§39.47.1respondendum ad omnia iuveni tum admodum Demetrio erat.
The young Demetrius, who was then quite young, had to answer to everything.
cum haud facile esset aut ea, quae obicerentur, aut quae adversus ea dicenda erant, memoria complecti — §39.47.2nec enim multa solum, sed etiam pleraque oppido quam parva erant, de controversia finium, de hominibus raptis pecoribusque abactis, de iure aut dicto per libidinem aut non dicto, de rebus per vim aut gratiam iudicatis — §39.47.3, nihil horum neque Demetrium docere dilucide nec se satis liquido discere ab eo senatus cum cerneret posse, simul et tirocinio et perturbatione iuvenis moveretur, quaeri iussit ab eo, ecquem de his rebus commentarium a patre accepisset.
Since it was by no means easy to grasp in memory either the charges that were being brought or what had to be said in reply to them— for not only were they numerous, but most of them were also extremely small, concerning disputes over boundaries, abducted men and driven-off cattle, justice either pronounced out of caprice or not pronounced at all, and matters decided by force or favor— when the senate perceived that Demetrius could explain none of these things clearly, nor could they themselves learn anything sufficiently plain from him, and at the same time they were moved by the youth's inexperience and embarrassment, they ordered him to be asked whether he had received any memorandum on these matters from his father.
§39.47.4cum respondisset accepisse se, nihil prius nec potius visum est quam regis ipsius de singulis responsa accipere.
When he replied that he had received one, nothing seemed more immediate or preferable than to accept the king's own responses to each point.
librum extemplo poposcerunt, deinde ut ipse recitaret permiserunt.
They immediately demanded the book, and then permitted him to read it aloud himself.
§39.47.5erant autem de singulis rebus in breve coactae causae, ut alia fecisse se secundum decreta legatorum diceret, alia non per se stetisse, quo minus faceret, sed per eos ipsos, qui accusarent.
Now, the arguments on each point had been condensed into a brief form, so that regarding some matters he said he had acted in accordance with the decrees of the commissioners, and regarding others, that it had not been his fault that he did not do them, but rather the fault of those very people who were accusing him.
§39.47.6interposuerat et querellas de iniquitate decretorum, et quam non ex aequo disceptatum apud Caecilium foret indigneque sibi nec ullo suo merito insultatum ab omnibus esset.
He had also inserted complaints about the injustice of the decrees, and how unfairly the arbitration before Caecilius had been conducted, and how undeservedly and without any merit of his own he had been insulted by everyone.
§39.47.7has notas irritati eius animi collegit senatus: ceterum alia excusanti iuveni, alia recipienti futura ita, ut maxime vellet senatus, responderi placuit nihil patrem eius neque rectius §39.47.8nec magis quod ex voluntate senatus esset fecisse, quam quod, utcumque ea gesta essent, per Demetrium filium satisfieri voluisset Romanis.
The senate gathered these marks of his irritated mind; however, as the youth apologized for some things and undertook that others should in the future be done exactly as the senate most wished, it was resolved to reply that his father had done nothing more rightly nor more in accordance with the senate's will than that, however those things had been done, he had wished to satisfy the Romans through his son Demetrius.
§39.47.9multa et dissimulare et oblivisci et pati praeterita senatum posse, et credere etiam Demetrio.
The senate could overlook, forget, and endure many past offenses, and could also place trust in Demetrius.
§39.47.10obsidem enim se animum eius habere, etsi corpus patri reddiderit, et scire, quantum salva in patrem pietate possit, amicum eum populi Romani esse, §39.47.11honorisque eius causa missuros in Macedoniam legatos, ut si quid minus factum sit quam debuerit, tum quoque sine piaculo rerum praetermissarum fiat.
For they held his soul as a hostage, even though they had returned his body to his father, and they knew that, as far as was possible without violating his loyalty to his father, he was a friend to the Roman people; and for his honor's sake, they would send ambassadors to Macedonia so that if anything had been done less than it should have been, it might even then be fulfilled without any penalty for past omissions.
velle etiam sentire Philippum integra omnia sibi cum populo Romano Demetrii filii beneficio esse.
They also wished Philip to feel that all his relations with the Roman people were entirely unimpaired, thanks to his son Demetrius.