Cicero: ORATORIA

I. Si quis est, iudices, qui C. Rabirium, quod fortunas suas, fundatas praesertim atque optime constitutas opes, potestati regiae libidinique commiserit, reprehendendum putet, ascribat ad iudicium suum non modo meam sed huius etiam ipsius qui commisit sententiam; nec enim cuiquam eius consilium vehementius quam ipsi displicet. quamquam hoc plerumque facimus ut consilia eventis ponderemus et, cui bene quid processerit, multum illum providisse, cui secus, nihil sensisse dicamus. si exstitisset in rege fides, nihil sapientius Postumo, quia fefellit rex, nihil hoc amentius dicitur, ut iam nihil esse videatur nisi divinare sapientis.

1. If there is anyone, judges, who thinks Gaius Rabirius must be reprehended because he entrusted his fortunes—his resources, founded and most excellently constituted—to regal power and whim, let him ascribe to his judgment not only my opinion but even that of this very man who entrusted them; for his counsel displeases no one more vehemently than himself. And yet we for the most part do this, that we ponder counsels by events, and we say that he for whom something has proceeded well had much foresight, but he for whom it has gone otherwise sensed nothing. If there had existed good faith in the king, nothing would have been wiser than Postumus; because the king deceived, nothing is said more demented than this, so that now nothing seems to belong to the wise except to divine.

sed tamen,

but nevertheless,

[2] si quis est, iudices, qui illam Postumi sive inanem spem sive inconsultam rationem sive, ut gravissimo verbo utar, temeritatem vituperandam putet, ego eius opinioni non repugno; illud tamen deprecor ut, cum ab ipsa fortuna crudelissime videat huius consilia esse multata, ne quid ad eas ruinas quibus hic oppressus est addendum acerbitatis putet. satis est homines imprudentia lapsos non erigere, urgere vero iacentis aut praecipitantis impellere certe est inhumanum, praesertim, iudices, cum sit hoc generi hominum prope natura datum ut, qua in familia laus aliqua forte floruerit, hanc fere qui sint eius stirpis, quod sermone hominum ac memoria patrum virtutes celebrantur, cupidissime persequantur, si quidem non modo in gloria rei militaris Paulum Scipio ac maximus filii, sed etiam in devotione vitae et in ipso genere mortis imitatus est P. Decium filius. sint igitur similia, iudices, parva magnis.

[2] if there is anyone, judges, who thinks that that of Postumus—whether empty hope, or ill-considered rationale, or, to use the most weighty word, temerity—ought to be blamed, I do not oppose his opinion; this, however, I beseech: that, since he sees that Fortune herself has most cruelly punished this man’s counsels, he not think that anything of bitterness ought to be added to those ruins by which he has been overwhelmed. It is enough not to raise men who have slipped through imprudence; but to press upon those lying prostrate or to push those who are headlong is surely inhuman, especially, judges, since it is almost given by nature to this kind of men that, any praise has by chance flourished in a family, those who are of that stock, because virtues are celebrated by the talk of men and the memory of the fathers, very eagerly pursue it—since indeed not only in the glory of military affairs did Scipio and Maximus, the sons of Paulus, imitate their father, but even in the devotion of life and in the very type of death did the son of Publius Decius imitate Publius Decius. Let small things, therefore, judges, be like great ones.

II.

[3] Fuit enim pueris nobis huius pater, C. Curtius, princeps ordinis equestris, fortissimus et maximus publicanus, cuius in negotiis gerendis magnitudinem animi non tam homines probassent, nisi in eodem benignitas incredibilis fuisset, ut in augenda re non avaritiae praedam, sed instrumentum bonitati quaerere videretur.

[3] For when we were boys, this man’s father, C. Curtius, was a chief of the equestrian order, a most courageous and greatest publican, whose greatness of soul in conducting business men would not so much have approved, had there not been in that same man an incredible benignity, so that in enlarging his estate he seemed to seek not a prey for avarice but an instrument for beneficence.

[4] Hoc ille natus, quamquam patrem suum numquam viderat, tamen et natura ipsa duce, quae plurimum valet, et adsiduis domesticorum sermonibus in paternae disciplinae similitudinem deductus est. multa gessit, multa contraxit, magnas partis habuit publicorum; credidit populis; in pluribus provinciis eius versata res est; dedit se etiam regibus; huic ipsi Alexandrino grandem iam antea pecuniam credidit; nec interea locupletare amicos umquam suos destitit, mittere in negotium, dare partis, augere , fide sustentare. quid multa?

[4] He, born to this, although he had never seen his father, yet with nature herself as guide, which avails most, and by the assiduous conversations of the household, was led into a likeness of his father’s discipline. He did many things, he contracted many, he held great shares of the public contracts; he extended credit to peoples; in many provinces his business was engaged; he even committed himself to kings; to this very Alexandrian he had already before lent a large sum of money; nor meanwhile did he ever cease to enrich his friends, to send them into business, to give shares, to augment , to sustain by credit. Why say more?

cum magnitudine animi, tum liberalitate vitam patris et consuetudinem expresserat. pulsus interea regno Ptolomaeus dolosis consiliis, ut dixit Sibylla, sensit Postumus, Romam venit. cui egenti et roganti hic infelix pecuniam credidit, nec tum primum; nam regnanti crediderat absens; nec temere se credere putabat, quod erat nemini dubium quin is in regnum restitueretur a senatu populoque Romano.

both in greatness of spirit and in liberality he had reproduced the life and custom of his father. Meanwhile Ptolemy, driven from his kingdom by deceitful counsels, as the Sibyl said—Postumus perceived it; he came to Rome. To him, needy and begging, this unlucky man lent money, and not then for the first time; for while he was reigning he had lent to him in his absence; nor did he think he was trusting rashly, since it was doubtful to no one that he would be restored to the kingdom by the Senate and People of Rome.

[5] In dando autem et credendo processit longius nec suam solum pecuniam credidit sed etiam amicorum, stulte; quis negat, aut quis iam audebit, quod male cecidit, bene consultum putare? sed est difficile, quod cum spe magna sis ingressu, id non exsequi usque ad extremum.

[5] But in giving and in lending he went farther, and he entrusted not only his own money but also that of his friends—foolishly; who denies, or who now will dare, to think that what turned out badly was well-advised? but it is difficult, when you have entered upon something with great hope, not to carry it through to the very end.

III. Supplex erat rex, multa rogabat, omnia pollicebatur, ut iam metuere Postumus cogeretur ne quod crediderat perderet, si credendi constituisset modum. nihil autem erat illo blandius, nihil hoc benignius, ut magis paeniteret coepisse quam liceret desistere.

3. The king was supplicant, he was asking for many things, he was promising everything, so that Postumus was now compelled to fear lest he lose what he had lent, if he had established a limit to lending. And nothing was more blandishing than that man, nothing more benign than this, so that he regretted having begun more than it was permitted to desist.

[6] Hinc primum exoritur crimen illud; senatum corruptum esse dicunt. O di immortales! haec est illa exoptata iudiciorum severitas?

[6] From here first arises that charge; they say that the senate has been corrupted. O immortal gods! is this that longed-for severity of the courts?

corruptores nostri causam dicunt; nos qui corrupti sumus non dicimus? quid ergo? senatum<ne> defendam hoc loco, iudices?

Our corruptors plead their cause; shall we, who have been corrupted, not speak? What then? Am I to defend the senate here, judges?

omni equidem loco debeo; ita de me est meritus ille ordo; sed nec id agitur hoc tempore nec cum Postumi causa res ista coniuncta est. quamquam ad sumptum itineris, ad illam magnificentiam apparatus comitatumque regium suppeditata pecunia a Postumo est, factaeque syngraphae sunt in Albano Cn. Pompei, cum ille Roma profectus esset, tamen non debuit is qui dabat, cur ille qui accipiebat tum sumeret, quaerere. non enim latroni, sed regi credidit, nec regi inimico populi Romani, sed ei cuius reditum consuli commendatum <a> senatu videbat, nec ei regi qui alienus ab hoc imperio esset, sed ei quicum foedus feriri in Capitolio viderat.

In every respect indeed I am in debt; so has that order deserved of me; but neither is that being dealt with at this time nor is that matter joined with the case of Postumus. Although for the expense of the journey, for that magnificence of apparatus and royal retinue, money was supplied by Postumus, and syngraphs were made at the Alban estate of Gnaeus Pompeius, when he had set out from Rome, nevertheless he who was giving ought not to inquire why he who was receiving should take it then. For he trusted not a robber, but a king, and not a king hostile to the Roman people, but one whose return he saw had been commended to the consul by the senate, and not that king who was alien to this empire, but one with whom he had seen a treaty struck on the Capitol.

quod si creditor est in culpa,

but if the creditor is at fault,

[7] non is qui improbe credita pecunia usus , damnetur is qui fabricatus gladium est et vendidit, non is qui illo gladio civem aliquem interemit. quam ob rem neque tu, C. Memmi, hoc facere debes ut senatum, cuius auctoritati te ab adulescentia dedidisti, in tanta infamia versari velis, neque ego id quod non agitur defendere. Postumi enim causa, quaecumque est, seiuncta a senatu est.

[7] not he who has used the money credited to him improperly; let him be condemned who has fabricated a sword and sold it, not he who with that sword has slain some citizen. Wherefore neither should you, Gaius Memmius, do this—that you should wish the senate, to whose authority you have devoted yourself from youth, to be involved in so great infamy—nor should I defend what is not at issue. For Postumus’s case, whatever it is, has been severed from the senate.

[8] Quod si item a Gabinio seiunctam ostendero, certe quod dicas nihil habebis.

[8] But if I shall show it likewise to be severed from Gabinius, surely you will have nothing to say.

IV. Est enim haec causa 'Qvo ea pecvnia pervenerit' quasi quaedam appendicula causae iudicatae atque damnatae. sunt lites aestimatae A. Gabinio, nec praedes dati nec ex bonis populo universae . iubet lex Iulia persequi ab eis ad quos ea pecunia quam is ceperit qui damnatus sit pervenerit. si est hoc novum in lege Iulia, sicuti multa sunt severius scripta quam in antiquis legibus et sanctius, inducatur sane etiam consuetudo huius generis iudiciorum nova;

4. For this case, ‘To whom that money has come,’ is, as it were, a certain appendage of a cause adjudicated and condemned. The suits have been assessed upon A. Gabinius, nor were sureties given, nor were the entire out of his goods to the People at large. The Julian law orders pursuit from those to whom the money has come which was taken by him who has been condemned. If this is new in the Julian law, just as many provisions are written more severely than in the ancient laws and more sacredly, let a new custom also be introduced for trials of this kind;

[9] sin hoc totidem verbis translatum caput est quot fuit non modo in Cornelia sed etiam ante in lege Servilia, per deos immortalis! quid agimus, iudices, aut quem hunc morem novorum iudiciorum in rem publicam inducimus? erat enim haec consuetudo nota vobis quidem omnibus, sed, si usus magister est optimus, mihi debet esse notissima.

[9] but if this section has been transferred word-for-word, just as it stood not only in the Cornelian law but even earlier in the Servilian law, by the immortal gods! what are we doing, judges, or what custom of new trials are we introducing into the commonwealth? for this consuetude was known indeed to all of you, but, if use is the best teacher, it ought to be most known to me.

accusavi de pecuniis repetundis, iudex sedi, praetor quaesivi, defendi plurimos; nulla pars quae aliquam facultatem discendi adferre posset a me afuit. ita contendo, neminem umquam 'Qvo ea pecvnia pervenisset' causam dixisse qui in aestimandis litibus appellatus non esset. in litibus autem nemo appellabatur nisi ex testium dictis aut tabulis privatorum aut rationibus civitatum.

I have prosecuted on charges of pecuniary recoveries, I have sat as judge, as praetor I have conducted inquiries, I have defended very many; no role that could bring any faculty for learning was absent to me. Thus I maintain that no one ever pleaded the case “To where that money had come” who had not been called upon in the assessing of the suits. Moreover, in the suits no one was summoned except on the basis of the statements of witnesses, or the account-books of private persons, or the accounts of the communities.

[10] Itaque in inferendis litibus adesse solebant qui aliquid de se verebantur, et, cum erant appellati, si videbatur, statim contra dicere solebant; sin eius temporis recentem invidiam pertimuerant, respondebant postea. quod cum fecissent, permulti saepe vicerunt.

[10] And so, at the bringing in of suits, those who were wary about something concerning themselves used to be present; and, when they were called upon, if it seemed good, they would at once speak in opposition; but if they had feared the recent ill-will of that time, they answered later. When they did this, very many often prevailed.

V. Hoc vero novum et ante hoc tempus omnino inauditum. in litibus Postumi nomen est nusquam. in litibus dico; modo vos idem in A. Gabinium iudices sedistis; num quis testis Postumum appellavit?

5. This indeed is new and utterly unheard-of before this time. in the lawsuits the name of Postumus appears nowhere. in the lawsuits, I say; just now you, the same men, sat as judges against A. Gabinius; did any witness name Postumus?

testis autem? num accusator? num denique toto illo in iudicio Postumi nomen audistis?

But a witness? What, an accuser? Did you, finally, in that whole trial, hear the name of Postumus?

[11] Non igitur reus ex ea causa quae iudicata est redundat Postumus, sed est adreptus unus eques Romanus de pecuniis repetundis reus. quibus tabulis? quae in iudicio Gabiniano recitatae non sunt.

[11] Therefore Postumus does not become a defendant from that cause which has been adjudicated, but a single Roman eques has been seized, a defendant on a charge of extortion. On the basis of what account‑books? Those which were not read out in the Gabinian trial.

quo teste? A quo tum appellatus nusquam est. qua aestimatione litium?

by what witness? By whom then was he ever accused? by what estimation of suits?

in qua Postumi mentio facta nulla est. qua lege? qua non tenetur.

in which no mention of Postumus was made. by what law? by one under which he is not held.

Hic iam, iudices, vestri consili res est, vestrae sapientiae; quid deceat vos, non quantum liceat vobis, spectare debetis. si enim quid liceat quaeritis, potestis tollere e civitate quem voltis; tabella est quae dat potestatem; occultat eadem libidinem, cuius conscientiam nihil est quod quisquam timeat, si non pertimescat suam.

Here now, judges, the matter is for your counsel, for your wisdom; you ought to consider what befits you, not how much is permitted you. For if you inquire what is permitted, you can remove from the state whom you will; there is the ballot which gives power; the same conceals caprice, the knowledge of which no one need fear in another, if he does not dread his own.

[12] Vbi est igitur sapientia iudicis? in hoc, ut non solum quid possit, sed etiam quid debeat, ponderet nec quantum sibi permissum meminerit solum, sed etiam quatenus commissum sit. datur tibi tabella iudici.

[12] Where, then, is the wisdom of the judge? In this: that he weigh not only what he can, but also what he ought; and that he remember not only how much has been permitted to him, but also how far it has been entrusted. The tablet is given to you as judge.

qua lege? Iulia de pecuniis repetundis. quo de reo?

By which law? The Julian law on monies to be reclaimed. About which defendant?

de equite Romano. at iste ordo lege ea non tenetur. 'illo,' inquit, 'capite: <quo ea pecunia pervenerit.' nihil audisti> in Postumum, cum in Gabinium iudex esses, nihil Gabinio damnato, cum in eum litis aestimares.

about a Roman knight. but that order is not bound by that law. 'by that,' he says, 'head: <to whom that money shall have come.' you heard nothing> against Postumus, when you were a judge in the case against Gabinius, nothing with Gabinius condemned, when you were assessing the amount of the action against him.

'at nunc audio.' reus igitur Postumus est ea lege qua non modo ipse sed totus etiam ordo solutus ac liber est.

'But now I hear.' Therefore Postumus is a defendant under that law by which not only he himself but even the whole order is absolved and free.

VI.

[13] hic ego nunc non vos prius implorabo, equites Romani, quorum ius iudicio temptatur, quam vos, senatores, quorum agitur fides in hunc ordinem; quae quidem cum saepe ante, tum in hac ipsa causa nuper est cognita. nam cum optimo et praestantissimo consule, Cn. Pompeio, de hac ipsa quaestione referente existerent non nullae, sed perpaucae tamen acerbae sententiae, quae quidem censerent ut tribuni, ut praefecti, ut scribae, ut comites omnes magistratuum lege hac tenerentur, vos, vos inquam, ipsi et senatus frequens restitit, et, quamquam tum propter multorum delicta etiam ad innocentium periculum tempus illud exarserat, tamen, cum odium nostri restingueretis, huic ordini ignem novum subici non sivistis.

[13] Here now I will not first implore you, Roman equestrians, whose right is being tested in this trial, before you, senators, whose good faith toward this order is at stake; which indeed, as often before, so recently in this very case has been recognized. For when the best and most preeminent consul, Gnaeus Pompeius, was bringing a report on this very question, there arose not none, but yet very few, bitter opinions, which indeed proposed that tribunes, prefects, scribes, the companions of all magistrates be held bound by this law; you—you, I say—yourselves, and a full senate, stood in the way, and although at that time, on account of the crimes of many, the season had blazed up even to the peril of the innocent, nevertheless, while you were extinguishing the hatred against us, you did not allow a new fire to be applied to this order.

[14] Hoc animo igitur senatus. quid? vos, equites Romani, quid tandem estis acturi?

[14] With this spirit, therefore, the senate. What? You, Roman equites, what then are you going to do?

Glaucia solebat, homo impurus, sed tamen acutus, populum monere ut, cum lex aliqua recitaretur, primum versum attenderet. si esset Îdictator, consul praetor, magister equitum,Ì ne laboraret; sciret nihil ad se pertinere; sin esset ÎQuicumqve post hanc legem,Ì videret ne qua nova quaestione adligaretur.

Glaucia used to, a foul man, yet sharp, warn the people that, when some law was being recited, they should attend to the first line. If it was “ÎDictator, consul, praetor, master of the horse,Ì” he should not trouble himself; he should know that nothing pertained to him; but if it was “ÎWhoever after this law,Ì” he should beware lest he be bound by some new court of inquiry.

[15] Nunc vos, equites Romani, videte. scitis me ortum e vobis omnia semper sensisse pro vobis. nihil horum sine magna cura et summa caritate vestri ordinis loquor.

[15] Now you, Roman equites, see to it. You know that I, sprung from you, have always in all things felt and judged on your behalf. I say none of these things without great care and the highest charity for your order.

Alius alios homines et ordines, ego vos semper complexus sum. moneo et praedico, integra re causaque denuntio, omnis homines deosque testor: dum potestis, dum licet, providete ne duriorem vobis condicionem statuatis ordinique vestro quam ferre possitis. serpet hoc malum, mihi credite, longius quam putatis.

Others have embraced other men and orders; I have always embraced you. I warn and pre-dict, with the matter and the case intact I give notice, I call all men and gods to witness: while you can, while it is permitted, foresee lest you establish for yourselves and for your order a harsher condition than you can bear. This evil will creep, believe me, farther than you think.

VII.

[16] Potentissimo et nobilissimo tribuno pl., M. Druso, novam in equestrem ordinem quaestionem ferenti: 'si qvis ob rem ivdicandam pecvniam cepisset' aperte equites Romani restiterunt. quid? hoc licere volebant?

[16] To the most powerful and most noble tribune of the plebs, Marcus Drusus, bringing a new quaestio upon the equestrian order: 'if anyone had taken money for a matter to be judged,' the Roman equites openly resisted. What? Did they want this to be permitted?

minime; neque solum hoc genus pecuniae capiendae turpe sed etiam nefarium esse arbitrabantur. ac tamen ita disputabant, eos teneri legibus <eis> oportere qui suo iudicio essent illam condicionem vitae secuti. delectat amplissimus civitatis gradus, sella curulis, fasces, imperia, provinciae, sacerdotia, triumphi, denique imago ipsa ad posteritatis memoriam prodita;

By no means; and they thought that not only this kind of taking of money was disgraceful but even nefarious. And yet they argued thus, that those ought to be bound by those laws <eis> who had, by their own judgment, followed that condition of life. The amplest rank of the state delights: the curule chair, the fasces, commands, provinces, priesthoods, triumphs, and finally the very image itself set forth for the memory of posterity;

[17] esto simul etiam sollicitudo aliqua et legum et iudiciorum maior quidam metus. 'nos ista numquam contempsimus'—ita enim disputabant—'sed hanc vitam quietam atque otiosam secuti sumus; quae quoniam honore caret, careat etiam molestia.' 'tam es tu iudex quam ego senator.' 'ita est, sed tu istud petisti, ego hoc cogor. qua re aut iudici mihi non esse liceat,

[17] granted also at the same time some solicitude both of the laws and a certain greater fear of judgments. 'we have never despised those things'—for thus they argued—'but we have followed this quiet and otiose life; which, since it lacks honor, let it also lack annoyance.' 'you are just as much a judge, , as I am a senator.' 'so it is, but you sought that, I am compelled to this. wherefore either it should not be permitted to me to be a judge,

[18] aut lege senatoria non teneri.' hoc vos, equites Romani, ius a patribus acceptum amittetis? moneo ne faciatis. rapientur homines in haec iudicia ex omni non modo invidia sed sermone malivolorum, nisi cavetis.

[18] or not to be bound by the senatorial law.' Will you, Roman equites, lose this right received from the fathers? I warn you not to do it. Men will be seized into these courts from every quarter, not only by ill will but by the talk of the malevolent, unless you take care.

si iam vobis nuntiaretur in senatu sententias dici ut his legibus teneremini, concurrendum ad curiam putaretis; si lex ferretur, convolaretis ad rostra. vos senatus liberos hac lege esse voluit, populus numquam adligavit, soluti huc convenistis; ne constricti discedatis cavete. nam,

if now it were announced to you that in the senate opinions were being declared that you be held by these laws, you would think you must run together to the Curia; if a law were being proposed, you would fly to the Rostra. the senate wished you to be free from this law, the people never bound you; unbound you have assembled here; take care that you do not depart constricted. For,

[19] si Postumo fraudi fuerit, qui nec tribunus nec praefectus nec ex Italia comes nec familiaris Gabini fuit, quonam se modo defendent posthac qui vestri ordinis cum magistratibus nostris fuerint his causis implicati?

[19] If it shall be to Postumus’s prejudice—who was neither tribune nor prefect nor a companion from Italy nor a familiar of Gabinius—by what means will those hereafter defend themselves who are of your order, who with our magistrates shall have been implicated in these causes?

VIII. 'Tu,' inquit, 'Gabinium ut regem reduceret impulisti.' non patitur mea me iam fides de Gabinio gravius agere. quem enim ex tantis inimicitiis receptum in gratiam summo studio defenderim, hunc adflictum violare non debeo.

8. 'You,' he says, 'impelled Gabinius to bring back the king.' My good faith now does not permit me to proceed more severely concerning Gabinius. For the man whom, received back into favor from such great enmities, I have defended with the highest zeal, I ought not to violate now that he is afflicted.

Quocum me si ante Cn. Pompei auctoritas in gratiam non reduxisset, nunc iam ipsius fortuna reduceret.

With whom, if earlier the authority of Cn. Pompeius had not restored me into favor, now already his own fortune would restore me.

[20] Sed tamen, cum ita dicis, Postumi impulsu Gabinium profectum Alexandream, si defensioni Gabini fidem non habes, obliviscerisne etiam accusationis tuae? Gabinius se id fecisse dicebat rei publicae causa, quod classem Archelai timeret, quod mare refertum fore praedonum putaret; lege etiam id sibi licuisse dicebat. tu inimicus negas.

[20] But yet, when you say thus that Gabinius set out to Alexandria at the instigation of Postumus, if you do not place trust in Gabinius’s defense, do you even forget your own accusation? Gabinius used to say that he had done this for the sake of the Republic, because he feared the fleet of Archelaus, because he thought the sea would be replete with pirates; he also said that by law this had been permitted to him. You, as an enemy, deny it.

ignosco, et eo magis quod est contra illud iudicatum. redeo igitur ad crimen et accusationem tuam.

i forgive, and all the more because judgment has been rendered against that. i return, therefore, to the crime and to your accusation.

[21] Quid vociferabare? decem milia talentum Gabinio esse promissa. auctor videlicet perblandus reperiendus fuit qui hominem, ut tu vis, avarissimum exoraret, HS bis miliens et quadringentiens magno opere contemneret.

[21] What were you shouting? that ten thousand talents had been promised to Gabinius. Evidently a very blandishing promoter had to be discovered to coax the man—most avaricious, as you will— not to very greatly contemn 240,000,000 sesterces.

Gabinius illud, quoquo consilio fecit, fecit certe suo; quaecumque mens illa fuit, Gabini fuit. Sive ille, ut ipse dicebat, gloriam, sive, ut tu vis, pecuniam quaesivit, sibi, <non Rabirio quaesivit; Rabirius enim> non Gabini comes vel sectator nec ad Gabini, cuius id negotium non erat, sed ad P. Lentuli, clarissimi viri, auctoritatem a senatu profectam et consilio certo et spe non dubia Roma contenderat.

Gabinius, by whatever counsel he acted, certainly acted by his own; whatever that mind was, it was Gabinius’s. Whether he, as he himself used to say, sought glory, or, as you wish, money, he sought it for himself, <not for Rabirius; for Rabirius> was not a companion or follower of Gabinius, nor was he making for Gabinius—whose concern that was not—but for the authority of Publius Lentulus, a most illustrious man, proceeding from the senate; and with a fixed plan and no doubtful hope he had hastened to Rome.

[22] At dioecetes fuit regius. et quidem in custodia etiam fuit regia et vitae eius adlata paene est; multa praeterea quae libido regis, quae necessitas coegit perferre, pertulit. quarum omnium rerum una reprehensio est quod regnum intrarit, quod potestati regis commiserit.

[22] But he was a royal dioecetes; and indeed he was even in royal custody, and against his life was almost brought upon him; many things besides, which the king’s lust—and which necessity—compelled him to endure, he endured. Of all these matters there is one censure: that he entered the kingdom, that he entrusted to the power of the king.

verum si quaerimus, stulte. quid enim stultius quam equitem Romanum ex hac urbe, huius, inquam, rei publicae civem, quae est una maxime et fuit semper libera, venire in eum locum ubi parendum alteri et serviendum sit?

But if we inquire—fool! For what is more foolish than that a Roman knight from this city, a citizen, I say, of this republic, which is uniquely and has always been free, should come into that place where one must obey another and be in servitude?

IX.

[23] Sed ego in hoc tamen Postumo non ignoscam, homini mediocriter docto, quo videam sapientissimos homines esse lapsos? virum unum totius Graeciae facile doctissimum, Platonem, iniquitate Dionysi, Siciliae tyranni, cui se ille commiserat, in maximis periculis insidiisque esse versatum accepimus; Callisthenem, doctum hominem, comitem Magni Alexandri, ab Alexandro necatum; Demetrium, qui Phalereus vocitatus est, et ex re publica Atheniensi, quam optime gesserat, et ex doctrina nobilem et clarum, in eodem isto Aegyptio regno aspide ad corpus admota vita esse privatum.

[23] Yet in this I will not pardon Postumus, a man moderately learned, wherein I see that even the most wise men have slipped. We have learned that the one man most learned in all Greece, Plato, by the injustice of Dionysius, the tyrant of Sicily, to whom he had committed himself, was involved in very great perils and plots; that Callisthenes, a learned man, companion of Alexander the Great, was slain by Alexander; that Demetrius, who was called the Phalerean, noble and renowned both from the Athenian commonwealth, which he had administered most excellently, and from his doctrine, in that same Egyptian kingdom was deprived of life, an asp having been applied to his body.

[24] Plane confiteor fieri nihil posse dementius quam scientem in eum locum venire ubi libertatem sis perditurus. sed huius ipsius facti stultitiam alia iam superior stultitia defendit, quae facit ut hoc stultissimum facinus, quod in regnum venerit, quod regi commiserit, sapienter factum esse videatur, si quidem tam semper stulti quam sero sapientis est, cum stultitia sua impeditus sit, quoquo modo possit se expedire.

[24] Clearly I confess that nothing can be done more demented than for a man who knows to come into that place where you are going to forfeit liberty. But the stupidity of this very act is defended by another, already superior stupidity, which makes this most foolish deed—namely, that he came into a kingdom, that he entrusted himself to a king—seem to have been done wisely, since indeed it is not so much always the part of a fool as of a late-wise man, when hampered by his own stupidity, to extricate himself however he can.

[25] Quam ob rem illud maneat et fixum sit quod neque moveri neque mutari potest; in quo aequi sperasse Postumum dicunt, peccasse iniqui, ipse etiam insanisse se confitetur, quod suam, quod amicorum pecuniam regi crediderit cum tanto fortunarum suarum periculo, hoc quidem semel suscepto atque contracto perpetienda fuerunt ut se aliquando ac suos vindicaret. itaque obicias licet quam voles saepe palliatum fuisse, aliqua habuisse non Romani hominis insignia, quotiens eorum quippiam dices, totiens unum dices atque illud, temere hunc pecuniam regi credidisse, suas fortunas atque famam libidini regiae commisisse.

[25] Wherefore let this point remain and be fixed, which can neither be moved nor changed: in this the fair-minded say that Postumus hoped, the unfair that he sinned; he himself even confesses that he was insane, for having entrusted to a king his own money and his friends’ money, with so great a peril to his fortunes; this risk, once undertaken and incurred, had to be borne continually, in order that he might someday vindicate himself and his own. And so you may object as often as you wish that he often went in a pallium, that he had certain insignia not of a Roman man: as often as you say any of those things, so often you will be saying one and the same thing—that he rashly entrusted money to a king, that he committed his fortunes and his reputation to royal libido.

[26] Fecerat temere, fateor; mutari factum iam nullo modo poterat; aut pallium sumendum Alexandreae ut ei Romae togato esse liceret, aut omnes fortunae abiciendae, si togam retinuisset.

[26] He had done it rashly, I admit; the deed now could in no way be changed; either the pallium had to be assumed at Alexandria, so that it might be permitted to him to be a togatus in Rome, or all his fortunes had to be cast away, if he had retained the toga.

X. Deliciarum causa et voluptatis non modo civis Romanos, sed et nobilis adulescentis et quosdam etiam senatores summo loco natos non in hortis aut suburbanis suis, sed Neapoli,

X. For the sake of delights and voluptuous pleasure, not only well-known Roman citizens, but also noble adolescents and even certain senators born in the highest rank, not in their gardens or suburban estates, but at Naples,

[27] in celeberrimo oppido, in tunica pulla saepe viderunt chlamydatum illum L. Sullam imperatorem. L. vero Scipionis, qui bellum in Asia gessit Antiochumque devicit, non solum cum chlamyde sed etiam cum crepidis in Capitolio statuam videtis; quorum impunitas fuit non modo a iudicio sed etiam a sermone. facilius certe P. Rutilium Rufum necessitatis excusatio defendet; qui cum a Mithridate Mytilenis oppressus esset, crudelitatem regis in togatos vestitus mutatione vitavit.

[27] in a most renowned town, in a dark tunic I often saw that commander L. Sulla chlamys-clad. But of L. Scipio, who waged war in Asia and defeated Antiochus, you see a statue on the Capitol not only with a chlamys but even with crepidae; whose impunity was not only from judgment but even from remark. More easily, certainly, will the excuse of necessity defend P. Rutilius Rufus; who, when he had been hemmed in at Mytilene by Mithridates, avoided the king’s cruelty against the toga-clad by a change of dress.

ergo ille P. Rutilius qui documentum fuit hominibus nostris virtutis, antiquitatis, prudentiae, consularis homo soccos habuit et pallium; nec vero id homini quisquam sed tempori adsignandum putavit; Postumo crimen vestitus adferet is in quo spes fuit posse sese aliquando ad fortunas suas pervenire? nam ut ventum est Alexandream,

therefore that P. Rutilius, who was a document/example to our people of virtue, antiquity, and prudence, a consular man, had slippers and a pallium; nor indeed did anyone think that was to be ascribed to the man, but to the time; will he bring against Postumus a charge of attire—the man in whom there was hope that he could at some time arrive at his own fortunes? for when we came to Alexandria,

[28] iudices, haec una ratio a rege proposita Postumo est servandae pecuniae, si curationem et quasi dispensationem regiam suscepisset. id autem facere non poterat, nisi dioecetes—hoc enim nomine utitur qui ea regit—esset constitutus. odiosum negotium Postumo videbatur, sed erat nulla omnino recusatio; molestum etiam nomen ipsum, sed res habebat nomen hoc apud illos, non hic imposuerat.

[28] judges, this one plan was proposed by the king to Postumus for the safeguarding of the money: that he should undertake the curation and, as it were, the royal dispensation. But he could not do this unless he were appointed dioecetes—for he uses this name for the one who rules these things. The business seemed odious to Postumus, but there was absolutely no refusal; even the very name was bothersome, but the matter had this name among them; he had not imposed it here.

oderat vestitum etiam illum, sed sine eo nec nomen illud poterat nec munus tueri. ergo 'aderat vis' ut ait poeta ille noster,

he hated even that garb, but without it he could maintain neither that name nor the office. therefore "force was present," as that poet of ours says,

'quae summas frangit infirmatque opes.'

'which breaks and weakens the greatest riches.'

[29] 'Moreretur+,' inquies+; nam id sequitur. fecisset certe, si sine maximo dedecore tam impeditis suis rebus potuisset emori.

[29] 'Let him die+,' you say+; for that follows. he would certainly have done so, if he could have died without the greatest dishonor, with his affairs so impeded.

XI. Noli igitur fortunam convertere in culpam neque+ regis iniuriam huius crimen putare nec consilium ex necessitate nec voluntatem ex vi interpretari, nisi forte eos etiam qui in hostis aut in praedones inciderint, si aliter quippiam coacti faciant liberi, vituperandos putes. nemo nostrum ignorat, etiam si experti non sumus, consuetudinem regiam. regum autem sunt haec imperia: 'animadverte ac dicto pare' et 'praeter rogitatum si plus' et illae minae:

11. Do not, therefore, convert fortune into blame, nor+ think the king’s injustice to be this man’s crime, nor interpret counsel as from necessity nor will as from force, unless perhaps you suppose that even those who have fallen among enemies or brigands, if, compelled, they do something otherwise than free, are to be censured. None of us is ignorant, even if we have not experienced it, of the regal custom. And these are the commands of kings: 'pay heed and obey what is said' and 'if beyond what is asked, more,' and those menaces:

'si te secundo lumine hic offendero,

'if I find you here at second light,

moriere'; quae non ut delectemur solum legere et spectare debemus, sed ut cavere etiam <et> effugere discamus.

'you will die'; which we ought not only to read and watch so that we may be delighted, but also to learn to beware and to escape.

[30] At ex hoc ipso crimen exoritur. ait enim, Gabinio pecuniam Postumus cogeret, decumas imperatarum pecuniarum sibi coegisse. non intellego hoc quale sit, utrum accessionem decumae, ut nostri facere coactores solent centesima, an decessionem de summa fecerit.

[30] But from this very thing a charge arises. For he says that, Postumus was collecting money for Gabinius, he exacted for himself the tenths of the levied monies. I do not understand what sort this is, whether he made an accession of a tenth, as our collectors are wont to do the hundredth, or a decession from the sum.

si accessionem, undecim milia talentum ad Gabinium pervenerunt. at non modo abs te decem milia obiecta sunt sed etiam ab his aestimata.

if it is an accession, eleven thousand talents have come to Gabinius. But not only have ten thousand been objected by you, but they have also been estimated by these men.

[31] Addo illud etiam: qui tandem convenit aut tam gravi onere tributorum ad tantam pecuniam cogendam mille talentum accessionem esse factam aut in tanta mercede hominis, ut vis, avarissimi mille talentum decessionem esse concessam? neque enim fuit Gabini remittere tantum de suo nec regis imponere tantum pati suis. at erunt testes legati Alexandrini.

[31] I add this also: how, pray, is it consistent either, under so heavy a burden of tributes to exact so great an amount, that an accession of a thousand talents was made, or, in so great a wage of a man—if you will, most avaricious—that a decession of a thousand talents was conceded? For it was neither for Gabinius to remit so much from his own, nor for the king to allow so much to be imposed upon his own people. But the Alexandrian legates will be witnesses.

ei nihil in Gabinium dixerunt; immo ei Gabinium laudaverunt. Vbi ergo ille mos, ubi consuetudo iudiciorum, ubi exempla? solet is dicere in eum qui pecuniam <redegit> qui in illum cuius nomine ea pecunia redigeretur non dixerit?

they said nothing against Gabinius; nay, they even lauded Gabinius to him. Where then is that usage, where the custom of judgments, where the examples? Is it the wont that he should speak against the one who collected the money, when he has not spoken against the one in whose name that money was being collected?

age, si is qui non dixit solet, etiamne is solet qui laudavit?

Come now, if it is customary regarding the one who did not speak, is it also customary regarding the one who praised?

[32] Isdem testibus, et quidem non productis, sed dictis testium recitatis, quasi praeiudicata res ad has causas deferri solet.

[32] With the same witnesses, and indeed not brought forward, but the words of the witnesses recited, the matter is usually referred to these cases as if prejudicated.

XII. Et ait etiam meus familiaris et necessarius eandem causam Alexandrinis fuisse cur laudarent Gabinium quae mihi fuerit cur eundem defenderem. mihi, C. Memmi, causa defendendi Gabini fuit reconciliatio gratiae.

12. And my familiar and close associate also says that the Alexandrians had the same cause for praising Gabinius as I had for defending that same man. For me, Gaius Memmius, the cause of defending Gabinius was a reconciliation of favor.

neque me vero paenitet mortalis inimicitias, sempiternas amicitias habere.

nor indeed do I regret having mortal enmities, sempiternal friendships.

[33] nam si me invitum putas, ne Cn. Pompei animum offenderem, defendisse causam, et illum et me vehementer ignoras. neque enim Pompeius me sua causa quicquam facere voluisset invitum, neque ego cui omnium civium libertas carissima fuisset meam proiecissem. quam diu inimicissimus Gabinio fui, non amicissimus mihi Cn. Pompeius fuit, nec, postea quam illius auctoritate eam dedi veniam quam debui, quicquam simulate , ne cum mea perfidia illi etiam ipsi facerem cui beneficium dedissem iniuriam.

[33] for if you think that I, unwilling, defended the cause so as not to offend the mind of Cn. Pompeius, you are greatly ignorant both of him and of me. For neither would Pompeius have wished me, for his own sake, to do anything unwillingly, nor would I, to whom the liberty of all citizens was dearest, have thrown away my own. for as long as I was most inimical to Gabinius, Cn. Pompeius was nothing other than most friendly to me, nor, after by his authority I granted that pardon which I owed, did I do anything in pretense , lest, along with my own perfidy, I should also do an injury to that very person to whom I had given a beneficence.

nam non redeundo in gratiam cum inimico non violabam Pompeium; si per eum reductus insidiose redissem, me scilicet maxime, sed proxime illum quoque fefellissem.

for by not returning into favor with an enemy, I was not violating Pompey; if through him, when brought back, I had insidiously returned, I would, of course, have deceived myself most of all, but next to that I would also have deceived him.

[34] Ac de me omittamus; ad Alexandrinos istos revertamur. quod habent os, quam audaciam! modo vobis inspectantibus in iudicio Gabini tertio quoque verbo excitabantur; negabant pecuniam Gabinio datam.

[34] But let us leave off about me; let us return to those Alexandrians. What a mouth they have, what audacity! just now, with you looking on, at Gabinius’s trial they were being stirred up at every third word; they kept denying that money had been given to Gabinius.

recitabatur identidem Pompei testimonium regem ad se scripsisse nullam pecuniam Gabinio nisi in rem militarem datam. 'non est,' inquit, 'tum Alexandrinis testibus creditum.' quid postea? 'creditur nunc.' quam ob rem?

It was repeatedly recited, Pompey’s testimony, that the king had written to him that no money had been given to Gabinius except for military purposes. “It was not,” he says, “then that credence was given to the Alexandrian witnesses.” What next? “Credence is given now.” For what reason?

'quia nunc aiunt quod tum negabant.' quid ergo?

'because now they say what then they were denying.' what then?

[35] Ista condicio est testium ut, quibus creditum non sit negantibus, isdem credatur dicentibus? at, si verum tum severissima fronte dixerunt, nunc mentiuntur; si tum mentiti sunt, doceant nos verum quo voltu soleant dicere. audiebamus Alexandream, nunc cognoscimus.

[35] Is that the condition of witnesses, that those to whom no credence was given when they denied are believed when they affirm? But, if then with a most severe countenance they spoke the truth, now they are lying; if then they lied, let them teach us with what look they are wont to speak the truth. We used to hear of Alexandria; now we come to know it.

illinc omnes praestigiae, illinc, inquam, omnes fallaciae, omnia denique ab eis mimorum argumenta nata sunt. nec mihi longius quicquam est, iudices, quam videre hominum voltus.

From there come all prestidigitations; from there, I say, all fallacies—finally, from them have arisen all the arguments (plots) of mimes. Nor is anything more wearisome to me, judges, than to look upon the faces of men.

XIII.

13.

[36] Dixerunt hic modo nobiscum ad haec subsellia, quibus superciliis renuentes huic decem milium crimini! iam nostis insulsitatem Graecorum; umeris gestum agebant tum temporis, credo, causa; nunc scilicet tempus nullum est. Vbi semel quis peieraverit, ei credi postea, etiam si per pluris deos iuret, non oportet, praesertim, iudices, cum in his iudiciis ne locus quidem novo testi soleat esse ob eamque causam idem iudices retineantur qui fuerint de reo, ut eis nota sint omnia neve quid fingi novi possit.

[36] They spoke here just now with us at these benches—oh, with what eyebrows, refusing this charge of 10,000! You already know the insipidity of the Greeks; they were performing a gesture with the shoulders at that time, I believe, for effect; now of course there is no time. When once someone has forsworn himself, he ought not thereafter to be believed, even if he swears by many gods, especially, judges, since in these trials there is not even room for a new witness, and for this reason the same judges are retained who have been on the case of the defendant, so that all things may be known to them and lest anything new can be feigned.

[37] * * * Qvo ea pecvnia pervenerit *non suis propriis iudiciis in reum facti* condemnari solent. itaque si aut praedes dedisset Gabinius aut tantum ex eius bonis quanta summa litium fuisset populus recepisset, quamvis magna ad Postumum ab eo pecunia pervenisset, non redigeretur; ut intellegi facile possit, quod ex ea pecunia quae ad aliquem reum qui damnatus est , pervenisse ad aliquem in illo primo iudicio planum factum sit, id hoc genere iudici redigi solere. nunc vero quid agitur?

[37] * * * To whomever that money has come, they are accustomed to be condemned *not by their own proper judgments as to being defendant of the deed*. And so, if either Gabinius had given sureties, or the People had recovered from his goods as much as the sum of the suits had been, although a great sum of money had come to Postumus from him, it would not be brought back; so that it can be easily understood that, when from that money which had to some defendant who has been condemned, it has been made clear in that first judgment that it has come to someone, that is accustomed to be recovered by this kind of judgment. But as it is, what is being done now?

ubi terrarum sumus? quid tam perversum, <tam> praeposterum dici aut excogitari potest?

Where in the world are we? What so perverse, <so> preposterous can be said or excogitated?

[38] Accusatur is qui non abstulit a rege, sicut Gabinius iudicatus est, sed qui maximam regi pecuniam credidit. ergo is Gabinio dedit qui non huic reddidit. itane?

[38] He is accused who did not take away from the king, as Gabinius was adjudged, but who credited the king with a very great sum of money. Therefore the man who did not repay this man gave to Gabinius. Is that so?

age, cedo, cum is qui pecuniam Postumo debuit non huic, sed Gabinio dederit, condemnato Gabinio utrum illi quo ea pecunia <pervenerit> an huic dicenda causa <est>?

come, tell me, when the man who owed money to Postumus gave it not to this man, but to Gabinius, with Gabinius condemned, must the case be pleaded by that man to whom that money <arrived> or by this man <is>?

XIV. At habet et celat. sunt enim qui ita loquantur.

14. But he possesses and conceals it. for there are those who speak thus.

quod genus tandem est istud ostentationis et gloriae? si nihil habuisset umquam, tamen, si quaesisset, cur se dissimularet habere causa non esset. qui vero duo lauta et copiosa patrimonia accepisset remque praeterea bonis et honestis rationibus auxisset, quid esset tandem causae cur existimari vellet nihil habere?

what sort of ostentation and glory, pray, is that? if he had ever had nothing, nevertheless, if he had sought, there would be no cause why he should dissemble that he has. but he who had received two lavish and copious patrimonies and, moreover, had increased his estate by good and honorable ratios (methods), what, pray, would be the cause why he should wish to be thought to have nothing?

[39] An, cum credebat inductus usuris, id agebat ut haberet quam plurimum; postea quam exegit quod crediderat, ut existimaretur egere? novum genus hoc gloriae concupiscit. 'dominatus est enim,' inquit, 'Alexandreae.' immo vero in superbissimo dominatu fuit; pertulit ipse custodiam, vidit in vinclis familiaris suos, mors ob oculos saepe versata est, nudus atque egens ad extremum fugit e regno.

[39] Or, when, induced by usury, he was lending, was he aiming to have as much as possible; afterwards, when he exacted what he had lent, to be thought to be in want? He covets this new kind of glory. 'For he exercised dominion,' he says, 'at Alexandria.' Nay rather, he was under a most overbearing dominion; he himself endured custody, he saw his intimates in chains, death was often before his eyes, naked and needy at the end he fled from the kingdom.

[40] At permutata aliquando pecunia est,delatae naves Postumi Puteolos sunt, auditae visaeque merces. fallaces quidem et fucosae chartis et linteis et vitro; quibus cum multae naves refertae fuissent, naulum non potuit parari. cataplus ille Puteolanus, sermo illius temporis, vectorumque cursus atque ostentatio, tum subinvisum apud malivolos Postumi nomen propter opinionem pecuniae nescio quam aestatem unam, non pluris, auris refersit istis sermonibus.

[40] But the money was at some point exchanged,and Postumus’s ships were conveyed to Puteoli, the wares were heard of and seen—deceptive indeed and painted‑over, tricked out with papers and linens and glass; although many ships had been laden with these, the freight‑money could not be procured. That Puteolan “cataplus,” the parlance of that time, and the traffic and ostentation of passengers, then the somewhat‑odious—among the malevolent—name of Postumus, on account of a reputation for money, for I know not what single summer, no more, filled ears with these talkings.

XV.

15.

[41] Verum autem, iudices, si scire voltis, nisi C. Caesaris summa in omnis, incredibilis in hunc eadem liberalitas exstitisset, nos hunc Postumum iam pridem in foro non haberemus. ille onera multorum huius amicorum excepit unus, quaeque multi homines necessarii secundis Postumi rebus discripta sustinuerunt, nunc eius adflictis fortunis universa sustinet. Vmbram equitis Romani et imaginem videtis, iudices, unius amici conservatam auxilio et fide.

[41] But the truth, judges, if you wish to know it, is this: unless Gaius Caesar’s supreme liberality toward all, the same incredible liberality toward this man, had stood forth, we would not have had this Postumus in the forum long ago. He alone took upon himself the burdens of many friends of this man, and those obligations which many intimates, in the prosperous circumstances of Postumus, had borne apportioned among them, he now, with his fortunes shattered, sustains in their entirety. You see, judges, the shadow and mere image of a Roman eques, preserved by the aid and fidelity of a single friend.

nihil huic eripi potest praeter hoc simulacrum pristinae dignitatis quod Caesar solus tuetur et sustinet; quae quidem in miserrimis rebus huic tamen tribuenda maxima est; nisi vero hoc mediocri virtute effici potest ut tantus ille vir tanti ducat hunc, et adflictum praesertim et absentem, et in tanta fortuna sua ut alienam respicere magnum sit, <et in> tanta occupatione maximarum rerum quas gerit atque gessit <ut> vel oblivisci aliorum non sit mirum vel, si meminerit, oblitum esse <se> facile possit probare.

Nothing can be snatched from him except this semblance of his former dignity, which Caesar alone watches over and sustains; and this, indeed, amid the most wretched circumstances, is nevertheless to be attributed to him as the greatest; unless, to be sure, it can be accomplished by middling virtue that so great a man should reckon this man of such worth, and especially one afflicted and absent, and when his own fortune is so great that to look back to another’s is a great thing, <and in> so great an engrossment with the very greatest affairs which he conducts and has conducted <that> either it would be no wonder to forget others or, if he should remember, he could easily prove that he had forgotten <himself>.

[42] Multas equidem C. Caesaris virtutes magnas incredibilisque cognovi, sed sunt ceterae maioribus quasi theatris propositae et paene populares. castris locum capere, exercitum instruere, expugnare urbis, aciem hostium profligare, hanc vim frigorum hiemumque quam nos vix huius urbis tectis sustinemus excipere, eis ipsis diebus hostem persequi cum etiam ferae latibulis se tegant atque omnia bella iure gentium conquiescant— sunt ea quidem magna; quis negat? sed magnis excitata sunt praemiis ac memoria hominum sempiterna.

[42] Many indeed of Gaius Caesar’s virtues great and incredible I have come to know; but the rest are, as it were, set forth in larger theatres and are almost popular: to seize ground for a camp, to draw up an army, to storm cities, to rout the battle-line of the enemy, to meet this force of colds and winters which we scarcely endure beneath the roofs of this city, to pursue the enemy on those very days when even wild beasts shelter themselves in their lairs and all wars, by the law of nations, come to rest—these indeed are great; who denies it? but they have been stirred by great rewards and by the everlasting memory of men.

quo minus admirandum est eum facere illa qui immortalitatem concupiverit.

whence it is all the less to be wondered at that he does those things who has coveted immortality.

XVI.

16.

[43] Haec vera laus est, quae non poetarum carminibus, non annalium monumentis celebratur, sed prudentium iudicio expenditur. equitem Romanum veterem amicum suum studiosum, amantem, observantem sui non libidine, non turpibus impensis cupiditatum atque iacturis, sed experientia patrimoni amplificandi labentem excepit, corruere non sivit, fulsit et sustinuit re, fortuna, fide, hodieque sustinet nec amicum pendentem corruere patitur; nec illius animi aciem praestringit splendor sui nominis, nec mentis quasi luminibus officit altitudo fortunae et gloriae. sint sane illa magna, quae re vera magna sunt;

[43] This is true praise, which is not celebrated by the songs of poets nor by the monuments of annals, but is weighed by the judgment of the prudent. He took up a Roman knight, an old friend of his—zealous, loving, observant of him—not by lust, not by shameful outlays of desires and squanderings, but slipping through experiments of amplifying his patrimony; he caught him, did not allow him to collapse, he shone upon and sustained him in means, in fortune, in fidelity, and even today he sustains him and does not allow a friend hanging in suspense to collapse; nor does the splendor of his own name bedazzle the keenness of that man’s spirit, nor does the height of fortune and glory, as it were, obstruct the lights of his mind. Let those things indeed be great, which in very truth are great;

[44] De iudicio animi mei, ut volet quisque, sentiat; ego enim hanc in tantis opibus, tanta fortuna liberalitatem in suos, memoriam amicitiae reliquis virtutibus omnibus antepono. quam quidem vos, iudices, eius in novo genere bonitatem, inusitatam claris ac praepotentibus viris, non modo aspernari ac refutare sed complecti etiam et augere debetis, et eo magis quod videtis hos quidem sumptos dies ad labefactandam illius dignitatem. ex qua illi nihil detrahi potest quod non aut fortiter ferat aut facile restituat; amicissimum hominem si honestate spoliatum audierit, nec sine magno dolore feret et id amiserit quod posse non speret recuperari.

[44] Let each, as he will, think about the judgment of my mind; for I, amid such great resources, such great fortune, place this liberality toward his own, the memory of friendship, before all the remaining virtues. Which indeed you, judges, his goodness in a new kind, unusual among renowned and prepotent men, ought not only not to spurn and reject, but even to embrace and to increase, and all the more because you see that these days have been taken up to undermine his dignity. From which nothing can be detracted from him that he will not either bear bravely or easily restore; if he shall hear that a most friendly man has been stripped of honor, he will not bear it without great pain, and will have lost that which he does not hope can be recovered.

XVII.

17.

[45] Satis multa hominibus non iniquis haec esse debent, nimis etiam multa vobis quos aequissimos esse confidimus. sed ut omnium vel suspicioni vel malivolentiae vel crudelitati satis fiat: 'occultat pecuniam Postumus, latent regiae divitiae.' ecquis est ex tanto populo qui bona C. Rabiri Postumi nummo sestertio sibi addici velit? sed miserum me, quanto hoc dixi cum dolore!

[45] These things ought to be enough for men not iniquitous, even too many for you whom we trust to be most equitable. But, in order that enough be done to everyone’s suspicion or malevolence or cruelty: “Postumus conceals money, regal riches lie hidden.” Is there anyone out of so great a populace who would wish the goods of Gaius Rabirius Postumus to be knocked down to himself for one sesterce? But miserable me, with how great grief I have said this!

hem, Postume, tune es <C.> Curti filius, C. Rabiri iudicio et voluntate filius, natura sororis? tune ille in omnis tuos liberalis, cuius multos bonitas locupletavit, qui nihil profudisti, nihil ullam in libidinem contulisti? tua, Postume, nummo sestertio a me addicuntur?

Ah, Postumus, are you the son of Curtius, the son by the judgment and will of C. Rabirius, by nature of his sister? Are you that man liberal toward all your own, whose goodness enriched many, who squandered nothing, devoted nothing to any lust? Are your goods, Postumus, being knocked down by me for a single sesterce?

O meum miserum acerbumque praeconium!

O my wretched and bitter proclamation!

[46] At hoc etiam optat miser ut vel condemnetur a vobis, ita bona veneant ut solidum suum cuique solvatur. nihil iam aliud nisi fidem curat, nec vos huic, si iam oblivisci vestrae mansuetudinis volueritis, quicquam praeterea potestis eripere. quod, iudices, ne faciatis oro obtestorque vos, atque eo magis, si adventicia pecunia petitur ab eo cui sua non redditur.

[46] But the wretch even wishes this—that he be even condemned by you—if only his goods be sold so that to each man his solid due be paid. He now cares for nothing else except his credit; nor can you take anything else away from him, if now you are willing to forget your mansuetude. This, judges, I beg and I adjure you not to do, and all the more, if adventitious money is being demanded from him to whom his own is not returned.

nam in eum cui misericordia opitulari debebat invidia quaesita est.

for against him, for whom mercy ought to have given succor, envy has been stirred up.

[47] Sed iam, quoniam, spero, fidem quam praestiti, Postume, reddam etiam lacrimas quas debeo; quas quidem ego tuas in meo casu plurimas vidi. versatur ante oculos luctuosa nox meis omnibus, cum tu totum te cum tuis copiis ad me detulisti. tu comitibus, tu praesidio, tu etiam tanto pondere auri quantum tempus illud postulabat discessum illum sustentasti, tu numquam meis me absente liberis, numquam coniugi meae defuisti. possum excitare multos reductos testis liberalitatis tuae, quod saepe audivi patri tuo Curtio magno adiumento in iudicio capitis fuisse;

[47] But now, since, I hope, the good faith which I have kept, Postumus, I will also repay the tears which I owe; indeed I saw very many of yours in my misfortune. The lugubrious night revolves before the eyes of all my household, when you brought your whole self with your resources to me. You, with companions, you, with protection, you also, with so great a weight of gold as that time demanded, supported that departure; you never failed my children in my absence, never my wife. I can summon many brought back as witnesses of your liberality, because I have often heard that you were a great aid to your father Curtius in a capital trial;

[48] sed iam omnia timeo; bonitatis ipsius invidiam reformido. nam indicat tot hominum fletus quam sis carus tuis, et me dolor debilitat intercluditque vocem. vos obsecro, iudices, ut huic optimo viro, quo nemo melior umquam fuit, nomen equitis Romani et usuram huius lucis et vestrum conspectum ne eripiatis.

[48] but now I fear everything; I dread the envy against goodness itself. For the weeping of so many men indicates how dear you are to your own, and pain enfeebles me and shuts off my voice. I beseech you, judges, that you do not snatch from this most excellent man—than whom no one has ever been better—the name of Roman knight, the enjoyment of this light, and the sight of you.

hic vos aliud niil orat nisi ut rectis oculis hanc urbem sibi intueri atque ut in hoc foro vestigium facere liceat, quod ipsum fortuna eripuerat, nisi unius amici opes subvenissent.

this man begs you for nothing else except that he may look upon this city with straight eyes for himself, and that it may be permitted to set a footprint in this forum, which very thing Fortune had snatched away, unless the resources of a single friend had come to the rescue.