§1.16.1quaeris ex me quid acciderit de iudicio quod tam praeter opinionem omnium factum sit, et simul vis scire quo modo ego minus quam soleam proeliatus sim.
You ask me what happened concerning the trial, which turned out so contrary to everyone's expectation, and at the same time you want to know how I fought less fiercely than I usually do.
respondebo tibi ὕστερον πρότερον,.
I will answer you in reverse order (ὕστερον πρότερον).
ego enim quam diu senatus auctoritas mihi defendenda fuit, sic acriter et vehementer proeliatus sum ut clamor concursusque maxima cum mea laude fierent.
For as long as the authority of the senate had to be defended by me, I fought so sharply and vigorously that the shouting and rallying of the crowd took place to my greatest praise.
quod si tibi umquam sum visus in re publica fortis, certe me in illa causa admiratus esses.
If you ever thought me brave in public affairs, you would certainly have admired me in that cause.
cum enim ille ad contiones confugisset in iisque meo nomine ad invidiam uteretur, di immortales! quas ego pugnas et quantas strages edidi! quos impetus in Pisonem, in Curionem, in totam illam manum feci! quo modo sum insectatus levitatem senum, libidinem iuventutis! saepe, ita me di iuvent! te non solum auctorem consiliorum meorum, verum etiam spectatorem pugnarum mirificarum desideravi.
For when he had fled to the public assemblies and there used my name to stir up unpopularity, immortal gods! what battles I fought, and what great slaughters I dealt! What onslaughts I made upon Piso, upon Curio, upon that whole gang! How I pursued the levity of the old men, the lust of the youth! Often, so help me the gods! I missed you not only as the adviser of my plans but also as a spectator of my wondrous battles.
§1.16.2postea vero quam Hortensius excogitavit ut legem de religione Fufius tribunus pl. ferret, in qua nihil aliud a consulari rogatione differebat nisi iudicum genus (in eo autem erant omnia), pugnavitque ut ita fieret, quod et sibi et aliis persuaserat nullis illum iudicibus effugere posse, contraxi vela perspiciens inopiam iudicum neque dixi quicquam pro testimonio nisi quod erat ita notum atque testatum ut non possem praeterire.
But after Hortensius devised that the tribune of the plebs Fufius should propose a law concerning sacrilege, in which nothing else differed from the consular bill except the class of judges (and on this everything depended), and fought for it to be done so, because he had persuaded both himself and others that he could not escape by any judges, I trimmed my sails, perceiving the poverty of the judges, and said nothing in my testimony except what was so well known and attested that I could not pass it over.
itaque si causam quaeris absolutionis, ut iam πρὸσ τὸ πρότερον revertar, egestas iudicum fuit et turpitudo.
Therefore, if you ask the cause of the acquittal, to return now to the former question (πρὸσ τὸ πρότερον), it was the poverty and degradation of the judges.
id autem ut accideret commissum est Hortensi consilio, qui dum veritus est ne Fufius ei legi intercederet quae ex senatus consulto ferebatur, non vidit illud, satius esse illum in infamia relinqui ac sordibus quam infirmo iudicio committi, sed ductus odio properavit rem deducere in iudicium, cum illum plumbeo gladio iugulatum iri tamen diceret.
But that this should happen was brought about by the plan of Hortensius, who, while he feared lest Fufius should veto that law which was being proposed under the decree of the senate, did not see this—that it was better for him to be left in infamy and squalor than to be committed to a weak tribunal; but led by hatred, he hastened to bring the matter to trial, saying that he would be cut down even with a leaden sword.
§1.16.3sed iudicium si quaeris quale fuerit, incredibili exitu, sic uti nunc ex eventu ab aliis, a me tamen ex ipso initio consilium Hortensi reprehendatur.
But if you ask what kind of trial it was, it had an incredible outcome, so that now after the event Hortensius’s plan is blamed by others, but by me indeed from the very beginning.
nam ut reiectio facta est clamoribus maximis, cum accusator tamquam censor bonus homines nequissimos reiceret, reus tamquam clemens lanista frugalissimum quemque secerneret, ut primum iudices consederunt, valde diffidere boni coeperunt.
For when the rejection of judges was made amid the loudest shouts, while the accuser, like a good censor, rejected the most worthless men, and the defendant, like a merciful gladiatorial trainer, set aside all the most honest, as soon as the judges took their seats, the good citizens began to despair greatly.
non enim umquam turpior in ludo talario consessus fuit, maculosi senatores, nudi equites, tribuni non tam aerati quam, ut appellantur, aerarii.
For there was never a more disgraceful gathering even in a gambling house: spotted senators, penniless knights, and tribunes who were not so much wealthy (aerati) as "treasury-men" (aerarii), as they are called.
pauci tamen boni inerant quos reiectione fugare ille non potuerat, qui maesti inter sui dissimilis et maerentes sedebant et contagione turpitudinis vehementer permovebantur.
Yet a few good men were in it, whom he had not been able to drive away by rejection; they sat sad and mourning among those so unlike themselves, and were deeply moved by the contagion of dishonesty.
§1.16.4hic ut quaeque res ad consilium primis postulationibus referebatur, incredibilis erat severitas nulla varietate sententiarum.
Here, as each matter was referred to the council in the first applications, there was incredible severity, with no variation of opinions.
nihil impetrarat reus; plus accusatori dabatur quam postulabat; triumphabat (quid quaeris?) Hortensius se vidisse tantum; nemo erat qui illum reum ac non miliens condemnatum arbitraretur.
The defendant obtained nothing; more was given to the accuser than he asked; Hortensius triumphed—why ask more?—that he had seen so much; there was no one who did not think him a defendant already condemned a thousand times.
me vero teste producto credo te ex acclamatione Clodi advocatorum audisse quae consurrectio iudicum facta sit, ut me circumsteterint, ut aperte iugula sua pro meo capite P. Clodio ostentarint.
But when I was produced as a witness, I believe you have heard from the shouting of Clodius’s supporters what a rising of the judges took place, how they surrounded me, and how openly they showed their own throats to P. Clodius for my head.
quae mihi res multo honorificentior visa est quam aut illa, cum iurare tui cives Xenocratem testimonium dicentem prohibuerunt, aut cum tabulas Metelli Numidici, cum eae ut mos est circumferrentur, nostri iudices aspicere noluerunt.
This matter seemed to me much more honorable than either that occasion when your fellow citizens forbade Xenocrates to swear when giving testimony, or when our judges refused to look at the books of Metellus Numidicus when they were being handed around as is the custom.