Bear in mind, Volumnius, that true enthusiasm for morals lies in<hr>
the desire to follow it by example. Those who praise virtuous men without imitating them as much as<hr>
they can are more deserving of criticism than praise, for they acknowledge the good without practicing it.<hr>
Cato died with the advantage of having made Caesar say that he envied his death, as it took away from him<hr>
the opportunity to forgive him. I want people to envy Brutus for having chosen a woman<hr>
courageous enough to follow him to the tomb. There we shall enjoy a<hr>
freedom that we can never lose, while the Romans will moan under the weight of<hr>
their chains. But a day will come when Brutus' name will be revered, when they will wish for a<hr>
liberator they once refused, and the blood of Cato and Brutus will make them feel shame. Yes, these<hr>
Roman citizens who once saw themselves as rulers of the world, who had kings as subjects, whose<hr>
glory was untarnished and whose power was matched only by the gods, will now be<hr>
contemptible slaves. Their servitude will be so harsh that they will no longer be masters of their own<hr>
will. They will endorse all the mistakes of their tyrants, and Rome, once a school<hr>
of integrity, will become a den of cowardly flatterers. Can the aspirations of such a<hr>
great people have changed in an instant? These millions of men who fought on the<hr>
plains of Pharsalus under Pompey's standards, did they all perish in that battle or did<hr>
they lose their courage in defeat? These kings who owe their crowns to the authority of the<hr>
Senate, are they all ungrateful? Is there none among them who would have let Brutus<hr>
free them from their chains? Is the desire for freedom, so powerful in all creatures living on<hr>
earth, extinguished among men? And is the blood of a dead tyrant without effect on the Romans?<hr>
They want to honor his memory and mourn, but in doing so they are burdening themselves with chains<hr>
for their entire lives, this is incomprehensible.<hr>
       Yes, all the Roman legions have lost courage; all the governors are<hr>
prostrating themselves before their tyrants; all the Romans prefer slavery to freedom; Cesar's ashes<hr>
are revered; and to cap it all, Brutus has abandoned them. However, do not<hr>
think, Volumnius, that he wished to abandon me. It is true that when we parted in the city of Elia, he did not want me<hr>
to stay at his side, even though I insisted.<hr>
He said that the journey would cause me too much trouble and that I might be more useful to<hr>
Rome than to his army. But in this situation, that is not the case. I know that Brutus was thinking<hr>
of me in his dying hour, that he awaits me where he is now, and that he does not doubt that I have forgotten<hr>
that Cato chose to tear his bowels rather than live under tyranny, and that I,<hr>
Portia, having even more compelling reasons, will follow the path he has<hr>
laid out for me. When life can no longer be honorable or happy, it is extremely wise to<hr>
leave it, knowing that it should only be dear to us insofar as it serves our glory or that<hr>
of the homeland. So, I should no longer preserve mine. Yes, Volumnius, I owe my death to my<hr>
own glory, that of Cato, of Brutus and of Rome. But do not think that this<hr>
death is a misfortune to me.<hr>
<hr>
<hr>
                                                    55<hr>