Man. 19.1Bonō tē animō tum, Hortēnsī, populus Rōmānus et cēterōs quī erant in eādem sententiā dīcere exīstimāvit et ea quae sentiēbātis;The Roman people thought at the time, Hortensius, that you and the others who were of the same opinion were stating what you felt with good intentions; Man. 19.1sed tamen in salūte commūnī īdem populus Rōmānus dolōrī suō māluit quam auctōritātī vestrae obtemperāre.but nevertheless, where the common safety was concerned, the same Roman people preferred to obey its own grief rather than your authority. Man. 19.1Itaque ūna lēx, ūnus vir, ūnus annus nōn modo vōs illā miseriā ac turpitūdine līberāvit sed etiam effēcit ut aliquandō vērē vidērēminī omnibus gentibus ac nātiōnibus terrā marīque imperāre.And so one law, one man, one year not only freed you from that misery and disgrace but also brought it about that you seemed at last truly to rule over all peoples and nations by land and sea. Man. 19.57Quō mihi etiam indignius vidētur obtrectātum esse adhūc, Gabīniō dīcam anne Pompeiō an utrīque, id quod est vērius, nē lēgārētur Gabīnius Pompeiō expetentī ac postulantī.So it seems to me all the more unworthy that there has been obstruction up to now (shall I say to Gabinius, or to Pompey, or to both, which is truer?) to prevent Gabinius being appointed legate to Pompey, though Pompey asks and demands it.
Man. 19.57Vtrum ille quī postulat ad tantum bellum lēgātum quem velit idōneus nōn est quī impetret, cum cēterī ad expīlandōs sociōs dīripiendāsque prōvinciās quōs voluērunt lēgātōs ēdūxerint, an ipse cuius lēge salūs ac dignitās populō Rōmānō atque omnibus gentibus cōnstitūta est expers esse dēbet eius imperātōris atque eius exercitūs quī cōnsiliō ac perīculō illīus est cōnstitūtus?Is the man who asks for the legate he wants for so great a war not fit to obtain him, when others have taken out whom they wished as legates to fleece the allies and plunder the provinces, or ought the man himself, by whose law safety and dignity have been established for the Roman people and all nations, to have no share in the command and the army which were established by his counsel and at his risk? Man. 19.57An C. Falcidius, Metellus, Caelius Latiniēnsis, Cn. Lentulus, quōs omnīs honōris causā nōminō, cum tribūnī plēbī fuissent, annō proximō lēgātī esse potuērunt;Could Gaius Falcidius, Metellus, Caelius Latiniensis and Gnaeus Lentulus, all of whom I name with respect, be legates in the year after they had been tribunes of the plebs; Man. 19.58in ūnō Gabīniō sunt tam dīligentēs quī in hōc bellō quod lēge Gabīniā geritur, in hōc imperātōre atque exercitū quem per vōs ipse cōnstituit, etiam praecipuō iūre esse dēbēbat?and are these men so scrupulous in the case of Gabinius alone, who in this war which is being waged under the Gabinian law, and with this commander and army which he himself established through you, ought even to have had a special claim?
Man. 19.58Dē quō lēgandō cōnsulēs spērō ad senātum relātūrōs.I hope that the consuls will refer the question of his appointment as legate to the senate. Man. 19.58Quī sī dubitābunt aut gravābuntur, ego mē profiteor relātūrum;If they hesitate or make difficulties, I declare that I shall refer it myself; Man. 19.58neque mē impediet cuiusquam inīquitās quō minus vōbīs frētus vestrum iūs beneficiumque dēfendam, neque praeter intercessiōnem quicquam audiam, dē quā, ut ego arbitror, istī ipsī quī minitantur etiam atque etiam quid liceat cōnsīderābunt.and no one's hostility will prevent me, relying on you, from defending your right and your favour, nor shall I heed anything except a veto, about which, I think, those very men who are threatening will consider again and again what is permissible. Man. 19.58Meā quidem sententiā, Quirītēs, ūnus Gabīnius bellī maritimī rērumque gestārum Pompeiō socius ascrībitur, proptereā quod alter ūnī illud bellum suscipiendum vestrīs suffrāgiīs dētulit, alter dēlātum susceptumque cōnfēcit.In my opinion, citizens, Gabinius alone is enrolled as Pompey's partner in the war at sea and its achievements, because the one, by your votes, entrusted that war to one man to undertake, and the other, having had it entrusted to him and having undertaken it, brought it to an end.