Man. 6.1Quā rē sī propter sociōs nūllā ipsī iniūriā lacessītī maiōrēs nostrī cum Antiochō, cum Philippō, cum Aetōlīs, cum Poenīs bella gessērunt, quantō vōs studiōsius convenit iniūriīs prōvocātōs sociōrum salūtem ūnā cum imperī vestrī dignitāte dēfendere, praesertim cum dē maximīs vestrīs vectīgālibus agātur?Therefore, if our ancestors, though not themselves provoked by any wrong, waged wars on behalf of their allies with Antiochus, with Philip, with the Aetolians, with the Carthaginians, how much more eagerly ought you, provoked by wrongs, to defend the safety of your allies together with the dignity of your empire, especially when your greatest revenues are at stake? Man. 6.1Nam cēterārum prōvinciārum vectīgālia, Quirītēs, tanta sunt ut eīs ad ipsās prōvinciās tuendās vix contentī esse possīmus, Asia vērō tam opīma est ac fertilis ut et ūbertāte agrōrum et varietāte frūctuum et magnitūdine pāstiōnis et multitūdine eārum rērum quae exportentur facile omnibus terrīs antecellat.For the revenues of the other provinces, citizens, are such that we can scarcely be content with them for the defence of those provinces themselves, but Asia is so rich and fertile that in the productiveness of its fields, the variety of its crops, the extent of its pasture and the quantity of goods exported it easily surpasses all lands.
Man. 6.1Itaque haec vōbīs prōvincia, Quirītēs, sī et bellī ūtilitātem et pācis dignitātem retinēre voltis, nōn modo ā calamitāte sed etiam ā metū calamitātis est dēfendenda.And so this province, citizens, if you wish to retain both the advantages of war and the dignity of peace, must be defended not only from disaster but even from the fear of disaster. Man. 6.15Nam in cēterīs rēbus cum venit calamitās, tum dētrīmentum accipitur;For in other matters, it is when disaster comes that loss is suffered; Man. 6.15at in vectīgālibus nōn sōlum adventus malī sed etiam metus ipse adfert calamitātem.but in the case of revenues, not only the arrival of trouble but even the fear of it brings disaster. Man. 6.15Nam cum hostium cōpiae nōn longē absunt, etiam sī inruptiō nūlla facta est, tamen pecua relinquuntur, agrī cultūra dēseritur, mercātōrum nāvigātiō conquiēscit.For when enemy forces are not far away, even if no incursion has been made, flocks are nonetheless abandoned, farming is deserted, and merchants' sailing comes to a standstill. Man. 6.15Ita neque ex portū neque ex decumīs neque ex scrīptūrā vectīgal cōnservārī potest;Thus no revenue can be maintained from harbour dues, from tithes or from grazing tax; Man. 6.15quā rē saepe tōtīus annī frūctus ūnō rūmōre perīculī atque ūnō bellī terrōre āmittitur.and so often the produce of a whole year is lost through a single rumour of danger and a single alarm of war.
Man. 6.16Quō tandem igitur animō esse exīstimātis aut eōs quī vectīgālia nōbīs pēnsitant, aut eōs quī exercent atque exigunt, cum duo rēgēs cum maximīs cōpiīs propter adsint, cum ūna excursiō equitātūs perbrevī tempore tōtīus annī vectīgal auferre possit, cum pūblicānī familiās maximās quās in salīnīs habent, quās in agrīs, quās in portibus atque in custōdiīs magnō perīculō sē habēre arbitrentur?In what state of mind, then, do you suppose either those who pay us the revenues, or those who farm and collect them, to be, when two kings with very large forces are close by, when a single raid of cavalry can carry off a whole year's revenue in a very short time, when the tax-farmers think that they keep at great risk the large households of slaves they have in the salt-works, in the fields, in the harbours and at the guard-posts? Man. 6.16Putātisne vōs illīs rēbus fruī posse, nisi eōs quī vōbīs frūctuī sunt cōnservāveritis nōn sōlum, ut ante dīxī, calamitāte sed etiam calamitātis formīdine līberātōs?Do you think that you can enjoy those benefits unless you preserve those who are a source of profit to you, freed, as I said before, not only from disaster but even from the dread of disaster?