§28quid? cum ista res nihil commovisset eius animum ad quem veneratis, languidiore, credo, studio in causa fuistis; tantum modo in praesidiis eratis, animi vero a causa abhorrebant: an, ut fit in civilibus bellis—nec in vobis magis quam in reliquis; omnes enim vincendi studio tenebamur.
What? When that circumstance had not at all moved the mind of him to whom you had come, you were, I suppose, in the cause with a more languid zeal; you were only in the garrisons, but your minds in truth shrank from the cause. Or [was it], as happens in civil wars—and not in you more than in the rest; for we were all held by the desire for victory.
pacis equidem semper auctor fui, sed tum sero; erat enim amentis, cum aciem videres, pacem cogitare.
Indeed I was always an advocate of peace, but then it was too late; for it was the part of a madman, when you saw the battle line, to think of peace.
omnes, inquam, vincere volebamus; tu certe praecipue, qui in eum locum venisses ubi tibi esset pereundum, nisi vicisses.
All of us, I say, wished to win; you certainly especially, who had come into that place where you had to perish unless you conquered.
quamquam, ut nunc se res habet, non dubito quin hanc salutem anteponas illi victoriae.
And yet, as things now stand, I do not doubt that you prefer this safety to that victory.
§29haec ego non dicerem, Tubero, si aut vos constantiae vestrae aut Caesarem benefici sui paeniteret.
I would not say these things, Tubero, if either you regretted your consistency or Caesar regretted his kindness.
nunc quaero utrum vestras iniurias an rei publicae persequamini.
Now I ask whether you are pursuing your own injuries or those of the republic.
si rei publicae, quid de vestra in illa causa perseverantia respondebitis? si vestras, videte ne erretis qui Caesarem vestris inimicis iratum fore putetis, cum ignoverit suis.
If those of the republic, what will you answer concerning your perseverance in that cause? If your own, see to it lest you err, who think that Caesar will be angry with your enemies, when he has forgiven his own.
itaque num tibi videor in causa Ligari esse occupatus, num de eius facto dicere? quicquid dixi, ad unam summam referri volo vel humanitatis vel clementiae vel misericordiae.
And so, do I seem to you to be occupied in the cause of Ligarius, or to be speaking of his deed? Whatever I have said, I wish to be referred to one sum, either of humanity, or of clemency, or of mercy.
§30causas, Caesar, egi multas equidem tecum, dum te in foro tenuit ratio honorum tuorum, certe numquam hoc modo:
ignoscite, iudices; erravit, lapsus est, non putavit; si umquam posthac. ad parentem sic agi solet, ad iudices:
non fecit, non cogitavit; falsi testes, fictum crimen. dic te, Caesar, de facto Ligari iudicem esse; quibus in praesidiis fuerit quaere: taceo, ne haec quidem conligo, quae fortasse valerent etiam apud iudicem:
legatus ante bellum profectus, relictus in pace, bello oppressus, in eo ipso non acerbus, totus animo et studio tuus. ad iudicem sic, sed ego apud parentem loquor:
erravi, temere feci, paenitet; ad clementiam tuam confugio, delicti veniam peto, ut ignoscatur oro. si nemo impetravit, adroganter: si plurimi, tu idem fer opem qui spem dedisti.
Indeed, Caesar, I have pleaded many causes with you, while the calculation of your offices held you in the forum, but certainly never in this manner: "Forgive him, judges; he erred, he slipped, he did not think; if ever hereafter." In this way it is customary to plead to a parent; to judges: "He did not do it, he did not think of it; the witnesses are false, the charge is fabricated." Say, Caesar, that you are the judge concerning the deed of Ligarius; inquire in what garrisons he was: I am silent, I do not even collect these things, which perhaps would have weight even before a judge: "that he set out as a legate before the war, was left behind in peace, was overwhelmed by war, was not bitter in the war itself, was entirely yours in mind and zeal." To a judge, one speaks thus; but I am speaking before a parent: "I erred, I acted rashly, I repent; I flee to your clemency, I seek pardon for my offense, I pray that I may be forgiven." If no one has obtained this, it is arrogant; if very many have, do you, who gave hope, bring help.
§31an sperandi de Ligario causa non erit, cum mihi apud te locus sit etiam pro altero deprecandi? quamquam nec in hac oratione spes est posita causae nec in eorum studiis qui a te pro Ligario petunt tui necessarii.
Or will there be no cause for hoping for Ligarius, when there is room for me before you even to plead for another? And yet, neither is the hope of the cause placed in this speech, nor in the zeal of those who, as your close friends, petition you for Ligarius.
vidi enim et cognovi quid maxime spectares, cum pro alicuius salute multi laborarent: causas apud te rogantium gratiosiores esse quam voltus, neque te spectare quam tuus esset necessarius is qui te oraret, sed quam illius pro quo laboraret.
For I have seen and known what you chiefly look to when many labor for the safety of someone: namely, that before you the causes of those who ask are more influential than their faces, and that you do not look to how close a friend of yours he who prays to you might be, but how close a friend of him for whom he labors.
itaque tribuis tu quidem tuis ita multa ut mihi beatiores illi videantur interdum qui tua liberalitate fruantur quam tu ipse qui illis tam multa concedas; sed video tamen apud te, ut dixi, causas valere plus quam preces, ab eisque te moveri maxime quorum iustissimum videas dolorem in petendo.
And so, you indeed grant so many things to your friends that those who enjoy your generosity sometimes seem to me happier than you yourself who concede so many things to them; but nevertheless I see that before you, as I said, causes have more power than prayers, and that you are moved chiefly by those whose pain in petitioning you see to be most justified.
§32in Q. Ligario conservando multis tu quidem gratum facies necessariis tuis, sed hoc, quaeso, considera, quod soles.
In preserving Quintus Ligarius, you will indeed do a favor to many of your close friends, but please consider this, which you are accustomed to do.
possum fortissimos viros, Sabinos, tibi probatissimos, totumque agrum Sabinum, florem Italiae ac robur rei publicae, proponere.
I can present to you most brave men, the Sabines, most approved by you, and the whole Sabine territory, the flower of Italy and the strength of the republic.
Nosti optime homines.
You know the men very well.
animadverte horum omnium maestitiam et dolorem; huius T. Brocchi de quo non dubito quid existimes lacrimas squaloremque ipsius et fili vides.
Observe the sadness and pain of all these; you see the tears of this Titus Brocchus, of whom I do not doubt what you think, and the mourning garb of himself and his son.