§5.2.7atqui ille, quod te audisse certo scio, pr. K. Ian. , qua iniuria nemo umquam in aliquo magistratu improbissimus civis adfectus est, ea me consulem adfecit, cum rem p. conservassem, atque abeuntem magistratu contionis habendae potestate privavit.
Yet he—and I know for certain that you have heard of this—on the day before the Kalends of January, affected me, the consul, after I had preserved the state, with such an injustice as no utterly wicked citizen in any magistracy was ever affected with, and deprived me, as I was laying down my office, of the power of holding a public assembly.
cuius iniuria mihi tamen honori summo fuit; nam cum ille mihi nihil nisi ut iurarem permitteret, magna voce iuravi verissimum pulcherrimumque ius iurandum, quod populus idem magna voce me vere iurasse iuravit.
Nevertheless, his injustice turned out to be my highest honor; for when he permitted me nothing except to take an oath, I swore in a loud voice a most true and beautiful oath, which the very same people swore in a loud voice that I had truly sworn.
§5.2.8hac accepta tam insigni iniuria tamen illo ipso die misi ad Metellum communis amicos, qui agerent cum eo, ut de illa mente desisteret.
Having received so remarkable an injustice, I nevertheless on that very day sent common friends to Metellus to plead with him to desist from that purpose.
quibus ille respondit sibi non esse integrum; etenim paulo ante in contione dixerat ei, qui in alios animum advertisset indicta causa, dicendi ipsi potestatem fieri non oportere.
To them he replied that it was no longer open to him; for indeed, a little earlier in a public assembly, he had said that the power of speaking ought not to be granted to one who had punished others without a trial.
hominem gravem et civem egregium! qui, qua poena senatus consensu bonorum omnium eos adfecerat, qui urbem incendere et magistratus ac senatum trucidare, bellum maximum conflare voluissent, eadem dignum iudicaret eum, qui curiam caede, urbem incendiis, Italiam bello liberasset.
What a serious man and what an outstanding citizen! Who judged that the same punishment with which the senate, by the consensus of all good men, had affected those who had wished to burn the city, slaughter the magistrates and the senate, and kindle a massive war, was deserved by the one who had freed the senate-house from slaughter, the city from fires, and Italy from war.
itaque ego Metello, fratri tuo, praesenti restiti.
Therefore, I resisted your brother Metellus to his face.
nam in senatu K. Ianuariis sic cum eo de re p. disputavi, ut sentiret sibi cum viro forti et constanti esse pugnandum.
For in the senate on the Kalends of January, I argued with him about the state in such a way that he felt he had to fight with a brave and steadfast man.
A. d. tertium non. Ian. cum agere coepisset, tertio quoque verbo orationis suae me appellabat, mihi minabatur, neque illi quicquam deliberatius fuit quam me, quacumque ratione posset, non iudicio neque disceptatione sed vi atque impressione evertere.
On the third day before the Nones of January, when he had begun to act, with every third word of his speech he addressed me and threatened me, and nothing was more deliberately planned by him than to overthrow me by any means he could, not by judgment or debate, but by force and assault.
huius ego temeritati si virtute atque animo non restitissem, quis esset qui me in consulatu non casu potius existimaret quam consilio fortem fuisse?
If I had not resisted his rashness with courage and spirit, who would there be who would not think that I had been brave in my consulship by chance rather than by design?
§5.2.9haec si tu Metellum cogitare de me nescisti, debes existimare te maximis de rebus a fratre esse celatum; sin autem aliquid impertivit tibi sui consili, lenis a te et facilis existimari debeo, qui nihil tecum de his ipsis rebus expostulem.
If you did not know that Metellus was thinking these things about me, you ought to consider that you were kept in the dark by your brother concerning the most important matters; but if, on the other hand, he shared some of his plan with you, I ought to be considered by you as mild and easygoing, since I expostulate nothing with you about these very matters.
et, si intellegis non me 'dicto' Metelli, ut scribis, sed consilio eius animoque in me inimicissimo esse commotum, cognosce nunc humanitatem meam, si humanitas appellandast in acerbissima iniuria remissio animi ac dis solutio.
And, if you understand that I was moved not by a "speech" of Metellus, as you write, but by his plan and his most hostile spirit towards me, recognize now my humanity—if humanity is the right name for the relaxation of mind and leniency in the face of the bitterest injustice.
nullast a me umquam sententia dicta in fratrem tuum; quotienscumque aliquid est actum, sedens iis adsensi, qui mihi lenissime sentire visi sunt.
No opinion was ever delivered by me against your brother; as often as anything was discussed, I, remaining seated, assented to those who seemed to me to hold the mildest view.
addam illud etiam, quod iam ego curare non debui, sed tamen fieri non moleste tuli atque etiam, ut ita fieret, pro mea parte adiuvi, ut senati consulto meus inimicus, quia tuus frater erat, sublevaretur.
I will also add this, which I no longer had any duty to care about, but nevertheless did not take amiss when it was done, and even, for my part, helped so that it might be done—namely, that by a decree of the senate, my enemy, because he was your brother, should be relieved.
§5.2.10quare non ego 'oppugnavi' fratrem tuum, sed fratri tuo repugnavi nec in te, ut scribis, 'animo fui mobili,' sed ita stabili, ut in mea erga te voluntate etiam desertus ab officiis tuis permanerem.
Therefore, I did not "attack" your brother, but I resisted your brother; nor, as you write, "was I of a fickle mind" towards you, but of one so stable that I remained in my goodwill towards you even when deserted by your services.
atque hoc ipso tempore tibi paene minitanti nobis per litteras hoc rescribo atque respondeo: ego dolori tuo non solum ignosco, sed summam etiam laudem tribuo (meus enim me sensus, quanta vis fraterni sit amoris, admonet); a te peto ut tu quoque aequum te iudicem dolori meo praebeas; si acerbe, si crudeliter, si sine causa sum a tuis oppugnatus, ut statuas mihi non modo non cedendum sed etiam tuo atque exercitus tui auxilio in eius modi causa utendum fuisse.
And at this very time, to you who are almost threatening us through letters, I write back and reply this: I not only forgive your grief, but I even bestow the highest praise upon it (for my own feeling reminds me of how great the strength of brotherly love is); I ask of you that you also show yourself a fair judge to my grief; if I have been attacked by your relatives bitterly, cruelly, and without cause, that you should decide that I not only ought not to have yielded, but even ought to have used your assistance and that of your army in such a cause.
ego te mihi semper amicum esse volui, me ut tibi amicissimum esse intellegeres laboravi.
I always wished you to be a friend to me, and I labored so that you might understand that I was most friendly to you.
maneo in voluntate et, quoad voles tu, permanebo citiusque amore tui fratrem tuum odisse desinam quam illius odio quicquam de nostra benevolentia detraham.
I remain in this goodwill, and as long as you wish, I will remain; and I shall sooner cease to hate your brother out of love for you, than I shall detract anything from our goodwill out of hatred for him.