Man. 2.1Atque ut inde ōrātiō mea proficīscātur unde haec omnis causa dūcitur, bellum grave et perīculōsum vestrīs vectīgālibus atque sociīs ā duōbus potentissimīs adfertur rēgibus, Mithridāte et Tigrāne, quōrum alter relictus, alter lacessītus occāsiōnem sibi ad occupandam Asiam oblātam esse arbitrātur.And so that my speech may start from the point from which this whole case arises: a grave and dangerous war is being brought against your revenues and your allies by two very powerful kings, Mithridates and Tigranes, of whom the one, left unpursued, and the other, provoked, think that an opportunity has been offered them to seize Asia. Man. 2.1Equitibus Rōmānīs, honestissimīs virīs, adferuntur ex Asiā cōtīdiē litterae, quōrum magnae rēs aguntur in vestrīs vectīgālibus exercendīs occupātae;Every day letters are brought from Asia to the Roman knights, most honourable men, whose large interests, invested in the farming of your revenues, are at stake; Man. 2.1quī ad mē prō necessitūdine quae mihi est cum illō ōrdine causam reī pūblicae perīculaque rērum suārum dētulērunt, Bīthȳniae quae nunc vestra prōvincia est vīcōs exustōs esse complūrīs, regnum Ariobarzānis quod fīnitimum est vestrīs vectīgālibus tōtum esse in hostium potestāte;and they, because of the close ties I have with that order, have laid before me the cause of the state and the dangers to their own affairs: that in Bithynia, which is now your province, a good many villages have been burned down; that the kingdom of Ariobarzanes, which borders on your tributary lands, is wholly in the enemy's power; Man. 2.5Lūcullum magnīs rēbus gestīs ab eō bellō discēdere;that Lucullus, after great achievements, is withdrawing from that war; Man. 2.5huic quī successerit, nōn satis esse parātum ad tantum bellum administrandum;that the man who has succeeded him is not sufficiently prepared to conduct so great a war; Man. 2.5ūnum ab omnibus sociīs et cīvibus ad id bellum imperātōrem dēposcī atque expetī, eundem hunc ūnum ab hostibus metuī, praetereā nēminem.that one man is demanded and sought by all allies and citizens as commander for that war, and that this same one man is feared by the enemy, and no one else.
Man. 2.6Causa quae sit vidētis;You see what the case is; Man. 2.6nunc quid agendum sit ipsī cōnsīderāte.now consider for yourselves what is to be done. Man. 2.6Prīmum mihi vidētur dē genere bellī, deinde dē magnitūdine, tum dē imperātōre dēligendō esse dīcendum.It seems to me that I must speak first about the nature of the war, then about its scale, and then about choosing a commander. Man. 2.6Genus est eius bellī quod maximē vestrōs animōs excitāre atque īnflammāre ad persequendī studium dēbeat.The nature of the war is such as ought above all to rouse and inflame your hearts with eagerness to pursue it. Man. 2.6In quō agitur populī Rōmānī glōria quae vōbīs ā maiōribus cum magna in omnibus rēbus tum summa in rē mīlitārī trādita est;In it is at stake the glory of the Roman people, which has been handed down to you by your ancestors, great in all things but greatest of all in warfare; Man. 2.6agitur salūs sociōrum atque amīcōrum prō quā multa maiōrēs vestrī magna et gravia bella gessērunt;at stake is the safety of allies and friends, for which your ancestors waged many great and serious wars; Man. 2.6aguntur certissima populī Rōmānī vectīgālia et maxima quibus āmissīs et pācis ōrnāmenta et subsidia bellī requīrētis;at stake are the surest and largest revenues of the Roman people, and if they are lost you will look in vain both for the adornments of peace and for the resources of war; Man. 2.6aguntur bona multōrum cīvium quibus est ā vōbīs et ipsōrum causā et reī pūblicae cōnsulendum.at stake is the property of many citizens, whose interests you must protect both for their own sake and for the sake of the state.