Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: June 18, 2025
On another occasion, Vatinius, a man of rude manners and often insolent in court to the magistrates, who had large swellings on his neck, came before his tribunal and made some request, and on Cicero's desiring further time to consider it, told him that he himself would have made no question about it, had he been praetor.
We refer to Roman history for an account of his vacillations between the several members of the Triumvirate; his defence of Vatinius to please Cæsar; and of his bitter political enemy Gabinius, to ingratiate himself with Pompey.
When Chilonides ceases to be needful, send him to me wherever I may be. Perhaps I shall make him a second Vatinius, and consuls and senators may tremble before him yet, as they trembled before that knight Dratevka. It would be worth while to live to see such a spectacle.
It must be added here that two years later Cicero pleaded for this very Vatinius, at the joint request of Cæsar and Pompey, when Vatinius on leaving the Prætorship was accused of corruption. The nature of the reward to which the aspiring oligarch of Rome always turned his eyes has been sufficiently explained. He looked to be the governor of a province.
The departing official embraced his cause at once, and Antonius was weak, being hindered by Caesar's supremacy in Rome from performing any of the duties belonging to his office. The neighboring territory of Illyricum was governed by Vatinius, who came thence to Dyrrachium and occupied it in advance.
From being in alternate strains, they admitted a treatment as if uttered by a single speaker, so at least we should infer from Macrobius's notice of the Fescennines sent by Augustus to Pollio, which were either lines of extempore raillery, or short biting epigrams, like that of Catullus on Vatinius, owing their title to the name solely to the pungency of their contents.
At this the young man, unused to resistance, frowned and said, "Permit me to recover breath"; and after a time he began again to speak, "Of Croton, whom Ursus killed, no one will inquire. He had to go to-day to Beneventum, whither he was summoned by Vatinius, therefore all will think that he has gone there.
Verres, Catiline, Clodius, Piso, and Vatinius seem to have caused his wrath; but was there one of them against whom, though he did not forgive him, his anger did not die out? Then, at last, he was moved to an internecine fight with Antony.
Then they wound him in a sheet, and sitting on horses which were waiting, hurried to Ostia, where they threw the body into the sea. Poppæa, not finding the virgo magna, who with other vestals was at the house of Vatinius, returned soon to the Palatine.
Caesar however had publicly declared that he would introduce no proposal in his own favour; the tribune of the people Publius Vatinius therefore undertook to submit the proposal to the burgesses, who naturally gave their unconditional assent.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking