§33at quam acute conlecta crimina!
Blesamius
inquit,—eius enim nomine, optimi viri nec tibi ignoti, male dicebat tibi—
ad regem
inquit
scribere solebat te in invidia esse, tyrannum existimari, statua inter reges posita animos hominum vehementer offensos, plaudi tibi non solere. nonne intellegis, Caesar, ex urbanis malevolorum sermunculis haec ab istis esse conlecta? Blesamius tyrannum Caesarem scriberet? multorum enim capita civium viderat, multos iussu Caesaris vexatos, verberatos, necatos, multas adflictas et eversas domos, armatis militibus refertum forum! quae semper in civili victoria sensimus, ea te victore non vidimus.
But how sharply collected are these charges! "Blesamius," he says—for in his name, an excellent man and not unknown to you, he was slandering you—"Blesamius," he says, "used to write to the king that you were in disfavor, were considered a tyrant, that the minds of men were violently offended by your statue being placed among those of the kings, and that it was not customary for you to be applauded." Do you not understand, Caesar, that these things have been collected by them from the small talk of malicious people in the city? Would Blesamius write that Caesar was a tyrant? For had he seen the heads of many citizens, had he seen many men harassed, beaten, and killed by Caesar's command, many homes afflicted and overturned, and the forum filled with armed soldiers? Those things which we always experienced in a civil victory, we did not see when you were the victor.
§34solus, inquam, es, C. Caesar, cuius in victoria ceciderit nemo nisi armatus.
You are the only one, I say, Gaius Caesar, in whose victory no one fell unless armed.
et quem nos liberi in summa populi Romani libertate nati non modo non tyrannum sed etiam clementissimum in victoria ducimus, is Blesamio qui vivit in regno tyrannus videri potest? nam de statua quis queritur, una praesertim, cum tam multas videat? valde enim invidendum est eius statuis cuius tropaeis non invidemus.
And can he, whom we, born free in the supreme liberty of the Roman people, look upon not only not as a tyrant but even as most merciful in victory, appear as a tyrant to Blesamius, who lives in a kingdom? For as to the statue, who complains, especially about a single one, when he sees so many? For we must indeed greatly envy his statues, whose trophies we do not envy!
nam si locus adfert invidiam, nullus est ad statuam quidem rostris clarior.
For if place brings envy, there is indeed no place more illustrious for a statue than the Rostra.
de plausu autem quid respondeam? qui nec desideratus umquam in te est et non numquam obstupefactis hominibus ipsa admiratione compressus est et fortasse eo praetermissus quia nihil volgare te dignum videri potest.
But what shall I reply concerning the applause? It was never indeed desired by you, and was sometimes suppressed by the very admiration of astonished men, and was perhaps passed over for this reason, because nothing common can appear worthy of you.
§35nihil a me arbitror praeteritum, sed aliquid ad extremam partem causae reservatum.
I think nothing has been omitted by me, but something has been reserved for the final part of the case.
id autem aliquid quid est? te ut plane Deiotaro reconciliet oratio mea.
But what is that "something"? That my speech may fully reconcile you to Deiotarus.
non enim iam metuo ne illi tu suscenseas; illud vereor ne tibi illum suscensere aliquid suspicere: quod abest longissime, mihi crede, Caesar.
For I no longer fear that you are angry with him; what I fear is that you may suspect that he is somewhat angry with you. This is furthest from the truth, believe me, Caesar.
quid enim retineat per te meminit, non quid amiserit; neque se a te multatum arbitratur, sed, cum existimares multis tibi multa esse tribuenda, quo minus a se qui in altera parte fuisset ea sumeres non recusavit.
For he remembers what he retains through you, not what he has lost; nor does he think he has been fined by you, but when you thought that many things had to be distributed by you to many people, he did not refuse that you should take those things from him, who had been on the other side.
§36etenim si Antiochus Magnus ille, rex Asiae, cum, postea quam a L. Scipione devictus Tauro tenus regnare iussus est, omnem hanc Asiam quae est nunc nostra provincia amisisset, dicere est solitus benigne sibi a populo Romano esse factum, quod nimis magna procuratione liberatus modicis regni terminis uteretur, potest multo facilius hoc se Deiotarus consolari.
For indeed, if that great Antiochus, king of Asia, when, after he had been conquered by Lucius Scipio and ordered to reign only as far as Taurus, he had lost all this Asia which is now our province, was accustomed to say that the Roman people had acted kindly toward him, because, freed from too great a charge of government, he enjoyed moderate boundaries of a kingdom, Deiotarus can much more easily console himself with this.
ille enim furoris multam sustulerat, hic erroris.
For the former had borne the penalty of madness, the latter of an error.
omnia tu Deiotaro, Caesar, tribuisti, cum et ipsi et filio nomen regium concessisti.
You gave everything to Deiotarus, Caesar, when you granted the royal title both to him and to his son.
hoc nomine retento atque servato nullum beneficium populi Romani, nullum iudicium de se senatus imminutum putat.
Since this title is retained and preserved, he thinks no benefit of the Roman people, no decision of the senate concerning him has been diminished.
Magno animo et erecto est, nec umquam succumbet inimicis, ne fortunae quidem.
He is of a great and upright mind, and will never succumb to his enemies, nor even to fortune.
§37multa se arbitratur et peperisse ante factis et habere in animo atque virtute, quae nullo modo possit amittere.
He thinks that he has both produced many things by his past deeds and holds them in his mind and virtue, which he can in no way lose.
quae enim fortuna aut quis casus aut quae tanta possit iniuria omnium imperatorum de Deiotaro decreta delere? ab omnibus est enim is ornatus qui, postea quam in castris esse potuit per aetatem, in Asia, Cappadocia, Ponto, Cilicia, Syria bella gesserunt: senatus vero iudicia de illo tam multa tamque honorifica, quae publicis populi Romani litteris monumentisque consignata sunt, quae umquam vetustas obruet aut quae tanta delebit oblivio? quid de virtute eius dicam, de magnitudine animi, gravitate, constantia? quae omnes docti atque sapientes summa, quidam etiam bona sola esse dixerunt, eisque non modo ad bene sed etiam ad beate vivendum contentam esse virtutem.
For what fortune, or what chance, or what so great injustice can erase the decrees of all generals concerning Deiotarus? For he has been honored by all those who, after he was able by age to be in the camp, waged wars in Asia, Cappadocia, Pontus, Cilicia, and Syria; and what lapse of time will ever bury, or what so great oblivion will ever erase, the decisions of the senate concerning him, so many and so honorable, which have been recorded in the public letters and monuments of the Roman people? What shall I say of his virtue, of his greatness of mind, gravity, and constancy? All learned and wise men have called these the greatest good, and some even the only good, and have said that virtue is content with itself not only for living well, but even for living happily.