§6nullum igitur habes, Caesar, adhuc in Q. Ligario signum alienae a te voluntatis; cuius ego causam animadverte, quaeso, qua fide defendam: prodo meam.
Therefore, Caesar, you have as yet no sign in Quintus Ligarius of a will hostile to you; and observe, I pray, with what good faith I defend his cause: I am betraying my own.
O clementiam admirabilem atque omnium laude, praedicatione, litteris monumentisque decorandam! M. Cicero apud te defendit alium in ea voluntate non fuisse in qua se ipsum confitetur fuisse, nec tuas tacitas cogitationes extimescit nec quid tibi de alio audienti de se occurrat reformidat.
O admirable clemency, worthy to be adorned by the praise, the heraldry, the literature, and the monuments of all! Marcus Cicero defends before you that another was not in that same disposition in which he confesses that he himself was; nor does he dread your silent thoughts, nor does he fear what may occur to you concerning himself while you are listening to him about another.
vide quam non reformidem; vide quanta lux liberalitatis et sapientiae tuae mihi apud te dicenti oboriatur: quantum potero voce contendam ut hoc populus Romanus exaudiat.
See how little I fear; see what a light of your liberality and wisdom rises upon me as I speak before you: I will strive with my voice as much as I can, so that the Roman people may hear this.
§7suscepto bello, Caesar, gesto etiam ex parte magna, nulla vi coactus, iudicio ac voluntate ad ea arma profectus sum quae erant sumpta contra te.
When the war was begun, Caesar, and indeed for the most part waged, compelled by no force, by my own judgment and will I set out to those arms which had been taken up against you.
apud quem igitur hoc dico? nempe apud eum qui, cum hoc sciret, tamen me, ante quam vidit, rei publicae reddidit; qui ad me ex Aegypto litteras misit ut essem idem qui fuissem; qui me, cum ipse imperator in toto imperio populi Romani unus esset, esse alterum passus est; a quo hoc ipso C. Pansa mihi hunc nuntium perferente concessos fascis laureatos tenui quoad tenendos putavi; qui mihi tum denique salutem se putavit dare, si eam nullis spoliatam ornamentis dedisset.
Before whom, then, do I say this? Surely before him who, though he knew this, nevertheless restored me to the republic before he saw me; who sent letters to me from Egypt that I should be the same as I had been; who, when he himself was the sole imperator in the whole empire of the Roman people, allowed me to be another; from whom, with this very Gaius Pansa bringing me this message, I held the laureled fasces, which had been granted to me, as long as I thought they ought to be held; who thought that he was only then giving me safety, if he gave it despoiled of no honors.
§8vide, quaeso, Tubero, ut, qui de meo facto non dubitem, de Ligari audeam dicere.
See, I pray, Tubero, how I, who do not hesitate about my own action, dare to speak of that of Ligarius.
atque haec propterea de me dixi ut mihi Tubero, cum de se eadem dicerem, ignosceret; cuius ego industriae gloriaeque faveo vel propter propinquam cognationem, vel quod eius ingenio studiisque delector, vel quod laudem adulescentis propinqui existimo etiam ad meum aliquem fructum redundare.
And I have said these things about myself for this reason, that Tubero might forgive me when I say the same things about him; whose industry and glory I favor, either because of our close relationship, or because I am delighted with his talent and studies, or because I think that the praise of a young man who is my relative redounds also to some fruit of my own.
§9sed hoc quaero: quis putat esse crimen fuisse in Africa? nempe is qui et ipse in eadem provincia esse voluit et prohibitum se a Ligario queritur, et certe contra ipsum Caesarem est congressus armatus.
But I ask this: who thinks that it was a crime to have been in Africa? Surely he who himself wished to be in that same province, and complains that he was excluded by Ligarius, and who certainly met in arms against Caesar himself.
quid enim, Tubero, tuus ille destrictus in acie Pharsalica gladius agebat? cuius latus ille mucro petebat? qui sensus erat armorum tuorum? quae tua mens, oculi, manus, ardor animi? quid cupiebas, quid optabas? nimis urgeo; commoveri videtur adulescens.
For what, Tubero, was that sword of yours doing, drawn in the battle of Pharsalus? Whose side was that blade aiming at? What was the meaning of your weapons? What was your mind, your eyes, your hands, your passion of soul? What did you desire, what did you wish for? I press too hard; the young man seems to be moved.
§10ad me revertar.
I will return to myself.
isdem in armis fui.
I was in the same arms.
quid autem aliud egimus, Tubero, nisi ut quod hic potest nos possemus? quorum igitur impunitas, Caesar, tuae clementiae laus est, eorum ipsorum ad crudelitatem te acuet oratio? atque in hac causa non nihil equidem, Tubero, etiam tuam, sed multo magis patris tui prudentiam desidero, quod homo cum ingenio tum etiam doctrina excellens genus hoc causae quod esset non viderit.
What else did we do, Tubero, except that we might have the power which this man now has? Shall then, Caesar, the speech of those very men whose impunity is the praise of your clemency, sharpen you to cruelty? And in this cause, indeed, Tubero, I feel some lack of your own, but much more of your father's prudence, because a man outstanding both in talent and in learning did not see what kind of cause this was.
nam si vidisset, quovis profecto quam isto modo a te agi maluisset.
For if he had seen it, he would certainly have preferred it to be conducted by you in any other way than this.
arguis fatentem.
You accuse one who confesses.
non est satis: accusas eum qui causam habet aut, ut ego dico, meliorem quam tu aut, ut tu vis, parem.
That is not enough: you accuse one who has a cause either, as I say, better than yours, or, as you wish, equal to it.