Cael. 1.1Sī quis, iūdicēs, forte nunc adsit ignārus lēgum iūdiciōrum cōnsuētūdinisque nostrae, mīrētur profectō quae sit tanta atrōcitās huiusce causae, quod diēbus fēstīs lūdīsque pūblicīs, omnibus forēnsibus negōtiīs intermissīs, ūnum hoc iūdicium exerceātur, nec dubitet quīn tantī facinoris reus arguātur ut eō neglēctō cīvitās stāre nōn possit.If anyone, gentlemen of the jury, should happen to be present now who knew nothing of our laws, our courts and our customs, he would surely wonder what terrible enormity there is in this case, that on festival days and during the public games, when all business in the forum has been suspended, this one trial alone is being held; and he would not doubt that the defendant is charged with a crime so great that, if it were overlooked, the state could not stand. Cael. 1.1Īdem cum audiat esse lēgem quae dē sēditiōsīs cōnscelerātīsque cīvibus quī armātī senātum obsēderint, magistrātibus vim attulerint, rem pūblicam oppugnārint cōtīdiē quaerī iubeat: lēgem nōn improbet, crīmen quod versētur in iūdiciō requīrat;The same man, on hearing that there is a law which orders that inquiry be made daily into seditious and criminal citizens who have besieged the senate under arms, have used violence against magistrates and have attacked the state, would not disapprove of the law, but would ask what charge was being tried in court; Cael. 1.1cum audiat nūllum facinus, nūllam audāciam, nūllam vim in iūdicium vocārī, sed adulēscentem inlūstrī ingeniō, industriā, grātiā accūsārī ab eius fīliō quem ipse in iūdicium et vocet et vocārit, oppugnārī autem opibus meretrīciīs: Ātrātīnī ipsīus pietātem nōn reprehendat, libīdinem muliebrem comprimendam putet, vōs labōriōsōs exīstimet quibus ōtiōsīs nē in commūnī quidem ōtiō liceat esse.on hearing that no crime, no act of audacity, no violence is being brought to trial, but that a young man of brilliant talent, industry and influence is being accused by the son of a man whom he himself is prosecuting and has prosecuted, and is moreover being attacked with a harlot's resources, he would not find fault with the filial devotion of Atratinus himself, he would think that a woman's lust ought to be curbed, and he would consider you overworked, since you are not allowed to be at leisure even when everyone else is at leisure.
Cael. 1.2Etenim sī attendere dīligenter atque exīstimāre vērē dē omnī hāc causā volueritis, sīc cōnstituētis, iūdicēs, nec dēscēnsūrum quemquam ad hanc accūsātiōnem fuisse cui utrum vellet licēret nec, cum dēscendisset, quicquam habitūrum speī fuisse, nisi alicuius intolerābilī libīdine et nimis acerbō odiō nīterētur.And indeed, if you are willing to pay careful attention and to judge truly about this whole case, you will conclude, gentlemen, that no one would have stooped to this accusation who was free to choose either course, nor, once he had stooped to it, would he have had any hope at all, unless he were relying on someone's intolerable lust and excessively bitter hatred. Cael. 1.2Sed ego Ātrātīnō, hūmānissimō atque optimō adulēscentī, meō necessāriō, ignōscō, quī habet excūsātiōnem vel pietātis vel necessitātis vel aetātis.But I pardon Atratinus, a most cultivated and excellent young man and my friend, who has the excuse either of filial duty or of necessity or of youth. Cael. 1.2Sī voluit accūsāre, pietātī tribuō, sī iussus est, necessitātī, sī spērāvit aliquid, pueritiae.If he chose to accuse, I put it down to filial duty; if he was ordered, to necessity; if he hoped for something, to boyishness.
Cael. 1.2Cēterīs nōn modo nihil ignōscendum sed etiam ācriter est resistendum.The others, however, not only deserve no pardon but must be vigorously resisted.