THE ARGUMENT

Quintus Ligarius was a Roman knight, who had been one of the lieutenants of Considius, the proconsul of Africa, and one of Pompey’s partisans, and as such had borne arms against Caesar in Africa, on which account he had gone into voluntary exile, to get out of the reach of the conqueror. But his two brothers had been on Caesar’s side, and had joined Pansa and Cicero in interceding with Caesar to pardon him. While Caesar was hesitating, Quintus Tubero, who was an ancient enemy of his, knowing that Caesar was very unwilling to restore him (for Ligarius was a great lover of liberty), impeached him as having behaved with great violence in the prosecution of the African War against Caesar, who privately encouraged this proceeding, and ordered the action to be tried in the forum, where he sat in person as judge to decide it; and so determined was he against Ligarius, that he is said to have brought the sentence of condemnation with him into court, already drawn up and formally signed and sealed. But he was prevailed upon by Cicero’s eloquence, which extorted from him a verdict of acquittal against his will; and he afterward pardoned Ligarius and allowed him to return to Rome. Ligarius afterwards became a great friend of Brutus, and joined him in the conspiracy against Caesar.