§8.30.1καὶ ταυτὶ μὲν ἴσως ἂν ἔχοι τις καὶ ἕτερος ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ γενναῖος ἀνήρ, εἰ μὴ καὶ τοσαῦτα, λέγειν· ἀλλὰ πόλιν ὅλην τίς δύναιτʼ ἂν καυχήσασθαι στρατηγὸς ἢ λοχαγὸς ἑλών, ὥσπερ ἐγὼ τὴν Κοριολανῶν, καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἡμέρας ὁ αὐτὸς ἀνὴρ στρατιὰν πολεμίων τρεψάμενος, ὥσπερ ἐγὼ τὴν Ἀντιατῶν ἐπίκουρον τοῖς πολιορκουμένοις ἀφικομένην;
And another noble man might perhaps be able to say these things on his own behalf, even if not so many; but what general or captain could boast of having captured an entire city, as I did that of the Corioli, and on the same day, the same man, of having routed an army of enemies, as I did that of the Antiatium which had arrived as reinforcements for the besieged?
§8.30.2ἐῶ γὰρ λέγειν, ὅτι τοιαύτας ἀρετὰς ἀποδειξάμενος, ἐξόν μοι λαβεῖν ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων πολὺν μὲν χρυσόν, πολὺν δʼ ἄργυρον ἀνδράποδά τε καὶ ὑποζύγια καὶ βοσκήματα καὶ γῆν πολλὴν καὶ ἀγαθὴν οὐκ ἠξίωσα, ἀλλʼ ἀνεπίφθονον ὡς μάλιστα βουληθεὶς ἐμαυτὸν παρασχεῖν, πολεμιστὴν ἵππον ἕνα μόνον ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων ἔλαβον καὶ τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ ξένον ἐκ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων, τὸν δʼ ἄλλον πλοῦτον §8.30.3εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ἔθηκα φέρων.
For I refrain from saying that, having displayed such deeds of valor, although it was permitted for me to take from the spoils much gold, much silver, slaves, beasts of burden, cattle, and much good land, I did not deem it worthy, but wishing to present myself as free from envy as possible, I took only a single warhorse from the spoils and my own guest-friend from the captives, while the rest of the wealth I brought and placed into the public treasury.
πότερον οὖν τιμωρίας ἄξιος ἦν ἐπὶ τούτοις ὑπέχειν, ἢ τιμὰς λαμβάνειν, καὶ πότερον ὑπὸ τοῖς κακίστοις γενέσθαι τῶν πολιτῶν, ἢ τὰ δίκαια τάττειν αὐτὸς τοῖς ἥττοσιν;
Was I then worthy to undergo punishment for these things, or to receive honors? And whether to be under the power of the worst of the citizens, or myself to prescribe what is just to my inferiors?
ἀλλʼ οὐ διὰ ταῦτά με ἀπήλασεν ὁ δῆμος, ἀλλʼ ὅτι περὶ τὸν ἄλλον βίον ἀκόλαστος καὶ πολυτελὴς καὶ παράνομος ἦν;
But did the people banish me not for these things, but because in the rest of my life I was licentious, extravagant, and lawless?
καὶ τίς ἂν ἔχοι δεῖξαί τινα διὰ τὰς ἐμὰς παρανόμους ἡδονὰς ἢ τὴν πατρίδα φεύγοντα ἢ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀπολωλεκότα ἢ χρημάτων στερόμενον ἢ ἄλλῃ τινὶ συμφορᾷ χρησάμενον;
And who would be able to show anyone who, because of my lawless pleasures, was either exiled from his fatherland, or lost his freedom, or was deprived of his money, or suffered any other misfortune?
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τῶν ἐχθρῶν με οὐδεὶς πώποτε ᾐτιάσατο οὐδὲ διέβαλεν ἐπʼ οὐδενὶ τούτων, ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ πάντων ἐμαρτυρεῖτό μοι καὶ ὁ καθʼ ἡμέραν ἀνεπίληπτος εἶναι βίος.
Indeed, not even any of my enemies ever accused me or slandered me on account of any of these things, but it was testified by all that my daily life also was blameless.
§8.30.4ἀλλʼ ἡ προαίρεσις, νὴ Δία, φαίη τις ἄν, ἡ τῶν πολιτευμάτων σου μισηθεῖσα ταύτην ἐξειργάσατό σοι τὴν συμφοράν.
"But, by Zeus," someone might say, "your political policy, having been hated, brought about this misfortune for you.
ἐξὸν γὰρ ἑλέσθαι τὴν κρείττω μερίδα τὴν χείρονα εἵλου καὶ διετέλεις ἅπαντα καὶ λέγων καὶ πράττων, ἐξ ὧν καταλυθήσεται μὲν ἡ πάτριος ἀριστοκρατία, κύριος δʼ ἔσται τῶν κοινῶν ὄχλος ἀμαθὴς καὶ πονηρός. ἀλλʼ ἔγωγε τἀναντία ἔπραττον, ὦ Μηνύκιε, καὶ ὅπως ἡ βουλὴ τῶν κοινῶν διὰ παντὸς ἐπιμελήσεται καὶ ὁ πάτριος διαμενεῖ κόσμος τῆς πολιτείας προὐνοούμην.
For when it was permitted to choose the better side, you chose the worse, and you continued speaking and doing all things by which the ancestral aristocracy would be destroyed, while an ignorant and wicked mob would become master of public affairs." But I did the opposite, Minucius, and I took care that the senate should always have charge of public affairs, and that the ancestral order of the constitution should remain.
§8.30.5ἀντὶ τούτων μέντοι τῶν καλῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων, ἃ τοῖς προγόνοις ἡμῶν ζηλωτὰ εἶναι ἐδόκει, τὰς εὐτυχεῖς ταύτας καὶ μακαρίας κεκόμισμαι παρὰ τῆς πατρίδος ἀμοιβάς, οὐχ ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου μόνον ἐξελασθείς, ὦ Μηνύκιε, ἀλλὰ πολὺ πρότερον ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς, ἣ κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἐπαίρουσά με κεναῖς ἐλπίσιν, ἡνίκα τοῖς δημάρχοις τυραννίδα περιβαλλομένοις ἠναντιούμην, ὡς αὐτὴ παρέξουσα τὸ ἀσφαλές, ἐπειδὴ κίνδυνόν τινʼ ἐκ τῶν δημοτικῶν ὑπείδετο, §8.30.6ἀπέστη καὶ παρέδωκέ με τοῖς ἐχθροῖς.
Yet in return for these noble practices, which seemed to our ancestors to be worthy of emulation, I have received these "happy and blessed" rewards from my fatherland, being driven out not only by the people, Minucius, but much earlier by the senate, which at the beginning, raising me with empty hopes when I was opposing the tribunes of the plebs who were assuming tyrannical power, as if she herself would provide safety, when she suspected some danger from the popular party, abandoned me and handed me over to my enemies.
σὺ μέντοι τότʼ αὐτὸς ὕπατος ἦσθα, ὦ Μηνύκιε, ὅτι τὸ προβούλευμα τὸ περὶ τῆς δίκης ἐγένετο, καὶ ἡνίκα Οὐαλέριος ὁ παραδιδόναι με τῷ δήμῳ παραινῶν σφόδρα ἐπὶ τοῖς λόγοις εὐδοκίμει, κἀγὼ δεδιώς, μὴ ψήφου δοθείσης ὑπὸ τῶν συνέδρων ἁλῶ, συνέγνων καὶ παρέξειν ἐμαυτὸν ὑπεσχόμην ἑκόντα ἐπὶ τὴν δίκην.
And yet you yourself were consul at that time, Minucius, when the preliminary decree concerning the trial was made, and when Valerius, who advised delivering me to the people, was winning great approval for his words, and I, fearing lest I should be condemned if a vote were cast by the senators, agreed and promised to present myself voluntarily for the trial.