§35ego id fratri in honore fratris amplissimo non concedendum putem, praesertim qui quid amor fraternus valeat paene praeter ceteros sentiam? at enim frater iam non petit.
Should I think that this ought not to be granted to a brother in a brother's most honorable office, especially since I, almost beyond all others, feel how much brotherly love is worth? But you will say, his brother is no longer a candidate.
quid tum? si ille retentus a cuncta Asia supplice, si a negotiatoribus, si a publicanis, si ab omnibus sociis, civibus exoratus anteposuit honori suo commoda salutemque provinciae, propterea putas semel exulceratum animum tam facile potuisse sanari?
What of it? If he, held back by the entreaties of all Asia, by the businessmen, by the tax collectors, by all the allies and citizens, preferred the advantages and safety of the province to his own honor, do you think on that account that a mind once wounded could be so easily healed?
§36quamquam in istis omnibus rebus, praesertim apud homines barbaros, opinio plus valet saepe quam res ipsa.
Although in all these matters, especially among barbarian peoples, opinion often has more weight than the reality itself.
persuasum est Sardis se nihil Appio gratius esse facturos quam si de Scauri fama detraxerint; multorum etiam spe commodorum praemiorumque ducuntur; omnia consulem putant posse, praesertim ultro pollicentem.
The Sardinians are convinced that they will do nothing more pleasing to Appius than if they detract from the reputation of Scaurus; they are also led by the hope of many advantages and rewards; they think a consul can do all things, especially one who promises of his own accord.
de quo plura iam non dicam.
Of this I will now say no more.
§37quamquam ea quae dixi non secus dixi quam si eius frater essem, non is qui et est et qui multa dixit, sed is qui ego esse in meum consuevi.
Although these things which I have said, I have said no otherwise than as if I were his brother—not that brother who actually exists and who has said many things, but such a brother as I am accustomed to be toward my own.
generi igitur toti accusationis resistere, iudices, debetis, in quo nihil more, nihil modo, nihil considerate, nihil integre, contra improbe, turbide, festinanter, rapide omnia conspiratione, imperio, auctoritate, spe, minis videtis esse suscepta.
Therefore, gentlemen of the jury, you ought to resist this whole class of accusation, in which you see nothing done by custom, nothing with moderation, nothing considerately, nothing with integrity; but on the contrary, everything undertaken wickedly, turbulently, hastily, and rapidly, by conspiracy, by power, by authority, by hope, and by threats.
§38venio nunc ad testis, in quibus docebo non modo nullam fidem et auctoritatem sed ne speciem quidem esse aut imaginem testium.
I come now to the witnesses, in whom I will show that there is not only no credibility and authority, but not even the appearance or shadow of witnesses.
etenim fidem primum ipsa tollit consensio, quae patefacta est compromisso Sardorum et coniuratione recitata; deinde illa cupiditas quae suscepta est spe et promissione praemiorum; postremo ipsa natio, cuius tanta vanitas est ut libertatem a servitute nulla re alia nisi mentiendi licentia distinguendam putent.
For indeed, first of all, their very agreement deprives them of credibility, which was revealed by the compact of the Sardinians and the reading of their conspiracy; secondly, that desire which was excited by the hope and promise of rewards; and lastly, their nation itself, whose untruthfulness is so great that they think freedom is to be distinguished from slavery by nothing other than the license of lying.
§39neque ego Sardorum querelis moveri nos numquam dico oportere.
Nor do I say that we ought never to be moved by the complaints of the Sardinians.
non sum aut tam inhumanus aut tam alienus a Sardis, praesertim cum frater meus nuper ab eis decesserit, cum rei frumentariae Cn. Pompei missu praefuisset, qui et ipse illis pro sua fide et humanitate consuluit et eis vicissim percarus et iucundus fuit.
I am not either so unfeeling or so estranged from the Sardinians, especially since my brother recently departed from them, having been in charge of the grain supply by the mission of Gnaeus Pompeius, who himself consulted their interests in accordance with his own faith and humanity, and was in turn very dear and pleasing to them.
§40pateat vero hoc perfugium dolori, pateat iustis querelis, coniurationi via intercludatur, obsaepiatur insidiis, neque hoc in Sardis magis quam in Gallis, in Afris, in Hispanis.
Let this refuge, indeed, be open to grief, let it be open to just complaints; but let the path to conspiracy be blocked, let it be closed against plots, and this no more among the Sardinians than among the Gauls, the Africans, and the Spaniards.
damnatus est T. Albucius, C. Megaboccus ex Sardinia non nullis etiam laudantibus Sardis.
Titus Albucius and Gaius Megaboccus were condemned from Sardinia, with even some Sardinians praising them.
ita fidem maiorem varietas ipsa faciebat. testibus enim aequis, tabulis incorruptis tenebantur.
Thus, that very variety gave greater credibility; for they were held by impartial witnesses and uncorrupted documents.
§41nunc est una vox, una mens non expressa dolore, sed simulata, neque huius iniuriis, sed promissis aliorum et praemiis excitata.
Now there is but one voice, one mind, not expressed by grief but feigned, and excited not by the injuries of this man, but by the promises and rewards of others.
at creditum est aliquando Sardis.
But it is said, the Sardinians have sometimes been believed.
et fortasse credetur aliquando, si integri venerint, si incorrupti, si sua sponte, si non alicuius impulsu, si soluti, si liberi.
And perhaps they will be believed sometimes in the future, if they come unsullied, if uncorrupted, of their own accord, not by the impulse of anyone else, unconstrained, and free.
quae si erunt, tamen sibi credi gaudeant et mirentur.
If those conditions should exist, let them nevertheless rejoice and wonder that they are believed.
Cum vero omnia absint, tamen se non respicient, non gentis suae famam perhorrescent?
But when all these are lacking, will they still not look at themselves, will they not dread the reputation of their nation?
§42fallacissimum genus esse Phoenicum omnia monumenta vetustatis atque omnes historiae nobis prodiderunt.
That the Phoenicians are a most deceitful race, all the monuments of antiquity and all histories have handed down to us.
ab his orti Poeni multis Carthaginiensium rebellionibus, multis violatis fractisque foederibus nihil se degenerasse docuerunt.
The Carthaginians, sprung from them, showed by many rebellions of the Carthaginians, and many violated and broken treaties, that they had in no way degenerated.
A Poenis admixto Afrorum genere Sardi non deducti in Sardiniam atque ibi constituti, sed amandati et repudiati coloni.
From the Carthaginians, with an admixture of the African race, the Sardinians were not led into Sardinia and there established, but were colonists sent away and rejected.
§43qua re cum integri nihil fuerit in hac gente pestilentiae plena, quam valde eam putamus tot transfusionibus coacuisse? hic mihi ignoscet Cn.
Therefore, since there was nothing of integrity in this nation full of pestilence, how greatly must we think it has soured through so many transfusions?
Domitius Sincaius, vir ornatissimus, hospes et familiaris meus, ignoscent denique omnes ab eodem Cn. Pompeio civitate donati, quorum tamen omnium laudatione utimur, ignoscent alii viri boni ex Sardinia; credo enim esse quosdam.
Here Gnaeus Domitius Sincaius, a most distinguished man, my host and intimate friend, will pardon me; all those, finally, who were gifted with citizenship by the same Gnaeus Pompeius—whose praise, nevertheless, we all make use of—will pardon me; and other good men from Sardinia will pardon me; for I believe that there are some.