45.37
Then
Servilius began: "How great a commander L. Aemilius has shown himself
may be estimated, if by nothing else, at all events by this simple fact, that
though he had in his camp such mutinous and fickle soldiers, and a man so
notorious for his impulsiveness and power of rousing a multitude bent on
mischief by his eloquence, yet he never had a mutiny in his camp. The same
stern exercise of authority, which they now detest, kept them as a united
body. Held fast by the ancient discipline, they neither uttered a seditious
word nor acted in a seditious way. As to Servilius Galba, if he wished to
make his first essay, and give us a specimen of his eloquence by accusing L.
Paulus, he ought not to have stood in the way of his triumph, if for no other
reason at least for this, that the senate had judged it just and right. He ought
to have waited till the morrow of his triumph, when he would see him as a
private citizen and would be able to indict him before a magistrate, or at a
later time, as soon as he himself had taken up the duties of a magistrate, he
could impeach his enemy and prosecute him before the Assembly. In that
way Lucius Paulus would have been rewarded by a triumph for having done
his duty in conducting a war so gloriously, and would have been punished
for anything he had done unworthy of his former reputation and his
newly-acquired glory. But see! He could not say anything against his
conduct as a citizen or his character as a man, so he tried to besmirch his
reputation. Yesterday afternoon he asked for a whole day in which to bring
his accusations against L. Paulus; he took up what was left of the day -four
hours -with his speech. What man has ever been placed upon his trial, so
steeped in guilt that the crimes of his life could not be recounted in that
number of hours? What, however, did he bring up which L. Paulus, were he
on his trial, would wish to deny?
"Let some one picture to himself for a moment two assemblies, the
one made up of the soldiers who served in Macedonia, the other free from
prejudice, with a judgment unwarped by either partiality or aversion -the
whole of the people of Rome sitting as judges. Suppose the defendant were
first brought before the assembly of civilians clad in their peaceful togas.
What would you say, Servilius Galba, before the Quirites of Rome? You said
yesterday: 'Your outpost duty was too arduous, too much of a strain; the
inspection of the night watches was too inconsiderate and incessant; you did
heavier fatigue duty than formerly, when the commander himself went round
and inspected. You had a march, and then went straight into battle on the
same day, and even after you had won the victory, you were not allowed any
rest; you were instantly sent in pursuit of the enemy. It was within his power
to make you rich by distributing the plunder; he is going to carry the royal
wealth in his triumphal procession and then put it into the treasury.' This sort
of talk has a certain sting in it to goad on men who think that sufficient
deference has not been shown to their licence and avarice. But it would have
no influence with the people of Rome. They might not remember the
old-time stories, and those which they have heard from their fathers, the
defeats incurred by commanders who wished to be popular, and the victories
won by stern and strict discipline; but they have not at all events forgotten
the last Punic war, the difference between M. Minucius, the Master of the
Horse, and Q. Fabius Maximus, the Dictator. So it is quite clear that the
accuser would not have had a word to say, and any defence by Paulus would
have been superfluous. "Now let us pass to the other assembly. I think I shall
call you 'soldiers,' and not 'Quirites,' if that title can at least call up a blush
and evoke in you a feeling of shame for the way you have insulted your
commander.