Marcus Tullius Cicero [Cicero or Tully]
106-43 BC *executed by 2nd Triumvirate (specifically Mark Antony)
Trans RMBullard
Latin (Republican Era/Golden Age of Latin Literature)
IN C. VERREM ORATIO
ACTIO PRIMA
[1] Quod erat optandum maxime, iudices,
[Hail jurors, whatever must be wished for most of all,]
et quod unum ad invidiam vestri ordinis infamiamque iudiciorum sedandam maxime pertinebat,
[and whatever solely pertains to the envy aimed at your social class, and most of all the ill rumor that need be made quiet about our judges.]
id non humano consilio,
sed prope divinitus datum atque oblatum vobis summo rei publicae tempore videtur.
[this not only seems, in the greatest time of our republic, to have been granted to you by the intent of men, but also upheld for you something almost divine.]
Inveteravit enim iam opinio perniciosa rei publicae, vobisque periculosa,
[you see, already has an opinion grown through time, one that is harmful to the republic, and dangerous for you all,]
quae non modo apud populum Romanum, sed etiam apud exteras nationes, omnium sermone percrebruit:
[which has thoroughly spread not only in the presence of the Roman people, but even in nations abroad, every language.]
his iudiciis quae nunc sunt, pecuniosum hominem,
quamvis sit nocens, neminem posse damnari.
[these are things that apply to the judges here, that is whether anybody, a man who embezzles, can be condemned to punishment, no matter who harmful he may be.]
Nunc, in ipso discrimine ordinis iudiciorumque vestrorum, cum sint parati qui contionibus et legibus hanc invidiam senatus inflammare conentur,
[Now, in the very distinction of your social class, of your judges, since they are prepared, let them dare to the set this envy now of the Senate aflame with their assemblies and laws.]
[reus] in iudicium adductus est [C. Verres],
[Gaius Verres has been brought here to court as the defendant,]
homo vita atque factis omnium iam opinione damnatus,
[he is man whose life and deeds have already been condemned in the minds of all people,]
pecuniae magnitudine sua spe et praedicatione absolutus.
[now he greatly hopes, and predicts, to be acquitted of charges of corruption.]
Huic ego causae, iudices, cum summa voluntate et expectatione populi Romani, actor accessi,
[For my part, jurors, with the greatest desire and anticipation of the Roman people, I have come forth as the prosecutor for this case,]
non ut augerem invidiam ordinis, sed ut infamiae communi succurrerem.
[not so that I could cause more hatred for your social milieu, but so that I could decrease the ill rumor coming from the common folk.]
Adduxi enim hominem in quo reconciliare existimationem iudiciorum amissam,
[you see, I set my aims upon this man for you to repair the damaged reputation of judges,]
redire in gratiam cum populo Romano,
[and to return it into the good graces of the Roman people,[
satis facere exteris nationibus, possetis;
[and do as much for foreign nations, as much as you can;]
depeculatorem aerari, vexatorem Asiae atque Pamphyliae, praedonem iuris urbani, labem atque perniciem provinciae Siciliae.
[because he is an embezzler of public funds, a scoundrel in Asia and Pamphylia, a highway robber of our city's law, and the deadly scourge of the province of Sicily.]
De quo si vos vere ac religiose iudicaveritis, auctoritas ea, quae in vobis remanere debet, haerebit;
[on this account, if, for you part, you wish to truthfully and faithfully judge the matter, this kind of authority, which ought to remain at your disposal, will cling;]
sin istius ingentes divitiae iudiciorum religionem veritatemque perfregerint,
[but if an enormous wealth of the man I just mention has completely shattered the faithfulness and truthfulness of your judges,]
ego hoc tam adsequar,
[for my part shall I so pursue this goal,]
ut iudicium potius rei publicae, quam aut reus iudicibus, aut accusator reo, defuisse videatur.
[to show that the judicial courts has done more harm to the republic than a defendant to the judges, or prosecutor to a defendant.]
[2] Equidem, ut de me confitear, iudices,
[Indeed, as I must confess about myself, judges,]
cum multae mihi a C. Verre insidiae terra marique factae sint,
[since a great deal of ill deeds have been committed by Gaius Verres, on land and sea,]
quas partim mea diligentia devitarim,
[those, in part, I completely avoided, thanks to my sense of duty,]
partim amicorum studio officioque repulerim;
[and partly, I fought against them by through the eagerness and duty of my colleagues;]
numquam tamen neque tantum periculum mihi adire visus sum,
[in any event, I neither think that so great a danger has reached me,]
neque tanto opere pertimui,
[nor I have a grown so greatly afraid,]
ut nunc in ipso iudicio.
[as now in this very court.]
Neque tantum me exspectatio accusationis meae, concursusque
tantae multitudinis (quibus ego rebus vehementissime perturbor) commovet,
[And as much anticipation of my accusation disturbs me, and the gathering of such a large group of people, whose affairs I, for my part, am most violently shocked,]
quantum istius insidiae nefariae, quas uno tempore mihi, vobis, M'. Glabrioni, populo Romano, sociis, exteris nationibus, ordini, nomini denique senatorio, facere conatur:
[such are the treacherous schemes of that same man, who now tries to do these, all at the same time, against myself, and you all, against Marcus Glabrio, the Roman people, our allies, against foreign nations, and most all, against the order and dignity of the Senate.]
qui ita dictitat, eis esse metuendum,
[and so, the person who so often says that these men must be afraid,]
qui quod ipsis solis satis esset surripuissent;
[are they men who had previously pilfered the very thing that quite completely belonged to them alone.]
se tantum eripuisse, ut id multis satis esse possit;
[so much did he snatch away that it could be enough for many people;]
nihil esse tam sanctum quod non violari,
[There is nothing so sacred that he could not profane,]
nihil tam munitum quod non expugnari pecunia possit.
[there is nothing so fortified that he could not outlast with his money.]
Quod si quam audax est ad conandum,
[But if he is so bold in his attempts,]
tam esset obscurus in agendo,
[as he sneaky in his actions,]
fortasse aliqua in re nos aliquando fefellisset.
[perhaps, at some point in time, he had even before deceived us in some matter or another.]
Verum hoc adhuc percommode cadit,
[But indeed, this affair quite comfortably turns out,]
quod cum incredibili eius audacia singularis stultitia coniuncta est.
[because his unmatched dumbassed-ness has been joined now to his unbelievable brashness.]
Nam, ut apertus in corripiendis pecuniis fuit,
[You see, as he was blatant in his financial corruption,]
sic in spe corrumpendi iudici, perspicua sua consilia conatusque omnibus fecit.
[likewise did he, in the hope of corrupting the judge, make his designs and attempts obvious to all.]
Semel, ait, se in vita pertimuisse,
[And once, says he, he had grown completely fearful in the course of his life]
tum cum primum a me reus factus sit;
[then as soon as possible diid I make him out to be the culprit;]
quod, cum e provincia recens esset,
[something which, since he freshly left from his province]
invidiaque et infamia non recenti,
[still his ill will and infamy were not matters of newness]
sed vetere ac diuturna flagraret,
[instead he has caused harm through long and daily habit,]
tum, ad iudicium corrumpendum, tempus alienum offenderet.
[and then after he tried to corrupt the judge, he tried to find himself time that did not belong to him.]
Itaque, cum ego diem in Siciliam inquirendi perexiguam postulavissem,
[And so, when, for my part, I had previously demand for any available court day to investigate the affairs of Sicily,]
invenit iste,
[here this man comes,]
qui sibi in Achaiam biduo breviorem diem postularet,
[a man who was demanding for a sooner date for himself, for a two-day trip to Greece,]
— non ut is idem conficeret diligentia et industria sua
[not so that he could likewise take care of his business by his own sense of diligence and industry,]
quod ego meo labore et vigiliis consecutus sum,
[but because I myself pursued him, out of my own effort and watchfulness,]
etenim ille Achaicus inquisitor ne Brundisium quidem pervenit;
[and really so that that ill-reputed Greek investigator <wink> not in fact reach Brindisi;]
ego Siciliam totam quinquaginta diebus sic obii,
[As pertains to me, I thusly toured the entirety of Sicily for forty days,]
ut omnium populorum privatorumque literas iniuriasque cognoscerem;
[which allowed me to understand the letters and claims of injury of all the private and public figures there;]
ut perspicuum cuivis esse posset,
[and so that it could be apparent to anyone]
hominem ab isto quaesitum esse,
[that this man is being investigated by such a set of events,]
non qui reum suum adduceret,
[and not that he was not only trying to avoid being a defendent in court,]
sed qui meum tempus obsideret.
[but that it was he who was trying to use up my own time.]
[3] Nunc homo audacissimus atque amentissimus hoc cogitat.
[Nunc the boldestman , and most mindless too, thinks he can do this.]
Intellegit me ita paratum atque instructum in iudicium venire,
[He nows that I am thusly prepared, and have intended to come to court,]
ut non modo in auribus vestris, sed in oculis omnium, sua furta atque flagitia defixurus sim.
[and so I shall sooner or later be tied down by his robberies and his attacks, not only for your ears to hear, but in the sight of all.]
Itaque, cum ego diem in Siciliam inquirendi perexiguam postulavissem,
[And so, when, for my part, I had previously demand for any available court day to investigate the affairs of Sicily,]
invenit iste,
[here this man comes,]
qui sibi in Achaiam biduo breviorem diem postularet,
[a man who was demanding for a sooner date for himself, for a two-day trip to Greece,]
— non ut is idem conficeret diligentia et industria sua
[not so that he could likewise take care of his business by his own sense of diligence and industry,]
quod ego meo labore et vigiliis consecutus sum,
[but because I myself pursued him, out of my own effort and watchfulness,]
etenim ille Achaicus inquisitor ne Brundisium quidem pervenit;
[and really so that that ill-reputed Greek investigator <wink> not in fact reach Brindisi;]
ego Siciliam totam quinquaginta diebus sic obii,
[As pertains to me, I thusly toured the entirety of Sicily for forty days,]
ut omnium populorum privatorumque literas iniuriasque cognoscerem;
[which allowed me to understand the letters and claims of injury of all the private and public figures there;]
ut perspicuum cuivis esse posset,
[and so that it could be apparent to anyone]
hominem ab isto quaesitum esse,
[that this man is being investigated by such a set of events,]
non qui reum suum adduceret,
[and not that he was not only trying to avoid being a defendent in court,]
sed qui meum tempus obsideret.
[but that it was he who was trying to use up my own time.]
[3] Nunc homo audacissimus atque amentissimus hoc cogitat.
[Nunc the boldestman , and most mindless too, thinks he can do this.]
Intellegit me ita paratum atque instructum in iudicium venire,
[He nows that I am thusly prepared, and have intended to come to court,]
ut non modo in auribus vestris, sed in oculis omnium, sua furta atque flagitia defixurus sim.
[and so I shall sooner or later be tied down by his robberies and his attacks, not only for your ears to hear, but in the sight of all.]
I N F I N I T A
