§38.48.1quo longius Antiochus emotus esset, hoc impotentius in Asia Galli dominarentur, et, quidquid est terrarum citra Tauri iuga, Gallorum imperio, non vestro adiecissetis.
The further Antiochus was removed, the more unchecked the Gauls would have ruled in Asia, and you would have added whatever land there is on this side of the ridges of Taurus to the empire of the Gauls, not to your own.
§38.48.2at enim sunt quidem ista vera; sed etiam Delphos quondam, commune humani generis oraculum, umbilicum orbis terrarum, Galli spoliaverunt, nec ideo populus Romanus his bellum indixit aut intulit.
But indeed, you may say, those things are true; yet the Gauls once plundered even Delphi, the common oracle of the human race, the navel of the world, and the Roman people did not on that account declare or wage war against them.
§38.48.3equidem aliquid interesse rebar inter id tempus, quo nondum in iure ac dicione vestra Graecia atque Asia erat, ad curandum animadvertendumque, §38.48.4quid in his terris fieret, et hoc, quo finem imperii Romani Taurum montem statuistis, quo libertatem, immunitatem civitatibus datis, quo aliis fines adicitis, alias agro multatis, aliis vectigal imponitis, regna augetis minuitis donatis adimitis, curae vestrae censetis esse, ut pacem terra marique habeant.
For my part, I thought there was some difference between that time, when Greece and Asia were not yet under your law and dominion, to care for and notice what was happening in these lands, and this present time, in which you have established Mount Taurus as the boundary of the Roman empire, in which you grant freedom and immunity to cities, in which you add territories to some, fine others of their land, impose tribute on some, increase, diminish, grant, and take away kingdoms, and deem it to be your care that they have peace on land and sea.
§38.48.5an, nisi praesidia deduxisset Antiochus, quae quieta in suis arcibus erant, non putaretis liberatam Asiam; si Gallorum exercitus effusi vagarentur, rata dona vestra, quae dedistis, regi Eumeni, rata libertas civitatibus esset?
Or, unless Antiochus had withdrawn his garrisons, which were quiet in their strongholds, would you not think Asia liberated; yet if the armies of the Gauls were wandering scattered abroad, would your gifts which you gave to King Eumenes be secure, and the freedom of the cities be established?
§38.48.6sed quid ego haec ita argumentor, tamquam non acceperim, sed fecerim hostes Gallos?
But why do I argue these things in this way, as if I had not received the Gauls as enemies, but had made them so?
§38.48.7te, L. Scipio, appello, cuius ego mihi, succedens in vicem imperii tui, virtutem felicitatemque pariter non frustra ab diis immortalibus precatus sum, te, P. Scipio, qui legati ius, collegae maiestatem et apud fratrem consulem et apud exercitum habuisti, sciatisne in exercitu Antiochi Gallorum legiones fuisse,
I appeal to you, Lucius Scipio, whose courage and good fortune I, succeeding in turn to your command, prayed to the immortal gods that I might share not in vain; and to you, Publius Scipio, who held the rights of a commissioner and the majesty of a colleague both with your brother the consul and with the army—do you know that there were legions of Gauls in the army of Antiochus?
§38.48.8videritis in acie eos, in cornu utroque — id enim roboris esse videbatur — locatos, pugnaveritis ut cum hostibus iustis, cecideritis, spolia eorum retuleritis.
Did you see them in the battle line, stationed on both wings—for that seemed to be their strength—and did you fight with them as with lawful enemies, slay them, and bring back their spoils?
§38.48.9atqui cum Antiocho, non cum Gallis bellum et senatus decreverat et populus iusserat.
And yet, the senate had decreed and the people had ordered war with Antiochus, not with the Gauls.
sed simul, ut opinor, cum his decreverant iusserantque, qui intra praesidia eius fuissent; §38.48.10ex quibus praeter Antiochum, cum quo pacem pepigerat Scipio, et cum quo nominatim foedus ut fieret mandaveratis, omnes hostes erant, qui pro Antiocho arma adversus nos tulerunt.
But at the same time, I believe, they had decreed and ordered it against those who had been within his garrisons; of whom, except Antiochus, with whom Scipio had made peace and with whom you had commanded that a treaty should be made by name, all were enemies who bore arms against us for Antiochus.
§38.48.11in qua causa cum Galli ante omnes fuissent et reguli l quidam et tyranni, ego tamen et cum aliis, pro dignitate imperii vestri coactis luere peccata sua, pacem pepigi, et Gallorum animos, si possent mitigari a feritate insita, §38.48.12temptavi et, postquam indomitos atque implacabiles cernebam, tum demum vi atque armis coercendos ratus sum.
In which cause, although the Gauls and certain chieftains and tyrants had been foremost of all, I nevertheless made peace with the others, who were forced to pay for their offenses in accordance with the dignity of your empire, and I tried the minds of the Gauls, to see if they could be softened from their innate ferocity, and after I perceived that they were untamable and implacable, only then did I think they must be coerced by force of arms.
” §38.48.13“nunc, quoniam suscepti belli purgatum est crimen, gesti reddenda est ratio.
Now, since the charge of undertaking the war has been cleared, an account of its conduct must be rendered.
in quo confiderem equidem causae meae, etiam si non apud Romanum sed apud Carthaginiensem senatum agerem, ubi in crucem tolli imperatores dicuntur, si prospero eventu, §38.48.14pravo consilio rem gesserunt; sed ego in ea civitate, quae ideo omnibus rebus incipiendis gerendisque deos adhibet, quia nullius calumniae subicit ea, quae dii comprobaverunt, et in sollemnibus verbis habet, cum supplicationem aut triumphum decernit, §38.48.15“quod bene ac feliciter rem publicam administrarit,” si nollem, si grave ac superbum existimarem virtute gloriari, si pro felicitate mea exercitusque mei, §38.48.16quod tantam nationem sine ulla militum iactura devicimus, postularem, ut diis immortalibus honos haberetur et ipse triumphans in Capitolium ascenderem, unde votis rite nuncupatis profectus sum, negaretis hoc mihi cum diis immortalibus?
In this, I would indeed trust my cause, even if I were pleading not before the Roman but before the Carthaginian senate, where commanders are said to be crucified if they have conducted an affair with a bad plan, even with a successful outcome; but I, in that state which, in beginning and conducting all things, summons the gods because it subjects to no calumny those things which the gods have approved, and has in its solemn words, when it decrees a thanksgiving or a triumph, 'because he has administered the republic well and successfully'—if I were unwilling, if I thought it grievous and arrogant to boast of my valor, if on behalf of my good fortune and that of my army, because we conquered so great a nation without any loss of soldiers, I should demand that honor be paid to the immortal gods, and that I myself should ascend in triumph to the Capitol, from which I set out after duly pronouncing my vows, would you deny this to me together with the immortal gods?