§74sed et in ulciscendo natura lenissimus piratas, a quibus captus est, cum in dicionem redegisset, quoniam suffixurum se cruci ante iurauerat, iugulari prius iussit, deinde suffigi;
But even in taking vengeance he was by nature most mild: having brought into his power the pirates by whom he had been captured, since he had previously sworn that he would crucify them, he ordered them to be throat-cut first, and then crucified.
Cornelio Phagitae, cuius quondam nocturnas insidias aeger ac latens, ne perduceretur ad Sullam, uix praemio dato euaserat, numquam nocere sustinuit;
He could never bring himself to harm Cornelius Phagitas, whose nightly ambush he had once, when sick and hiding, barely escaped by giving a bribe so that he would not be brought to Sulla.
Philemonem a manu seruum, qui necem suam per uenenum inimicis promiserat, non grauius quam simplici morte puniit;
Philemon, his secretary-slave, who had promised his enemies to kill him by poison, he punished with nothing more severe than a simple death.
in Publium Clodium Pompeiae uxoris suae adulterum atque eadem de causa pollutarum caerimoniarum reum testis citatus negauit se quicquam comperisse, quamuis et mater Aurelia et soror Iulia apud eosdem iudices omnia ex fide rettulissent; interrogatusque, cur igitur repudiasset uxorem: 'quoniam,' inquit, 'meos tam suspicione quam crimine iudico carere oportere. ' §75moderationem uero clementiamque cum in administratione tum in uictoria belli ciuilis admirabilem exhibuit.
When summoned as a witness against Publius Clodius, the adulterer of his wife Pompeia and on that account accused of polluting the sacred ceremonies, he denied that he had discovered anything, although both his mother Aurelia and his sister Julia had faithfully reported everything before the same judges; and when asked why he had therefore divorced his wife, he said, "Because I judge that my household ought to be free as much from suspicion as from crime." Indeed, he displayed an admirable moderation and clemency both in the administration and in the victory of the civil war.
denuntiante Pompeio pro hostibus se habiturum qui rei publicae defuissent, ipse medios et neutrius partis suorum sibi numero futuros pronuntiauit.
While Pompey declared that he would consider as enemies those who had failed the republic, Caesar himself announced that those who were neutral and of neither party would be in the number of his own.
quibus autem ex commendatione Pompei ordines dederat, potestatem transeundi ad eum omnibus fecit.
Moreover, to all those to whom he had given military rank on the recommendation of Pompey, he granted the power of passing over to him.
motis apud Ilerdam deditionis condicionibus, cum, assiduo inter utrasque partes usu atque commercio, Afranius et Petreius deprehensos intra castra Iulianos subita paenitentia interfecissent, admissam in se perfidiam non sustinuit imitari.
When terms of surrender were being negotiated at Ilerda, and Afranius and Petreius, by a sudden change of mind, had put to death the Caesarians caught within their camp after constant social intercourse and trade between both sides, Caesar could not bring himself to imitate the treachery committed against him.
acie Pharsalica proclamauit, ut ciuibus parceretur, deincepsque nemini non suorum quem uellet unum partis aduersae seruare concessit.
At the battle of Pharsalus, he cried out that the citizens should be spared, and thereafter he permitted every one of his men to save any one person of the opposite side whom he wished.
nec ulli perisse nisi in proelio reperientur, exceptis dum taxat Afranio et Fausto et Lucio Caesare iuuene; ac ne hos quidem uoluntate ipsius interemptos putant, quorum tamen et priores post impetratam ueniam rebellauerant et Caesar libertis seruisque eius ferro et igni crudelem in modum enectis bestias quoque ad munus populi comparatas contrucidauerat.
Nor will anyone be found to have perished except in battle, with the sole exceptions of Afranius, Faustus, and the young Lucius Caesar; and it is believed that not even these were slain by his will, although the former two had rebelled again after obtaining pardon, and Caesar, after putting his freedmen and slaves to death in a cruel manner with sword and fire, had also slaughtered the wild beasts prepared for the public show.
denique tempore extremo etiam quibus nondum ignouerat, cunctis in Italiam redire permisit magistratusque et imperia capere; sed et statuas Luci Sullae atque Pompei a plebe disiectas reposuit; ac si qua posthac aut cogitarentur grauius aduersus se aut dicerentur, inhibere maluit quam uindicare.
Finally, at the end of his life, he permitted all those whom he had not yet forgiven to return to Italy and to hold magistracies and military commands; moreover, he restored the statues of Lucius Sulla and Pompey which had been thrown down by the plebeians; and if anything was hereafter either thought or said too severely against him, he preferred to restrain rather than to punish it.
itaque et detectas coniurationes conuentusque nocturnos non ultra arguit, quam ut edicto ostenderet esse sibi notas, et acerbe loquentibus satis habuit pro contione denuntiare ne perseuerarent, Aulique Caecinae criminosissimo libro et Pitholai carminibus maledicentissimis laceratam existimationem suam ciuili animo tulit.
Thus, he did not prosecute the uncovered conspiracies and nightly meetings further than to show by an edict that they were known to him, and as for those who spoke bitterly against him, he considered it sufficient to warn them in a public assembly not to persist, and he bore with a citizen-like mind his reputation torn to pieces by the highly accusatory book of Aulus Caecina and the most abusive verses of Pitholaus.
§76Praegrauant tamen cetera facta dictaque eius, ut et abusus dominatione et iure caesus existimetur.
Yet his other deeds and words outweigh these, so that he is thought to have both abused his power and been justly slain.
non enim honores modo nimios recepit: continuum consulatum, perpetuam dictaturam praefecturamque morum, insuper praenomen Imperatoris, cognomen Patris patriae, statuam inter reges, suggestum in orchestra; sed et ampliora etiam humano fastigio decerni sibi passus est: sedem auream in curia et pro tribunali, tensam et ferculum circensi pompa, templa, aras, simulacra iuxta deos, puluinar, flaminem, lupercos, appellationem mensis e suo nomine; ac nullos non honores ad libidinem cepit et dedit.
For he not only accepted excessive honors: a continuous consulship, a perpetual dictatorship, and a prefecture of morals, and moreover the praenomen of Imperator, the cognomen of Father of his Country, a statue among the kings, and a seat in the orchestra; but he also allowed honors even greater than human limitation to be decreed for him: a golden seat in the senate-house and before the tribunal, a ceremonial chariot and litter in the circus procession, temples, altars, images next to the gods, a sacred couch, a priest, Luperci, and the naming of a month after his own name; and indeed there were no honors that he did not take and give at his pleasure.
tertium et quartum consulatum titulo tenus gessit contentus dictaturae potestate decretae cum consulatibus simul atque utroque anno binos consules substituit sibi in ternos nouissimos menses, ita ut medio tempore comitia nulla habuerit praeter tribunorum et aedilium plebis praefectosque pro praetoribus constituerit, qui apsente se res urbanas administrarent.
His third and fourth consulships he held in name only, being content with the power of the dictatorship decreed at the same time with the consulships, and in both years he substituted two consuls for himself for the last three months, so that in the intervening time he held no elections except for tribunes and plebeian aediles, and appointed prefects with the rank of praetor to manage city affairs in his absence.
pridie autem Kalendas Ianuarias repentina consulis morte cessantem honorem in paucas horas petenti dedit.
On the day before the Kalends of January, upon the sudden death of a consul, he gave the vacant office for a few hours to one who petitioned for it.
eadem licentia spreto patrio more magistratus in pluris annos ordinauit, decem praetoris uiris consularia ornamenta tribuit, ciuitate donatos et quosdam e semibarbaris Gallorum recepit in curiam.
With the same lawlessness, scorning ancestral custom, he appointed magistrates for several years in advance, granted consular insignia to ten men who had been praetors, and admitted into the senate-house those who had been presented with citizenship, and some even from the semi-barbarian Gauls.
praeterea monetae publicisque uectigalibus peculiares seruos praeposuit.
Besides, he put his private slaves in charge of the mint and the public revenues.
trium legionum, quas Alexandreae relinquebat, curam et imperium Rufioni liberti sui filio exoleto suo demandauit.
The care and command of the three legions which he was leaving at Alexandria, he entrusted to Rufio, the son of his freedman, who was a favorite of his.