesar, inasmuch as they did not show their enmity toward him. [-15-]
In their anxiety not to appear by their own action to have set Clodius
on or to be pleased with his measures, they devised the following way,
which suited them admirably and was obscure to their foe, for deceiving
Cicero. Caesar advised him to yield, for fear he might perish if he
remained where he was: and in order to have it believed the more readily
that he was doing this through good will, he promised that the other
should employ him as helper, so that he might retire from Clodius's path
not with reproach and as if under examination, but in command and with
honor.

Pompey, however, turned him aside from this course, calling the act
outright desertion, and uttering insinuations against Caesar to the
effect that through enmity he was not giving sound advice; for his own
counsel, as expressed, was for Cicero to remain and come to the aid of
the senate and himself with outspokenness, and to defend himself
immediately against Clodius: the latter, he declared, would not be able
to accomplish anything with the orator present and confronting him and
would fur