Page:Plutarch's Lives (Clough, v.5, 1865).djvu/87

CICERO. V9 act of humanity, had indeed set up Pompey's statues, but he had fixed and estabhshed his own. He had a design, it is said, of writing the history of his country, combining with it much of that of Greece, and incorporating in it all the stories and legends of the past that he had collected. But his purposes were interfered with by various public and various private unhappy occurrences and misfortunes ; for most of which he was himself in fault. For first of all, he put away his wife Terentia, by whom he had been neglected in the time of the war, and sent away destitute of necessaries for his journey ; neither did he find her kind when he retm-ned into Italy, for she did not join him at Brundusium, where he staid a long time, nor would allow her young daughter, who undertook so long a jom^ney, decent attendance, or the requisite expenses ; besides, she left him a naked and empty house, and yet had involved him in many and great debts. These were alleged as the fairest reasons for the divorce. But Terentia, who denied them all, had the most immistakable defence furnished her by her hus- band himself, who not long after married a young maiden for the love of her beauty, as Terentia upbraided him ; or as Tiro, his emancipated slave, has written, for her riches, to discharge his debts. For the yoimg woman was very rich, and Cicero had the custody of her estate, being left guardian in trust ; and being indebted many myriads of money, he was persuaded by his friends and relations to marry her, notwithstanding his disparity of age, and to use her money to satisfy his creditors. Antony, who men- tions this marriage in his answer to the Philippics, re- proaches him for putting away a wife with whom he had lived to old age ; adding some happy strokes of sarcasm on Cicero's domestic, inactive, unsoldier-like habits. Not long after this marriage, his daughter died in child-bed at Lentulus's house, to whom she had been married after