§1diuturni silenti, patres conscripti, quo eram his temporibus usus, non timore aliquo, sed partim dolore, partim verecundia, finem hodiernus dies attulit, idemque initium quae vellem quaeque sentirem meo pristino more dicendi.
Today, conscript fathers, has brought an end to the long silence which I had observed during these times, not from any fear, but partly from grief and partly from modesty; and it has likewise brought a beginning of expressing, according to my ancient custom, what I wish and what I feel.
tantam enim mansuetudinem, tam inusitatam inauditamque clementiam, tantum in summa potestate rerum omnium modum, tam denique incredibilem sapientiam ac paene divinam tacitus praeterire nullo modo possum. §2M. enim Marcello vobis, patres conscripti, reique publicae reddito non illius solum sed etiam meam vocem et auctoritatem vobis et rei publicae conservatam ac restitutam puto.
For I can in no way pass over in silence such great mildness, such unusual and unheard-of clemency, such great moderation in the highest power over all things, and finally, such incredible and almost divine wisdom.\n For, with Marcus Marcellus being restored to you, conscript fathers, and to the republic, I think that not only his voice and authority, but also my own, have been preserved and restored to you and the republic.
dolebam enim, patres conscripti, et vehementer angebar, cum viderem virum talem, cum in eadem causa in qua ego fuisset, non in eadem esse fortuna, nec mihi persuadere poteram nec fas esse ducebam versari me in nostro vetere curriculo illo aemulo atque imitatore studiorum ac laborum meorum quasi quodam socio a me et comite distracto.
For I was grieving, conscript fathers, and was violently tormented when I saw that such a man, although he had been in the same cause in which I had been, was not in the same fortune; nor could I persuade myself, nor did I think it right, that I should occupy myself in our old career when that rival and imitator of my studies and labors, who was like a companion and associate, had been torn from me.
ergo et mihi meae pristinae vitae consuetudinem, C. Caesar, interclusam aperuisti et his omnibus ad bene de re publica sperandum quasi signum aliquod sustulisti. §3intellectum est enim mihi quidem in multis et maxime in me ipso, sed paulo ante omnibus, cum M. Marcellum senatui reique publicae concessisti, commemoratis praesertim offensionibus, te auctoritatem huius ordinis dignitatemque rei publicae tuis vel doloribus vel suspicionibus anteferre.
Therefore, Julius Caesar, you have both opened up for me my former habit of life, which had been closed off, and you have raised up for all these men, as it were, a standard for hoping well of the republic.\n For it has indeed been understood by me in many cases, and especially in my own, but just now by all, since you have yielded Marcus Marcellus to the senate and the republic—especially after having mentioned your grievances—that you prefer the authority of this body and the dignity of the republic to your own griefs or suspicions.
ille quidem fructum omnis ante actae vitae hodierno die maximum cepit, cum summo consensu senatus tum iudicio tuo gravissimo et maximo.
He indeed has received today the greatest fruit of his entire past life, both in the supreme consensus of the senate and in your most weighty and greatest judgment.
ex quo profecto intellegis quanta in dato beneficio sit laus, cum in accepto sit tanta gloria. §4est vero fortunatus cuius ex salute non minor paene ad omnis quam ad illum ventura sit laetitia pervenerit: quod quidem merito atque optimo iure contigit.
From this you surely understand how much praise there is in a benefit bestowed, since there is so much glory in one received.\n Happy indeed is he from whose safety a joy has come to pass that will reach all, almost no less than it will reach him: which indeed has happened deservedly and with the best right.
quis enim est illo aut nobilitate aut probitate aut optimarum artium studio aut innocentia aut ullo in laudis genere praestantior?
nullius tantum flumen est ingeni, nulla dicendi aut scribendi tanta vis, tantaque copia quae non dicam exornare, sed enarrare, C. Caesar, res tuas gestas possit.
For who is more outstanding than he either in nobility, or integrity, or devotion to the liberal arts, or innocence, or in any kind of praise? There is no one with so great a flow of genius, no one with such power or abundance in speaking or writing, as to be able, I will not say to adorn, but to describe, Julius Caesar, your exploits.
tamen hoc adfirmo et pace dicam tua, nullam in his esse laudem ampliorem quam eam quam hodierno die consecutus es. §5soleo saepe ante oculos ponere idque libenter crebris usurpare sermonibus, omnis nostrorum imperatorum, omnis exterarum gentium potentissimorumque populorum, omnis regum clarissimorum res gestas cum tuis nec contentionum magnitudine nec numero proeliorum nec varietate regionum nec celeritate conficiendi nec dissimilitudine bellorum posse conferri, nec vero disiunctissimas terras citius passibus cuiusquam potuisse peragrari quam tuis non dicam cursibus, sed victoriis lustratae sunt. §6quae quidem ego nisi ita magna esse fatear ut ea vix cuiusquam mens aut cogitatio capere possit, amens sim;
Nevertheless, I assert this, and with your permission I will say it, that there is no praise among them greater than that which you have achieved today.\n I am often accustomed to place before my eyes, and gladly to dwell upon in frequent conversations, the fact that all the exploits of our commanders, of all foreign nations and most powerful peoples, and of all the most illustrious kings, cannot be compared with yours, neither in the magnitude of the struggles, nor in the number of battles, nor in the variety of regions, nor in the swiftness of execution, nor in the differences of the wars; and indeed, that the most distant lands could not have been traversed more quickly by anyone's steps than they were surveyed by your—I will not say marches, but victories.\n Indeed, if I did not confess these things to be so great that anyone's mind or thought can scarcely comprehend them, I would be mad; yet there are other things still greater.
sed tamen sunt alia maiora. nam bellicas laudes solent quidam extenuare verbis easque detrahere ducibus, communicare cum multis, ne propriae sint imperatorum.
For some are accustomed to diminish military praises by words, and to detract them from the commanders, sharing them with many, so that they may not be the exclusive property of the generals.
et certe in armis militum virtus, locorum opportunitas, auxilia sociorum, classes, commeatus multum iuvant, maximam vero partem quasi suo iure Fortuna sibi vindicat et, quicquid est prospere gestum, id paene omne ducit suum.
And certainly, in arms, the courage of the soldiers, the advantage of the localities, the help of allies, fleets, and provisions are of great assistance; but Fortune, as if by her own right, claims the greatest part for herself, and whatever is successfully accomplished, she considers almost all of it her own.