Note 138 — LIFE OF CAIUS MARIUS. (continued 2)

Marcus Antonius, sometimes called the Orator, was the grandfather of Marcus Antonius the Triumvir. His head was fixed on the Rostra. Cicero, who has left on record a testimony to his great talents, and deplored his fate (De Oratore, iii. 3), had the same ill-luck from the hands of Antonius the Triumvir. M. Antonius the orator filled many high posts, and was consul B.C. 99. But his title to remembrance is his great oratorical skill. Cicero says that Antonius and his contemporary Lucius Licinius Crassus were the first Romans who equalled the great orators of Greece. The judicious remarks of Antonius on the conduct of a cause are preserved by Cicero (De Oratore, ii. 72). Antonius left no writings. (See "Antonius, Marcus," in Biog. Dict. of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.)