§13atque hoc C. Caesaris iudicium, patres conscripti, quam late pateat attendite.
And observe, conscript fathers, how widely this decision of Julius Caesar extends.
omnes enim qui ad illa arma fato sumus nescio quo rei publicae misero funestoque compulsi, etsi aliqua culpa tenemur erroris humani, ab scelere certe liberati sumus.
For all of us who were driven to those arms by some fate of the republic, wretched and fatal, although we are held by some blame of human error, we are certainly freed from crime.
nam cum M. Marcellum deprecantibus vobis rei publicae conservavit, me et mihi et item rei publicae, nullo deprecante, reliquos amplissimos viros et sibi ipsos et patriae reddidit, quorum et frequentiam et dignitatem hoc ipso in consessu videtis, non ille hostis induxit in curiam, sed iudicavit a plerisque ignoratione potius et falso atque inani metu quam cupiditate aut crudelitate bellum esse susceptum.
For when, at your intercession, he preserved Marcus Marcellus for the republic, and restored me to myself and likewise to the republic, with no one interceding, and restored the remaining most distinguished men both to themselves and to their country—whose frequency and dignity you see in this very assembly—he did not lead enemies into the senate-house, but judged that war had been undertaken by most rather out of ignorance and a false and empty fear than out of desire or cruelty.
§14quo quidem in bello semper de pace audiendum putavi semperque dolui non modo pacem sed etiam orationem civium pacem flagitantium repudiari.
Indeed, in that war I always thought that peace should be listened to, and I always grieved that not only peace but also the speech of citizens demanding peace was rejected.
neque enim ego illa nec ulla umquam secutus sum arma civilia semperque mea consilia pacis et togae socia, non belli atque armorum fuerunt.
For I never followed those nor indeed any civil arms, and my counsels were always allies of peace and the toga, not of war and arms.
hominem sum secutus privato officio, non publico, tantumque apud me grati animi fidelis memoria valuit ut nulla non modo cupiditate sed ne spe quidem prudens et sciens tamquam ad interitum ruerem voluntarium.
I followed a man from private duty, not public, and a faithful memory of a grateful mind had such weight with me that, with no desire, indeed not even with hope, knowingly and wittingly I rushed as if to voluntary destruction.
§15quod quidem meum consilium minime obscurum fuit.
Indeed, this counsel of mine was by no means obscure.
nam et in hoc ordine integra re multa de pace dixi et in ipso bello eadem etiam cum capitis mei periculo sensi.
For both in this order, while the matter was still undecided, I spoke much concerning peace, and in the war itself I felt the same even at the peril of my life.
ex quo nemo erit tam iniustus rerum existimator qui dubitet quae Caesaris de bello voluntas fuerit, cum pacis auctores conservandos statim censuerit, ceteris fuerit iratior.
From which there will be no judge of affairs so unjust as to doubt what Caesar's will concerning the war was, since he immediately decided that the authors of peace should be preserved, while he was angrier with the others.
atque id minus mirum fortasse tum cum esset incertus exitus et anceps fortuna belli: qui vero victor pacis auctores diligit, is profecto declarat maluisse se non dimicare quam vincere.
And this was perhaps less surprising at that time when the outcome was uncertain and the fortune of war was doubtful; but he who, as victor, loves the authors of peace, surely declares that he would have preferred not to fight rather than to conquer.
§16atque huius quidem rei M. Marcello sum testis.
And indeed of this matter I am a witness for Marcus Marcellus.
nostri enim sensus ut in pace semper, sic tum etiam in bello congruebant.
For our feelings, as always in peace, so then also in war, were in agreement.
quotiens ego eum et quanto cum dolore vidi, cum insolentiam certorum hominum tum etiam ipsius victoriae ferocitatem extimescentem! quo gratior tua liberalitas, C. Caesar, nobis qui illa vidimus debet esse.
How often and with what great grief did I see him dreading both the insolence of certain men and even the ferocity of victory itself! Wherefore your liberality, Julius Caesar, ought to be the more welcome to us who saw those things.
non enim iam causae sunt inter se, sed victoriae comparandae.
For now the causes are not to be compared with each other, but the victories.
§17vidimus tuam victoriam proeliorum exitu terminatam: gladium vagina vacuum in urbe non vidimus.
We saw your victory terminated by the end of battles; we did not see a sword unsheathed from its scabbard in the city.
quos amisimus civis, eos vis Martis perculit, non ira victoriae, ut dubitare debeat nemo quin multos, si posset, C. Caesar ab inferis excitaret, quoniam ex eadem acie conservat quos potest.
The citizens whom we lost, the force of Mars struck down, not the anger of victory; so that no one ought to doubt that Julius Caesar would, if he could, raise many from the dead, since from the same battle-line he preserves those whom he can.
alterius vero partis nihil amplius dico quam id quod omnes verebamur, nimis iracundam futuram fuisse victoriam.
Of the other party, indeed, I say nothing more than what we all feared, that the victory would have been all too wrathful.
§18quidam enim non modo armatis sed interdum etiam otiosis minabantur, nec quid quisque sensisset, sed ubi fuisset cogitandum esse dicebant; ut mihi quidem videantur di immortales, etiam si poenas a populo Romano ob aliquod delictum expetiverunt, qui civile bellum tantum et tam luctuosum excitaverunt, vel placati iam vel satiati aliquando omnem spem salutis ad clementiam victoris et sapientiam contulisse.
For certain men were threatening not only the armed but sometimes even the peaceful, and were saying that not what each one had felt, but where he had been was to be considered; so that indeed the immortal gods seem to me, even if they demanded punishment from the Roman people for some offense, having excited so great and so mournful a civil war, to have either been appeased now or finally satisfied, and to have transferred all hope of safety to the clemency and wisdom of the victor.