§32* * * aret.
* * *.
itaque non senatus in ea causa cognoscenda me agente diligentior aut inclementior fuit quam vos universi, cum orbis terrae distributionem atque illum ipsum agrum Campanum animis, manibus, vocibus repudiavistis.
Therefore, the senate was not more diligent or more severe in investigating that cause under my guidance than all of you, when you rejected the distribution of the world and that very Campanian land with your minds, hands, and voices.
§33idem ego quod is qui auctor huius iudicii est clamo, praedico, denuntio.
I, the very same, cry out, proclaim, and declare what he who is the promoter of this trial does.
nullus est reliquus rex, nulla gens, nulla natio quam pertimescatis; nullum adventicium, nullum extraneum malum est quod insinuare in hanc rem publicam possit.
There is no remaining king, no race, no nation for you to dread; there is no external, no foreign evil which can creep into this republic.
si immortalem hanc civitatem esse voltis, si aeternum hoc imperium, si gloriam sempiternam manere, nobis a nostris cupiditatibus, a turbulentis hominibus atque novarum rerum cupidis, ab intestinis malis, a domesticis consiliis est cavendum.
If you wish this state to be immortal, this empire eternal, and this glory to remain everlasting, we must guard ourselves against our own desires, against turbulent men and those eager for revolution, against internal evils, and against domestic plots.
§34hisce autem malis magnum praesidium vobis maiores vestri reliquerunt, vocem illam consulis: 'qui rem publicam salvam esse vellent. ' huic voci favete, Quirites, neque vestro iudicio abstuleritis mihi neque eripueritis rei publicae spem libertatis, spem salutis, spem dignitatis.
Against these evils, however, your ancestors left you a great protection, that famous voice of the consul: "Let those who wish the republic to be safe." Favor this voice, Quirites, and do not by your judgment take away from me, nor snatch from the republic, the hope of liberty, the hope of safety, the hope of dignity.
§35quid facerem, si T. Labienus caedem civium fecisset ut L. Saturninus, si carcerem refregisset, si Capitolium cum armatis occupavisset? facerem idem quod C. Marius fecit, ad senatum referrem, vos ad rem publicam defendendam cohortarer, armatus ipse vobiscum armato obsisterem.
What should I do, if Titus Labienus had committed a slaughter of citizens like Lucius Saturninus, if he had broken open the prison, if he had occupied the Capitoline with armed men? I would do the same as Gaius Marius did: I would refer the matter to the senate, I would exhort you to defend the republic, I myself, armed, would oppose him who was armed.
nunc quoniam armorum suspicio nulla est, tela non video, non vis, non caedes, non Capitoli atque arcis obsessio est, sed accusatio perniciosa, iudicium acerbum, res tota a tribuno pl. suscepta contra rem publicam, non vos ad arma vocandos esse, verum ad suffragia cohortandos contra oppugnationem vestrae maiestatis putavi.
Now, since there is no suspicion of arms, I see no weapons, there is no violence, no slaughter, no siege of the Capitoline and the citadel, but a destructive accusation, a bitter trial, the whole affair undertaken by a tribune of the plebs against the republic, I thought that you ought not to be called to arms, but rather exhorted to votes against the attack on your majesty.
itaque nunc vos omnis oro atque obtestor hortorque.
Therefore now I pray and beseech and exhort you all.
non ita mos est, consulem es * * * §36* * * timet; qui hasce ore adverso pro re publica cicatrices ac notas virtutis accepit, is ne quod accipiat famae volnus perhorrescit; quem numquam incursiones hostium loco movere potuerunt, is nunc impetum civium, cui necessario cedendum est, perhorrescit.
It is not the custom for a consul to * * * * * * fears; he who received these scars and marks of virtue on his front facing the enemy for the sake of the republic, fears exceedingly lest he receive some wound to his reputation; he whom the incursions of the enemy could never move from his place, now dreads the onset of his fellow citizens, to which he must of necessity yield.
§37Neque a vobis iam bene vivendi sed honeste moriendi facultatem petit, neque tam ut domo sua fruatur quam ne patrio sepulcro privetur laborat.
And he no longer seeks from you the opportunity of living well, but of dying honorably; nor does he strive so much that he may enjoy his own home as that he may not be deprived of his ancestral tomb.
nihil aliud iam vos orat atque obsecrat nisi uti ne se legitimo funere et domestica morte privetis, ut eum qui pro patria nullum umquam mortis periculum fugit in patria mori patiamini.
He now begs and implores nothing else of you except that you do not deprive him of a lawful funeral and a death at home, so that you may suffer him, who for his country never fled any danger of death, to die in his country.
§38dixi ad id tempus quod mihi a tribuno pl. praestitutum est; a vobis peto quaesoque ut hanc meam defensionem pro amici periculo fidelem, pro rei publicae salute consularem putetis.
I have spoken up to the time which was prescribed for me by the tribune of the plebs; I beg and entreat of you that you consider this defense of mine faithful as regards the danger of a friend, and consular as regards the safety of the republic.
§38bet cum universo populo Romano, tum vero equestri ordini longe carissimus.
and who was exceedingly dear, not only to the whole Roman people, but especially to the equestrian order.