Hic tribunus plebis designatus et adhuc admodum adulescens, cum alii suaderent, ut per municipia Lentulus coniuratique custodirentur, paene inter ultimos interrogatus sententiam, tanta vi animi atque ingenii invectus est in coniurationem, eo ardore oris orationem omnium lenitatem suadentium societate consilii suspectam fecit, sic impendentia ex ruinis incendiisque urbis et commutatione status publici pericula exposuit, ita consulis virtutem amplificavit, ut universus senatus in eius sententiam transiret animadvertendumque in eos, quos praediximus, censeret maiorque pars ordinis eius Ciceronem prosequerentur domum.
At this time, though he was only tribune elect and still quite a young man, while others were urging that Lentulus and the other conspirators should be placed in custody in the Italian towns, Cato,a though among the very last to be asked for his opinion, inveighed against the conspiracy with such vigour of spirit and intellect and such earnestness of expression that he caused those who in their speeches had urged leniency to be suspected of complicity in the plot. Such a picture did he present of the dangers which threatened Rome, by the burning and destruction of the city and the subversion of the constitution, and such a eulogy did he give of the consuls firm stand, that the senate as a body changed to the support of his motion and voted the imposition of the death penalty upon the conspirators, and a large number of the senators escorted Cicero to his home.
final_alignments\Velleius_Paterculus_Compendium.json